1. Answer from your own perspective: Is learning a solitary activity, undertaken by an individual, or is learning a social activity, something done by a group within a context?
I think learning happens in the manner that you prefer or want it to happen. Some people choose to isolate themselves to read, study, and learn information. Others choose to learn within groups or networks to work through problems, discuss key points, and summarize what has been learned.
My husband is a solitary learner. Ryan can work well in groups, but prefers to work and learn by himself. During his undergrad years, he spent hours in the university library studying and reading in isolation because that was his preferred method of learning. Once he started his MBA through Florida State's Online campus, he functioned primarily the same way - spending a lot of time reading and learning, by himself.
I am a social learner. I much prefer to take in information and then process that information with others to ensure understanding. I almost typed "correct understanding", then realized that often it's not about correct understanding, but understanding that makes sense in context. Reading all of the books for MALT thus far has proven to be a true challenge for me, because I'm not sharing the load or discussing them with other people immediately.
2. Answer from your own perspective: Is learning primarily focused on the transmission of facts and information or is it focused on the development of understanding of concepts and new knowledge?
It really depends on who you ask. The creators of standardized tests and the government officials who support these tests want learning to be about facts and information that can easily be recalled for testing purposes. Many educators, administrators, and leaders in education reform want learning to be about development of concepts and new knowledge that can be applied in the real world. I am personally in the latter group because I want learning to be about developing concepts and knowledge in order to put them to use in real-life contexts. However, state testing requires me to focus on facts and specific information that is on the test in order to ensure my students meet expectations. It is a terrible place to be when you know what's best for students, but are required to do what will help your school and district meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) according to the No Child Left Behind Act.
3. Answer from your own perspective: Is our goal as educators to prepare an individual who can recall sets of information or develop groups of individuals who can apply the information to as yet unsolved problems?
This question reminds me of a statement by Alan November during his ISTE session entitled Digital Farms, "If a student can Google the answer in under a minute, it shouldn't be tested." We live in an age where students can quickly and easily access information. We have moved beyond the type of learning that requires students to memorize and regurgitate facts because those kinds of answers are just a few keystrokes away. Now, learning has become modeling and guiding students to discover their natural abilities to become students who create, communicate, collaborate, critically-think, and problem-solve. Once students hone these skills they will be able to apply their knowledge to solve any problem.
4. Answer from your own perspective: Does development precede learning, or does learning precede development?
This question makes me think back to my Early Childhood Education classes where we often discussed development and learning. Development and learning have a dynamic relationship. Cognitive, physical, and social/emotional development have to take place in order to learn. Coincidentally, learning must take place for cognitive, physical, and social/emotional development to take place.
Much like Smith says in his book, learning happens without awareness, particularly when in the company of a child's first teachers - his parents. Children learn while in utero, and from that moment on. Is it developmentally appropriate to speak to a baby in complete sentences? Absolutely. Is it developmentally appropriate to model social behaviors and manners to toddlers? Absolutely. Is it developmentally appropriate to read stories to Pre-K children and discuss the title page, author, and concepts of print? Absolutely. Learning happens while we develop. Development happens when we learn.
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