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People are not easy to
change.
Let's look at a few classic examples:
- Personality - it remains highly consistent throughout
life.
- Clinical interventions - it takes skilled practitioners
and careful therapy to make even a small difference and the
most effective therapy is based on changing peoples'
cognitions using CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).
- Recidivism of criminals - always high, especially for
some groups of people.
Experiential
learning models implicitly argue that 'we are what we learn.'
They fail to take into account the biological hindrances and
learned cognitions which can limit and redirect our learning
experiences. The
reality is that some people are not easy to change, some find
it easier to change than others, and some change for the
better and some for the worse.
The learning cycle
tells us at best about peoples' learning preferences. This
tells us about how we learn by experience, but this has got
little to do with telling us about whether we can learn and
what we can learn. Discovering how we learn by experience
tells us superficial information that is at best harmless fun;
finding out about whether we can learn and what we can learn
tells us about fundamental issues related to development,
change and performance.
This is why we must
understand the biological drive to learn.
Biological drive
tell us whether a person is exploratory and curious or has
little interest in learning. We know from the detailed work of
Professor Zuckerman that the basis for this is highly
biological with most research investigating dopamine pathways
of the brain. Some research this year even identifies specific
genes that are related to dopamine production and are related
with this drive to learn. If we do not have the biological
systems in place that are oriented towards
self-development learning then there are simply limitations on
the amount that we want to learn.
In short,
understanding the biological basis of learning is fundamental
to any effective model of learning. This tells us key
information about who is interested in change and, because it
is a biological component of learning, that this element of
learning will be difficult to change.
Take a closer look
at this exciting new model of learning today!
Yours truly
Chris
Jackson
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