What We Learn When We Learn by Doing - University of ...

When there are "doing devices" available, it is easier to implement learning by doing. Driving can easily be taught in a learning-by-doing manner, for example, ... Schank,RogerC. (1995)What WeLearnWhenWeLearnbyDoing.(TechnicalReportNo.60). NorthwesternUniversity, InstituteforLearningSciences. WhatWeLearnWhenWeLearnbyDoing RogerC.Schank InstitutefortheLearningSciences NorthwesternUniversity TechnicalReportNo.60(1995) Therehasalwaysbeenagreatdealoflipservicegiventotheidea oflearningbydoing,butnotmuchhasbeendoneaboutit.Infact,John Deweyremarkedin1916,inhisbook,DemocracyandEducation:   "Whyisitthat,inspiteofthefactthatteachingbypouringin, learningbypassiveabsorption,areuniversallycondemned,thattheyare stillsoentrenchedinpractice?Thateducationisnotanaffairof"telling" andbeingtold,butanactiveconstructiveprocess,isaprinciplealmost asgenerallyviolatedinpracticeasconcededintheory.Isnotthisdeplorable situationduetothefactthatthedoctrineisitselfmerelytold?But itsenactmentinpracticerequiresthattheschoolenvironmentbeequipped withagenciesfordoing...toanextentrarelyattained." Therearetwoimportantreasonswhylearningbydoingisn'tournormal formofeducation.First,itisquitedifficulttoimplementwithout"doing devices."Howcanweteachhistorybydoing?Whatdoesitmeantoteach literaturebydoing?Inmanycases,itisdifficulttodefinewhatdoing mightmeanwithrespecttoagivensubjectandtoattempttoimplement arealisticsenseofdoinginaclassroomsetting.Whenthereare"doing devices"available,itiseasiertoimplementlearningbydoing.Driving caneasilybetaughtinalearning-by-doingmanner,forexample,because studentscanreasonablybeplacedbehindthewheelofacar.Thiscanbe donebecausecarsarerelativelyinexpensiveandrelativelysafe.When thisisnotthecase,whenthenecessaryequipmentistooexpensiveor unsafe,orwherethereisnoequipmentatall,learningbydoingisusually abandonedasateachingphilosophy.Thereis,ofcourse,anotherreason whylearningbydoingisn'ttheprimaryteachingmodelintheschools. Educatorsandpsychologistshavenotreallyunderstoodwhylearningby doingworks,andthusareloathetoinsistuponit.Theycan'tsayexactly whatitisthatlearningbydoingteaches.Theysupposethatitteaches reallifeskills,butwhataboutfacts,thedarlingsofthe"drill-them-and-test- them"schoolofeducationalthought? Toconsiderlearningbydoingfromapsychologicalpointofview,we mustthinkmoreaboutlearninginreallife,whichis,ofcourse,thenatural venueoflearningbydoing.Thereis,afterall,somethinginherentlyartificial aboutschool.Naturallearningmeanslearningonan"asneeded"basis. Insuchalearningsituation,motivationisneveraproblem,welearnbecause somethinghascausedustowanttoknow.Butschoolhasnonaturalmotivation associatedwithit.Studentsgotherebecausetheyhavenochoice.The sameistrueofmosttrainingsituations.Traineesdon'tusuallyelect training.And,whiletheymaywellchoosetheirjobs,theycanhardlyknow thattheyneedcertaininformationinordertodotheirjobsbetter.They canonlyknowthisbecausetheyaretold.Trainingrarelycomesaftersomeone hasdonebadlyathisjob.Businessestrytoanticipatesuchsituations, toavoidmistakesonthepartoftheiremployees.Thus,theyprovidetraining inanticipationofrealproblemsandemployee-perceivedneeds.Thisconcept, oftraininginanticipationofneed,isanimportantreasonwhybusinesses areoftenineffectiveintraining. Oneoftheplaceswherereallifelearningtakesplaceisintheworkplace, "onthejob."Thereasonforthisseemssimpleenough.Humansarenatural learners.Theylearnfromeverythingtheydo.Whentheywatchtelevision, theylearnabouttheday'sevents.Whentheytakeatrip,theylearnabout howtogetwheretheyaregoingandwhatitisliketobethere.Thisconstant learningalsotakesplaceasoneworks.Ifyouwantanemployeetolearn hisjob,then,itstandstoreasonthatthebestwayistosimplylethim dohisjob.Motivationisnotaprobleminsuchsituationssinceemployees knowthatiftheydon'tlearntodotheirjobwell,theywon'tkeepit forlong. Mostemployeesareinterestedinlearningtotheirjobsbetter.One reasonforthisis,ofcourse,potentialmonetaryrewards.Butthereal reasonismuchdeeperthanthat.Ifyoudosomethingoftenenough,you getbetteratit--simpleandobvious.Whenpeoplereallycareaboutwhat theyaredoing,theymayevenlearnhowtodotheirjobsbetterthananyone hadhoped.Theythemselveswonderhowtoimprovetheirownperformance. Theyinnovate.Sincemistakesareoftenquitejarringtosomeonewhocares aboutwhattheyaredoing,peoplenaturallyworkhardtoavoidthem.No onelikestofail.Itisbasictohumannaturetotrytodobetterand thismeansattemptingtoexplainone'sfailureswellenoughsothatthey canberemedied.Thisself-correctingbehaviorcanonlytakeplacewhen onehasbeenmadeawareofone'smistakesandwhenonecaresenoughto improve.Ifanemployeeunderstandsandbelievesthatanerrorhasbeen made,hewillworkhardtocorrectit,andwillwanttobetrainedtodo better,ifproperrewardsareinplaceforajobwelldone. Ingeneral,mostbusinessesareawarethatthemoreexperienceanemployee haswithagivensituation,themoreeffectiveheisinthatsituation. Itwouldseemtofollow,therefore,thatthebestwaytoteachanybody istoletthemworkonajobthatrequirestheskillswearetryingto teach.Thisisabitcircularsinceitmeanslettinganemployeeattempt touseskillsthatweknowhedoesn'thaveinordertoteachhimthose skills.Thebestwaytolearnhowtodoajobistosimplytrydoingthe job,withnopreparationinparticular,butwithanexpertavailablefor helpasneeded.Althoughthisisthebestwaytolearnfromtheperspective oftheemployee'snaturallearningprocess,itmightwellnotbethepreferred choiceofeithertheemployeeoftheemployer. Employer'shavetobeverytoleranttoallowlearningbydoingtobe thedominateteachingmethodfortrainingbecauseofthepotentialfor costlyerrorsmadebynoviceemployees.Mostemployersareunwillingor unabletodothis.Employeesdon'treallywanttodothiseither.People areafraidofpublicfailure,andnothingcouldbemorepublicthanfailing onthejob. Oneobviousansweristheuseofsimulationsfortraining.Thebest ofthecurrentsimulatorsbuiltfortrainingpurposesaretheairflight simulators.Modernflightsimulatorsarephenomenallyreal.Inside,they looklikecockpitsdowntothelastdetail.Theybounceandrattleand jolt,andwhatyouseeoutthewindowarepicturesthataccuratelyportray whateverairportyouselectfromwhateverperspectiveyourairplanewould beputtingyouinatthemoment.Itlooksliketherealthing.Itfeels liketherealthing.Andso,youcantakeoffandlandatwill,goingin andoutofyourfavoriteairports.Youcantrythingsoutandseewhat happens.Youcancrashandtrytofigureoutwhatyoudidwrong.After enoughtime,youcanteachyourselfhowtofly.Ofcourse,ithelpsto havesomeonenexttoyouwhomyoucanaskforhelp,anditalsohelpsa greatdealifthepersonbesideyouisnotinapanicabouthisownimminent demisebecauseofyourinadequaciesasapilot. Intheuseofasimulationofthistype,whatexactlyislearned?That is,whensomeonelearnsbydoing,whatisitthatheislearning?Itis importanttoanswerthisquestionfortworeasons.First,wewanttoknow ifastudentortraineehaslearnedwhateveritisweweresupposedto beteachinghim.Toknowthis,itisimportanttoknowwhatwewereintending toteachhim.Second,therewillbetimeswhenlearningbydoingwillbe difficulttoteach.Ifwhatwastobelearnedinthisfashioncouldbe taughtbysomeothermeans,wewillindeedtry.Itiscriticalthento understandwhatislearnedsothatwedon'tmakethemistakeofteaching somethingelse,likefacts,andassumingthatthiskindofteachingwill beaneffectivesubstitute. Tobegintothinkaboutwhatlearningbydoingactuallyteaches,consider thefollowing:SupposeIdecidedtoopenaschoolthattaughtaboutthe artofdining.Somepeopleknowgoodfoodandgoodwineandwemightask whatisit,exactly,thattheyknow?Thisdomainisagoodonetodiscuss becauseitisonewithwhicheveryoneissomewhatfamiliarandisonefor whichtheredonotexistprejudicesaboutwhatone"shouldknow."There isnoculturalliteracymovementintheworldoffinedining.Sowhatcould weteachinsuchaschool? Wecouldteachhowtoorderinarestaurant;howtoselectawine;how tounderstandwhatislikelytobegoodinaparticularplace;howtoeat certainfoods,andsoon.Butitwouldindeedseemratherfoolishwithout gettingtoeat.IfyouwanttoknowwhatKoreanbarbecue,sushi,chestnut puree,ortruffledeggtasteslike,you'vegottoeatit.Ifyouwantto knowwhetherthesushiyouhadwastypicalofwhatsushishouldtastelike, youhavetohavesushiasecondtime.Ifyouwanttoknowtheextentto whichfreshnessmattersinsushi,youhavetoeatsushithatisn'tfresh andtheneatsomethatisespeciallyfresh.Togainthisexperiencein arestaurantmeansaskingaboutwhenthesushiwasmade,whenthefish wasbought,whenitwascaught,andsoon. Inshort,learningaboutfoodmeanseatingit,thinkingaboutwhatyou ate,eatingthingslikewhatyouhavealreadyeateninordertocontrast oneexperiencewithanother,andaskingquestionstodetermineotherinformation thatmayhelpyoumakesenseofyourexperiences.Still,thisdoesn'ttell usexactlywhatitisthatwearelearningwhenwearelearningbydoing. Itdoestellusoneimportantthingwearedoing,however.Weareacquiring experience.Experiences,orcases,areacriticalelementinunderstanding whatislearnedwhenonelearnsbydoing. Whenweeatsushiforthefirsttimeandthenfeelwewanttounderstand allthepossibilitiesforsushi,bothgoodandbad,weknowthatthismeans eatingmoresushi.Itmayalsomeaneatingsashimi,andeatingraretuna inanrestaurantthatgrillstunasteaks.Themoreweeat,themorewe becomeexpertsonthepossibilitieswithrespecttorawfish. Toputthisinourterms,alearnerisinterestedinacquiringsufficient casessuchthathecanlearntodetectnuances.Hewantstobeinaposition tocompareandcontrastvariousexperiences.Todothis,heneedstohave hadthoseexperiences,andheneedstohaveproperlylabeledthoseexperiences. Thislabelingprocessiswhatwerefertoasindexing.Indexingmeanstaking anexperienceandgivingitaname.So,wemightcallanexperienceof eatingsashimi"sushiwithoutthericeleavesblandertasteexperience duetolackofcontrastintextures."Or,wemightcalleatingsashimi "sushiwithouttherice."Thereisnorightwaytoindex,butitisclear thattheformerindexisricherthanthelatterandthusislikelytolead tobetterremindings.Inotherwords,someonewhohadusedtheformerindex mightgetremindedofotherfoodswhereroughandsmoothtexturesarefound inthesamebite. Howweindexcasesishighlyidiosyncratic.Indexinghasagreatdeal todowithlearninginthatwhatwelearnfromanexperiencedependsentirely ontheindicesthatweassigntothatexperience. Apartfromcasesandindicestocases,whatexactlyislearnedwhen onelearnsbydoing?Formanyeducators,thismightseemtobeanunimportant question.Aslongasstudentslearntodowhattheyweretryingtodo, theyhavelearnedtherightstuff.Weneednotaskexactlywhattheyhave learnedunlessweareseriouslyinterestedinwhatlearningisallabout. Ofcourse,ifwewishtodesignneweducationalsystemswemustbeinterested inpreciselythisquestion.ItisalltooeasyforUnitedAirlinestosay thattheyknowhowtotrainpilots-theyuseflightsimulatorsandallow theirpilotstolearnbydoing.Similarly,anyparentcansaythatheknows howtoteachateenagertodrive:Sithimorherbehindthewheel,grit yourteeth,andletthemgo. Theproblemisthatitisn'tallthateasytoknowwhatyouaretrying toteachallthetime,anditisoftentemptingtopreachratherthanteach. Justbecausesomeonecanflyanairflightsimulatordoesnotmeanthat you'dtrusthimtodealwithanyextraordinarysituation.Whenyouhave taughtyourchildtodrive,youneverthelessfreteachtimehetakesthe caroutforaspin.Canhehandlewetconditions?Whataboutdrinkingand driving?Therealityisthatwecannotanticipateeverypossiblecondition inasimulator,andlecturesabouttheevilsofdrinkinganddrivingmay notnecessarilyteachthelesson. So,oneconclusionhereisthatifyouwanttoknowaboutfood-eat. Someonetellingyouabouthowsomethingtastes,ineffect,givingyoua vocabularyfordescribingtastes,isnotofgreatvalue.Theexperiences thatbuildupaknowledgebasecannotbeobtainedvicariously.Onemust haveexperiences,nothearaboutthem.Thereasonsforthisaresimple. Hearingaboutthemmeansthatthetellerhascrystallizedhisownexperiences, shortenedthem,summarizedthem,andineffecthastakenfromthemthe materialofindexing,thestufffromwhichwecanbuildourownindex. Onecannotindexonsomeoneelse'sexperiencelargelybecausethatexperience, astransmitted,willomitmanyofthedetailsthatarethefodderforindexing. Whataretheimplicationsofthisforeducation?Wemust,asbestas wecan,teachstudentstodothings,ratherthanhavingthembetoldabout whatothershavedone.Learningistheaccumulationandindexingofcases andthinkingisthefindingandconsiderationofanoldcasetousefor decision-makingaboutanewcase.Criticaltoallthisistheprocessof expectationfailureandexplanation.Tomakethinkingbeings,wemustencourage explanation,exploration,generalization,andcaseaccumulation.Howdo wedothis? Recently,inagraduateclassofmine,whichhasinitafewundergraduates, wewerediscussinglearning.Thestudentsweremakingavarietyofassertions aboutlearningwhichcausedmetowonderwhetherwewerealltalkingabout thesamephenomenon.Iaskedvariousmembersoftheclasswhattheyhad learnedrecently.Onetoldmethathehadlearnedthatawokwillrust ifleftovernightwiththecookingresidueinit.Anothertoldmethat shehadlearnedthatcheappaintdoesn'tworkaswellasexpensivepaint. Anothertoldmethatshehadlearnedthatshecouldbuycoughmedicine acrossthestreetanddidn'thavetowalkalongwayforitasshehad thought.AnothertoldmethathehadlearnedthatIlikedtositinacertain placeintheclassroom.Anothersaidthathehadlearnedhowtohandle himselfbetterincertainsocialsituations.Theselearnerswereallgraduate students. Theundergraduates,ontheotherhand,notedthattheyhadlearnedvarious factssuchascertaineventsinhistoryorcertainmethodsofcalculation inmathematics.Whythedifference?Thegraduatestudentsweremucholder thantheundergraduates.Theyhadmoredailyconcernsbecausetheirenvironment wasnotasshelteredastheundergraduates.Inaddition,theundergraduates wereengagedintheprocessofgettingAsbylearningwhattheyweretold. Thegraduatestudentsweretryingtofindoutabouttheirnewenvironment, livinginnewhouses,cookingforthemselves,tryingtounderstandwhat wasexpectedofthemingraduateschool.Thegraduatestudentswerebeing forced,bothinschoolandinlife,tothinkforthemselves.Whatmethod weretheundergraduatesusingforlearning?Basically,theywerecopying whattheyweretold.Thegraduatestudentswere,ontheotherhand,experimenting, hopingtofindoutwhatwastruebytryingthingsoutandattemptingto makegeneralizationsaboutwhatmightholdtrueinthefuture. Allofthistellsusthatlearningisessentiallyadiscoveryprocess. Weareallnaturallearners.Asbabies,wediscoverthingsbyourselves beforewecanbetold.Evenwhenweunderstandenoughtobetold,westill needtotrythingsoutforourselves.Theunderstandingcycle-expectation failure-explanation-reminding-generalization-isanaturalone. Nooneteachesittous.Wearenottaughttohavegoals,nortoattempt todevelopplanstoachievethosegoalsbyadaptingoldplansfromsimilar situations.Weneednotbetaughtthisbecausetheprocessissobasic towhatcomprisesintelligence.Learningisanaturalact. Howdoweenhancelearning?Onewaytoenhancelearningisbydoing. Ifyouwanttolearnaboutfoodandwineyouhavetoeatanddrink.If youwanttolearnhowtodrive,youhavetodrive.Ifyouwanttolearn toflyaplane,youneedto,atleast,flyasimulatedplane.Whatdoes thistellusabouttrainingandeducationthen?Ittellsusthatweneed totryandrecall,whendesigningacurriculum,whatitiswearetrying togetstudentswhohadbeenthroughthatcurriculumtodo.Toputthis anotherway,weneedtotransformalltrainingandeducationsothatit looks,feels,andislikedoing. Thisbringsusbacktothequestionofwhatwouldthenbelearnedif alltrainingandeducationwere,infact,doing.Wehavesofarsaidthat casesandindicestocasesarelearnedinthisway.Butsomethingmore importantand,unfortunately,considerablylessinterestingfromanintellectual pointofviewarelearnedthiswayaswell.Toseewhatwemeanherelet's returntoteachingateenagertodrive. Itiseasytoagreethatcertaincaseswouldbelearnedwhiledriving. Forexample,Irecentlywaswaitingataredlightatanintersectionand, whenthelightturnedgreen,decidednottogoforward.Idecidedtowait becauseIwascrossingafourlaneroadandabuswasinthelanethird farthestfrommeandwasblockingmyviewofthelanethatwasfarthest away.Althoughthelightwaswithme,ithadjustchangedandtherewas alwaysthepossibilitythatacarwasrunningthelightandIwouldn't beabletoseeit.Asithappened,thatwasexactlywhattookplace.My cautionavertedaseriousaccident.Thatcautionwasbasedonmanyprior casesofseeingpeoplerunredlights.Myexperiencewasquiteuseful. Now,ofcourse,wewantyoungdriverstohaveenoughexperiencesthat theycouldmakesimilarjudgments.Weallknowthatdriversaremuchmore cautiousafteranaccident.Wehopethatourteenagewillnotneedtohave anaccidentornearaccidentinordertoacquirereasonablejudgment,but weknowthatthisisunlikelytobethecase.Wejusthopetheywon'tget hurtastheylearn. So,theyarelearningcases,butwhatelsearetheylearning?Ofcourse, theyarelearninghowforcefullytopressthebreak,howtoaccelerate intheproperway,howtostopatastopsign,howtoenterahighway, howtoturnthewheel,andothermundanethingsthatexperienceddrivers neverthinkaboutandhavedifficultyarticulatingwhenattemptingtoteach theirteenagechildren.Itisactuallyquitehardtosayhowtopressthe brake.Wecantry,butallwehavearewordsandtheseareasuselesshere astheyareindescribinghowtunasushiisdifferentfromyellowtail.   WhatWeLearnWhenWeLearnbyDoing Inabookthatlaidouttheprimacyofgoalsincomprehension(Schankand Abelson,1977),anideathatwascriticaltounderstandinghowhumansdecide whattodoandunderstandwhatothersdowasdevelopedinsomedetail. Iamreferringtotheconceptofscripts.Simplyspeaking,scriptswere intendedtoaccountforthehumanabilitytounderstandmorethanwasbeing referredtoexplicitlyinasentencebyexplainingtheorganizationof implicitknowledgeoftheworldthatoneinhabits.Thus,whenJohnorders sushi,weassumethatheisinaJapaneserestaurant;weknowhemight beseatedatasushibar;weknowthatheisprobablyusingchopsticks andnotafork;and,wecanevenassumethatheisdrinkingJapanesebeer. Weassumethesethingsbecauseweknowthesushibarscript.Ifwedonot knowthisscript,wecannotmakesuchassumptionsandthusmighthavedifficulty understandingvarioussentencesthatrefertothingswemightbeassumed toknow. Scriptsenablepeopletounderstandsentencesthatarelessthancomplete inwhattheyreferto.Whenwehear"Johnorderedsushibuthedidn'tlike it"weknowthatthissentenceisreferringtoeatingandtoJohn'sreaction toatypeoftastesensationthathehasneverhadbefore.Weknowthis becauseofwhatweknowaboutrestaurants(therestaurantscript)andbecause ofwhatweknowaboutasmallspecificationoftherestaurantscript,namely "sushitasting."Whenwehearthat"JohnflewtoNewYork,buthewasvery unhappywiththemeal"wenowmustinvoketheairplanescripttounderstand it.WedonotimagineheflappedhisarmstogettoNewYork,northat hewasinaflyingrestaurant.Wecanexplainwhathappenedtohimbysaying "well,airlinefoodisn'tverygood"becauseweknowthedetailsofthe airplanescriptandthosedetailsincludethatkindofinformation. Howdowecometoknowsuchscripts?Theanswertothisisverysimple. Welearnthem.Welearnthembypracticingthemoverandover.Wecanlearn themaschildren,bybeingtakentoarestaurantmanytimesandgradually learningeachstepoftherestaurantscript.Wecanlearnthemthrough expectationfailurebyseeinganaspectofascriptfailtobetrue(chopsticks insteadofforks,forexample)andexplainingthedifferencetoourselves, creatinganewOrientalrestaurantaddendumtothatportionoftheeveryday restaurantscript.And,wecanlearnthemasadults,by,forexample,going onourfirstairplaneride,tryingtounderstanditsscriptandgradually modifyingourunderstandingwitheachsubsequenttrip. Itisthislastaspectofthelearningprocessthatismostimportant foreducation.Whenwegoonanairplanetripforthefirsttime,orindeed, whenwedoanythingforthefirsttime,wearehighlydependentuponfinding areminding,thatis,findingsomepriorexperiencethatwillhelpusunderstand thecurrentsituation.Remindingistheprocessbywhichcasebasedreasoning takesplace.Whenweattempttounderstandanything,wedosobyattempting tofindsomethinginourmemoriesthatlookssufficientlylikeitsoas tobehelpfulinprocessing.Theremindingprocessallowsustolearnby causingustoconstantlycomparenewexperiencestooldones,enabling ustomakegeneralizationsfromtheconjunctionofthetwoexperiences. Now,oneoftwothingshappensduringthiscomparisonprocess.Either werealizethatthenewexperienceissignificantlydifferentfromthe onethatwehavecompareditto,orwerealizethatitisreallyverymuch likeit.(Iwillignoregray,inbetween,caseshere.)Whenanewexperience isfoundtobedifferentfromourpriorclosestmemory,wemustcreate anewcaseforit.Wecanuseourpriorknowledgeoftrainstohelpus outonourfirstairplaneride,butwesoonrealizethatwhilethecomparison mayhavebeenhelpfulforinitialprocessing,airplanesarecasesoftheir own.Wecanindexairplanesintermsoftrains,buteventuallywewill treatthemasanewthingentirely. Wemaynotknowtodothisinitially,ofcourse.Howcanweknowon oneairplaneridenottotreatitasaspecializationoftraintravel? Butonourtenthairplaneride,wewillceasetoneedthatcomparison. Instead,intryingtocompareeachairplaneridetoeachother,wewill havecreatedanairplanescriptthatpredictswhatairplaneridesarelike ingeneral,includinginformationthatstatesthatoneshouldnotexpect muchofameal.Thisis,ofcourse,theotheraspectofthecomparison process.Findinganewexperiencetobealotlikeanoldexperienceallows ustobuildthescript. So,weeitherusenewcasesasnewmaterialtoaddtoourlibraryof casesorweusenewcasestohelpbuildupourdetailedscriptknowledge. Wecan,ofcourse,decidethatournewcaseisofnointerestwhatever becauseitisexactlywhatwehaveexperiencedmanytimesbefore.Inthat instance,nolearningoccursatall.Weshallconsiderfurtherthesignificance ofnewcaseacquisitionwithinthelearningbydoingcontextlateron. Now,weneedtodiscussfurtherthesignificanceofscriptsinlearning bydoing. InSchankandAbelson(1977),scriptsweredescribedasverylargestructures thatcoveredwholeexperiences.Therestaurantscript,theairplanescript, thehospitalvisitscript,andeventhecaraccidentscriptwerediscussed andaretypicaloftheextenttowhichwebelievedthatscript-based,that isroutinized,behaviordominatedtheperformanceofactorsinthesescripts andalsoaccountedforourabilitytounderstandeventsthattakeplace withinthecontextofthesescripts. InSchank(1982),IrecognizedthatwhatIwascallingscriptswere structuresthatencompassedsimilaraspectsandthattheindependenceof thesestructuresinmemorywouldnotaccountforthefactthatlearning couldtakeplaceacrosssuchstructures.Thus,forexample,onemightpay forarestaurantmeal,anairplaneticket,andahospitalvisitinmuch thesameway,thatis,bygoingtoapersonseatedbehindadesk,presenting acreditcard,signingandtakingthereceipt.Ofcoursetherearedifferences inpayingineachsituation,soonecouldarguethathumanmemorywould wanttotreattheseascompletelydifferententities,butthisisunlikely. Itisunlikelybecause,ifonefoundthatonehadmisunderstoodhowto signthecreditcardreceiptinonesituation,learninghowtodoitproperly inthenextsituationwouldbegeneralizedacrossallthesituationsby areasonableperson. Therecognitionthatmemorywasmadeupofindependentscenessuchas "paying"thatcouldbeassembledinmemorybylargermemorystructures madeclearthatentitiessuchasrestaurantservedmoreasmemoryorganization packets(MOPs).Thus,theMOPrestaurantincludedscenessuchas"paying" or"ordering"or"beingseated,"which,withtheexceptionofsomeofthe variablescontainedintherestaurant'sversionof"paying"or"ordering" werenotsubstantiallydifferentfromMOPtoMOP.Itthusbecameclear thatscenesweremajormemoryitems,thatsceneswere"colored"bydifferent MOPsindifferentways,andthatMOPscollectedtogethervariousscenes inparticularorders. Whilethedetailsofallthismaynotbeimportantforourpurposes here,certainaspectsareverysignificantforunderstandinghowlearning works.Learningcan,ofcourse,takeplaceinanymemorystructure.Memory structuresare,bytheirverynature,meanttobealterable.However,when welearnaboutsomethingthattakesplaceinarestaurant,weneedtoknow whetherwhatwelearnedisaboutrestaurantsperse(andthusweneedto altertherestaurantMOP),oraboutsomeaspectofrestaurantsthathas significancebeyondrestaurantssuchas"paying"(inwhichcaseweneed toalterwhatweknowaboutascene),orsomethingthatjusthappenedto occurinarestaurantandhasnothingtodowiththeMOPorsceneinwhich itoccurred(sowemustalterwhatweknowaboutsomemoreabstractMOP, suchasembarrassmentorromance,thatmighthavebeenoperatingatthe sametimeinthesameplace). Whathashappenedtoscriptsinallthis?Actually,theyarestillthere. Therearemanyhighlyroutinizedpackagesofeventsthatarequitespecific withoutanyparticularapplicationbeyondtheirimmediatepurpose.InSchank (1982)wesaidthatscenespackagedscripts,thatis,onescenemightcontain manysmallscripts.Thedifferencebetweenmyuseofthetermin1977and in1982wasoneofscope.A1982versionofscriptmightbelooking atthemenu,puttingketchuponthehamburger,brushingone'steeth,or parkingthecar.Thesescriptsseemed,unfortunately,nottobeveryinteresting. Furtheritwaseasytoforgetthenewuseofthetermandpeoplewhoused thetermscriptcontinuedtothinkofthe1977variety.Thismattersa greatdealasweshallsee.So,Iwouldnowliketorenamethe1982scripts, callingthemmicro-scripts,thusmakingclearthesmallnessoftheirscope. Thereasonwhyallthismattersisthattheobjectoflearninginlearning bydoingistheacquisitionofmicro-scripts.Theskillstowhichwerefer whenweaskaboutpeople'sabilitiesalmostalwaysrefertomicro-scripts. Letmeexplain. Ourabilitiesareboundupinmicro-scripts.Whenwesayweknowhow todosomething,weareoftenreferringtooneormoremicro-scriptsthat wehaveacquiredovertheyears.Thesemicro-scriptsareoftenquiteunconscious. Wecannoteasilydescribewhatweknowtosomeonewhodoesn'thavethe rightmicro-script.Theyoftenconsistofverylow-levelskillsthatwe havepracticedmanytimesovertheyears.Animportantpointhereisthat thispracticealmostnevertakesplaceforitsownsake.Wepracticemicro-scripts solelybecauseweareconstantlypursuingthesamegoalagainandagain. Weneveruseamicro-scriptexceptinserviceofagoal. Twogoodexamplesofamicro-scriptare"settingupaVCRfortaping" or"sendingelectronicmail."Iknowhowtodobothofthesethings.Many peopledonot.Ihavehadtolearneachmanydifferenttimes.Inthe25 yearsthatelectronicmailhasexisted,Ihavehadtouseprobablyten differentsystems.AlthoughIwastoldhowtouseeach,Irarelyremembered whatwassaidlongenoughtotryitout.Whensomeonewatchedovermyshoulder asIdidit,Icoulddoit,butthenIwouldforgetbythenexttry.In short,Ilearnedhowtouseelectronicmailbyusingit.Iamquiteadept atthetwosystemsInowuse,althoughIprobablydon'tknowallthefeatures ofeither.Nevertheless,ifyouaskedifIhadtheskillofusingthese twosystems,theanswerisclearly"yes."ItshouldbeobviousthatIhave nointerestinhowthesesystemsworkinanyway.Idohaveinterestin sendingandreceivingmail,however.Thegoalofsendingandreceiving mailcausedmetotrythesystemsuntilIgotgoodatthem.Thesetrials wereheldinthecourseofuse,notasoutsidepractice.Toputitsimply, Ilearnedthee-mailmicro-scriptbydoingthee-mailmicro-script--this islearningbydoing. AmorecommonexampleistheuseoftheVCR.Igotoneofthefirst VCRs,andhavehadmaybetenofthemovertheyearsforvariousreasons. Theyallhavedifferentwaysofsettinguparecording,andIcanoperate allofthem.Ifindthemannoyingtouse,butIliketorecordandwatch movies,soIhavelearnedeachsystem.IfIamawayfromanyofthemfor verylong,Itendtoforgethowtheyoperate.Iknowsomegenericstuff abouthowtheyworkandthiscanhelpmere-learnwhatIneedtoknow. ButwhenIhaverelearnedthemicro-scriptIcannotdoitquiteefficiently. Micro-scriptstendtodecayinmemoryiftheyarenotused.Butstill, youcouldsaythatIhavetheskillofrecordingonmyVCRs.Ihavelearned thoseskillsbydoingthem. Iammentioningallthisforasimplereason.Educationoughttobe, inprinciple,aboutlearningcasesandmicro-scripts.Wewantstudents toknowtheexceptionalcasesfromwhichtheycanlearnandmakejudgments ontheirownaboutnewsituations.Andwewantstudentstoknowhowto dothings,tohavesetsofskills.Butwhenwetalkabouttheskillswe wantstudentstohave,weoftengetconfusedbywhatwemeanbytheterm, talkingaboutwhatwewantstudentstoknow,orhowwewantstudentsto comportthemselvesandnotaboutwhatwewantthemtodo. Studentsneedtoacquiremicro-scriptssothattheycanperformthe actionscontainedinthem.However,micro-scriptsare,almostbydefinition, verydull.Teachingthemasobjectsinthemselves,asthingstobelearned independentofwhatknowingthemcandoforyou,isverydifficulttodo. Ontheotherhand,studentswilleasilyacquiremicro-scriptsiftheyare acquiredinthenaturalcourseofthepursuitofagoalthatisofinterest tothestudent.Micro-scriptsmustbetaughtintheserviceofagoal, ortoputthismoreclearly,theyoughtnotbetaughtatall.Theyneed tobelearnednaturallyinthecourseofthepursuitofagoal.Thisis whatlearningbydoingisallabout.   HowtoDoIt:SkillsasMicro-scripts Aproperteachingenvironmentshouldcontainalltheskillsthatthecurriculum designerwantedtoteach,andthenputthemintosomenaturalsituation aroundwhichasetofactionsculminatinginadesiredconclusioncanbe constructed.Wecancallsuchasetofactionsascenario.Agoal-based scenario(GBS)allowsastudenttoplayoneormorerolesinasingleor groupsituationthatculminatesintheaccomplishmentofsomegoal.That goalshouldbereadilyidentifiableandseemrealtothestudent.Thegoal canactuallybereal(likedrivingorrepairingacar)oronlybeplay-acting (likerunningasimulatedcompanyandattemptingtobeatthecompetition.) Ineithercase,thestudentmustcareaboutachievingthegoalinorder forthescenariotohaveanyeducationalvalue.Thescenarioscantake aslongasthedesignerswantthemto,fromadaytoayear.Theycanbe builtinsoftwareorpartiallyinstructorled,orcompletelypaper-based. Caselibrariesareanimportantpartofsuchascenario.Whenastudent hasdifficultiesinachievingsubgoalsonthewaytothemaingoalofthe scenario,ateacher,whetherrealorelectronic,needstointervene.Such interventionisoftenintermsofacase,relatedasawell-toldstory, presentedtothestudentimmediatelyafteraproblemisencounteredand thestudentindicatestheneedforhelp.Suchcase-basedinterventioncan beinsoftware,invideo,oronpaper. Thecurriculumredesignprocessbeginswithanunderstandingofwhat skillsaretobelearned.Assessingwhatisaskillandwhatisnotaskill iscriticaltothisprocess.Forthisreason,understandingskillsasmicro-scripts isquiteimportant.Itisalltooeasytoseeanythingandeverythingas askill.Certainly,reading,mathematics,management,andgettingalong withpeopleareoftentalkedaboutasbeingskills.Buttheyarecertainly notmicro-scripts.Theymaybecomprisedofmanymicro-scripts--certainly thisisthecaseforreadingandmathematics.And,indeed,theremaywell bemicro-scriptsformanagementandgettingalongwithpeople.Butidentifying preciselyofwhatactionssuchmicro-scriptsarecomprisedcanbequite difficult.Itis,infact,partoftheartofthecurriculumdesignprocess todeterminewhatexactlyitisthatpeopleknowwhentheyarereputed tohaveaskillsuchthatthemicro-scriptsthatcomprisesuchaskill canactuallybepracticed. Therearethreebroadclassesofmicro-scripts.Lookingatmicro-scripts accordingtothisclassificationcanhelpusunderstandmoreaboutthem. Theseclassesarecognitive,perceptual,andphysical. Theexampleswehaveusedsofarhavebeenprimarilycognitivemicro-scripts. Cognitivemicro-scriptsnaturallyhaveaphysicalcomponent(iftheydidn't nothingwouldeverhappen).Thus,theVCRmicro-scriptismostlyaprescription aboutwhattodoinacognitivesense,thephysicalaspectbeingnomore thanbuttonpushing.Theskillofbuttonpushingisnotaparticularly interestingone,norisitthedifficultythatwould-beVCRprogrammers encounterthatmakesthemincapableofgettingtherightprogramtaped attherighttime.Thedifficultiestheyencounterarecognitive,inknowing whichbuttontopushwhen,notinknowinghowtopushthebutton.Similarly, thee-mailmicro-scriptinvolvesonlymouseclicksandkeyboardstrokes atthephysicallevel.Allcognitivemicro-scriptshaveaphysicalcomponent, althoughthatphysicalcomponentisquiteoftenratheruninterestingand theknowledgeofhowtodoitquiteindependentofthemicro-scriptin question. Purelyphysicalmicro-scriptsdoindeedoccur--typingandbuttonpushing onaremotecontroldevicebeingtwoofthem,forexample.Moreinteresting onesarebicycleriding,brakepedalpushingonacar,ortoothbrushing. Perceptualmicro-scriptsinvolvetherecognitionofthings,suchas recognizingindividualpeople,noticingdangeroussituations,ortheperceptual partofhittingabaseball. Whenwesaythatsomeonehasaskillinthesenseofskillthatisappropriate here,wemeanthathehasamicro-scriptthatmightinvolveaprimarycognitive micro-scriptandsomephysicalandperceptualonesaswell.Thisdistinction isnotthatimportanthereandweshallusethetermmicro-scripttorefer toamentalentitywhichmightactuallyinvolveamixofallthreetypes ofmicro-scripts.Thusthefollowingdefinitionsapply: Acognitivemicro-scriptreferstoknowledgeaboutuse.This knowledgeisusuallyconsciouslyavailable.Thatis,apersoninpossession ofthatknowledgecantalkaboutit.Ifthesentence"Johnknowshowto useX"makessenseforagivenXthenXisacognitivemicro-script. Aphysicalmicro-scriptreferstoknowledgeaboutoperations. Thisknowledgeisnotusuallyconsciouslyavailable.Thatis,aperson inpossessionofaphysicalmicro-scriptmaynotbeabletotalkabout it.Ifthesentence"JohnknowshowtooperateanX"makessensefora givenXthenXisaphysicalmicro-script. Aperceptualmicro-scriptreferstoknowledgeaboutobservations. Thisknowledgeisnotusuallyconsciouslyavailable.Apersoninpossession ofaperceptualmicro-scriptmaynotbeabletotalkaboutit.Ifthesentence "JohnknowshowtorecognizeanX"makessenseforagivenXthenXis aperceptualmicro-script. Aswenotedabove,wearereferringtowhatiscommonlymeantbyskills. Theproblemwiththisword,andwhywefeeltheneedtoavoidit,isthat thewordhasnocleardefinition--nearlyanythingcanbeaskill.We cansay,forexample,thatsomeoneisaskillednegotiatororisskilled atcooking.Whenwetalkaboutskills,weareoftenreferringtowhatwe believeaperson"knowshowtodo."Unfortunately,thiscanmeanjustabout anythingatall.Anyhumanactionorcapabilitycanbereferredtoasa skill,sothewordoffersusverylittletogowithifwewanttoteach skills.Weareleftinthepositionofsayingthatwewanttoteachjust aboutanything. Whatexactlyistheproblemhere?Whyshouldn'tmemorizingalistof biologicalterminologybeaskill,forexample?Byanydefinition,itwould beaskill,ofcourse,sinceonecouldrequireitofstudents,somewould bebetterthanothers,andwecouldsaythattheyweremoreskilledin biologyandgivethemabetterscoreonanexamthanthosewhowereless skilled.Butlookedatintermsofmicro-scripts,itbecomesclearthat theskillinvolvedisacognitivemicro-scriptinvolvingmemorization. Ifwewantedtoteachthismicro-script,wewouldhavetoteachsomeone howtomemorize,sothattheybecamegoodatmemorizationratherthanbecoming goodatbiology. Oneproblemwiththeword"skill"isthatwecansay"Johnknowshow todomathematics"or"Johnknowshowtodobiology"andstillfeelcomfortable thatwearetalkingaboutskillsbecausewearetalkingaboutknowinghow todosomething.Theillusionisthatmathematicsorbiologyareakind ofthingonecanlearntodo.Wemightexpectouremployeestoknowhow todosystemsinstallationortomanageotheremployees,forexample.But, althoughthesemayseemlikeskills,ineachcasetheyarereallycollections ofalargenumberofmicro-scripts.Thisbecomesclearwhenonethinks aboutteachingsomeonetodoanyofthesethings. Youcan'tteachstudentstodobiology,butyoucanteachthemtodissect afrog(aphysicalmicro-script),orrelatedietcomponentstobiological functions(acognitivemicro-script),orinterpretchemicalequations(a perceptualmicro-script).Infact,eventhesemicro-scriptsarelikely tomadeupofmanysmallermicro-scripts(suchasknifehandling). Similarly,youcan'tteachsomeonetodomathematics,butyoucanteach themaddition(herechangingacognitivemicro-scriptintoaperceptual oneovertime),orhowtoproveatheoreminplanegeometry. Inbusiness,thismeanswehavetostopthinkingaboutteachingmanagement techniques,orcommunicationmethods.Why?Becausethesearenotmicro-scripts. Theytendtobetaughtthewayhighschoolbiologyistaught,asfacts tobememorized,whichasIhavesaid,isonlyrelevanttoteachifmemorization isthemicro-scriptyouwantstudentstomaster.Butifwewantstudents togetgoodatmanagingorcommunicatingwehavetodosomethingelse. Thereisanimportantdifferencebetweenaskillthatisteachableand askillsetthatis,byitself,notteachable.Whateverdoingbiologyor managingemployeesmightbe,thesethingscannotbeonlyoneskill.They arecollectionsofvarious,possiblyquiteunrelated,micro-scripts.If weconfusemicro-scriptstobelearnedwithsimpleheadingsthatwehave usedtodescribeskillsets,wewillcausethecourseswedesigntolose theirfocus. Recognizingtheskillsettowhichamicro-scriptnaturallybelongs iscriticaltocurriculumredesign.Ifonedidneedtolearnsometype ofcalculationtolearntodobiology,forexample,twoverydifferent waystoapproachthisproblemexist.Wecouldseparatetheseskillsets intraditionalways,requiringacourseinmathematicspriortobiology, forexample.Thisisprettymuchwhatschoolsdotodayandithasdisastrous consequences. Thefirstproblemwiththismethodisthatbygroupingtheseskills separatelywerisklosingthestudent'sinterest.Bymakingabiologystudent takechemistryorcalculusweriskkillingoffabuddingbiologistbymaking himfocusonsubjectsthatmaynotinteresthimandatwhichhemaynot havemuchtalent.Asecondriskisthatmuchofwhatelseistaughtin suchprerequisitesmaynotbeatallgermanetotheneedsofthebiology student.Whatmakesupacoherentcourseinmathematicsislikelytobe determinedbysomeonewhohasanagendaotherthanhelpingthebiology studentbeagoodbiologist.Finally,asaconsequenceofthis,theaspects ofmathematicsmostofinteresttoabiologistmightbelittledweltupon bythemathematician.Infact,abiologistislikelytobetherealexpert whenitcomestothemathematicsheusesonadailybasis.Themathematician ismorelikelytounderstand,andthereforeteach,thetheorybehindthe necessarymathematicsratherthanthepracticeofsuchmathematics. Thisproblemisevenmorecriticalintherelationshipbetweenacademic psychologyandhumanresourcemanagement.Itisallwellandgoodtopropose thatpsychologymajorsaregoodprospectsforbeinghumanresourcesspecialists. Butiftheyaregoodprospects,itcanonlybebecauseoftheirinherent interestinthesubject,notbecauseofwhatistaughtinpsychologycourses. Inthepopularimage,psychologymajorshavelearnedabouthowtogetalong withpeopleandunderstandhumanrelations.Inreality,psychologymajors havelearnedhowtobeminiatureacademicpsychologists.Theyhavelearned howtorunanexperiment,howtodotherelevantstatisticalanalyses, andhowtoappreciatethevarioussub-specialtiesinacademicpsychology, noneofwhichhavemuchtowithhowtounderstandorgetalongwithpeople better. Whatshouldbedoneistobreakdowntraditionalacademiclinesand teachmicro-scriptsonanasneededbasis.Doingthisallowsforthecreation ofgoal-basedscenariosthatentailthelearningofmanydifferentand oftenunrelatedmicro-scriptsinthepursuitofagoal.Toputthisanother way,amicro-scriptissomethingthatfitsintothefollowingsituation:   a1:IneedJohntodoX b1:Johndoesn'tknowhowtodoX a2:Well,thenteachhimhowtodoX b2:That'seasiersaidthandone;learningtodoXrequiresexperience Partofthepointhereisthat,inbusinessespecially,onewouldn'thave theabovedialoguewhereXis"humanresourcemanagement."Inthatcase, a1andb1makelittlesense.Xmightbe"tofiresomebody,"however.In thatcasesuchadialoguemightmakesense.Further,italsomakessense thatonecan'tlearntofiresomebodyexceptbyfiringsomebody.Thisis thebestwaytospotamicro-script.Ifonecan'tlearntodoitwithout actuallydoingitinpractice,itisn'tamicro-script.Whatthissuggests, ofcourse,isthatthebestwaytoteachamicro-scriptisinpractice situations.Ifonewantedtoteach"firingsomeone,"practicescenarios wouldbeconstructedinwhichsuchtalentscouldbelearned,andexperiences couldbegainedbeforeonetrieditoutforreal. Lookedatthisway,biologyisnotamicro-script,butdissectinga frogproperlyis.Physicsisnotamicro-script,butperformingacalculation neededinaphysicsexperimentis.Managingpeopleisnotamicro-script, butmakingsurethatajobisdoneontimeandwithinabudgetis.Writing areportisasetofmicro-scripts.Computerprogrammingiscomposedof manymicro-scripts(learninghowtodoaloop,forexample,isamicro-script, asiswritingthatloopinC).Readingafinancialreportinvolvesamultiplicity ofmicro-scripts.Playingamusicalinstrumentinvolvesmultiplemicro-scripts. Inshort,ifonehastolearntodosomething,anditisrelativelyeasy foranexperttotellwhetherornotonehasdoneitproperly,thenwe aretalkingaboutamicro-scriptoranaturalgroupingofmicro-scripts. Confusionariseswhenwetalkaboutmajorjobclassificationsasif theyareskills,wheninfacttheycomprisenumerousmicro-scriptsthat areoftenquitedifficulttodefine.Forexample,beingthepresidentof alargecompanycouldbetalkedaboutasifitwereaskill.Uponcloser examination,however,itisclearthatsuchajobmustbecomprisedof manydifferentmicro-scripts.Itisdeterminingwhichonesexactlymake upsuchajobthatgetseveryoneconfused.Acompanypresidentoughtto beabletotalktothepress,makehisboardofdirectorsseehispoint ofview,getthemosteffortoutofhisimmediatesubordinates,andso on.Someofthesemaybemicro-scriptslearnedonthejob,micro-scripts learnedatothertimesbutappliedinanewplace,orbrandnewactions, takenforthefirsttime,inventedbytheuser,whichwilleventuallybecome micro-scriptsiftheycontinuetobeofuse. Whenweattempttodeterminewheretheneededmicro-scriptslie,we maywelldiscoverthatnotonlyisthisadifficulttaskbecauseofthe normalEnglishlanguageuseoftheterm"skill,"butitisalsodifficult becauseofthewayinwhichcourseshavetraditionallybeentaught.We arequiteusedtocoursesinbiology,oreconomics,orhistory,orpsychology. Sincethecontentofthesecoursesisrarelylookedatfromamicro-script-related pointofview,theirdefinitionisusuallyquitemicro-scriptindependent. Courses,afterall,usuallyinvolveanumberofissuesthathavenothing todowithmicro-scriptsatall. First,coursesalmostalwaysinvolvegrades.Thisoftenmeanstests withquantifiablemeasures,whichmoreoftenmeansmeasuresofvocabulary (oftencalledconcepts)ratherthanmeasuresofactualachievements.Sometimes, testswilltestmicro-scripts.(Thisfrequentlyhappensinmathematics, forexample).Butmostofthetimetestsareorientedtowardsgettinga studenttoreiteratetheteacher'spointofview,whichisnotamicro-script (exceptinakindofpervertedviewoftheterm). Second,coursestendtotrytomakethestudentintoakindofmini-scholar ofthefieldinquestion.Teachersareafraidthattheirstudentswill havebeeninanEnglishliteraturecourseandnothavereadDickens,or havebeeninaphilosophycourseandnotknowPlato,orinaneconomics courseandnotknowMalthus.Thus,mostcourseshaveaseriousbenttowards historyofaparticularfield.Thiscomesattheexpenseoftimespent onmicro-scripts,thatis,howtoactuallydoanythingisignored,and, moreimportant,tendstoshiftthefocustowardsscholarship.Suchashift towardsscholarshipmeansthatcourseswillhaveaheavyemphasisonfacts. (The"literacylistsofthefield"arebighere.)So,knowingwhataparticular scholarsaidandbeingabletoreconcilehisviewwithparticularconditions orwiththeviewsofanopposingscholarbecomethemeatofsuchcourses andoftheteststhatprovidethegradesforsuchcourses. Theemphasisbecomesoneofreadingaboutasubject(andbeing abletoargueinascholarlywayaboutthatsubject)ratherthandoing thatsubject.Thus,philosophycoursesdon'taskthestudentsto"dophilosophy" buttoreadaboutthosewhohavedonephilosophy.Inthecaseofphilosophy thismaynotseemsobad.Therehavebeengreatphilosophers,theworld doesnotchangeallthatmuchinthereallyimportantissues,andanargument couldbemadethatalltheimportantthingshavebeensaidalready.Even so,themicro-scriptsofphilosophy,whichItaketobeoriginalreasoned thoughtandargument,areonlyperipherallytaughtiftheyaretaughtat all. Butmattersbecomemuchworsewhenthecoursesunderdiscussionare infieldswherethegreatthoughtshaveclearlynotallbeenthoughtand wheremuchremainstobelearned.Twofieldsthatcometomindareeconomics andpsychology.Studentsareaskedtoreadthegreatworksbutnottodo muchofanythingexpectspitbackwhattheyhaveread.Theargumentis thattheyshouldbelearningto"doeconomics"orto"dopsychology"but itisnotatallclearwhatthismightmean.Thefactthatthisisnot clearispartoftheproblem. Ofcourse,onecanbecynicalaboutsuchfieldsandsaytheycontain nomicro-scriptstobetaught.Butpeopleengagedinsuchworkdoemploy anumberofmicro-scripts,althoughtheyareoftenassociatedwithother subjectareas,suchasstatistics.Theproblemistwofold.First,just becausepractitionerscandogoodworkintheirfieldisnoreasontosuppose thattheyunderstandhowtheydowhattheydowellenoughtobeableto teachthemicro-scriptsthattheyhave.Second,eveniftheydidknowhow toteachthosemicro-scripts,itwouldstillbereasonabletoaskifthat micro-scriptisworthlearningforthestudentwhoonlywantstotakeone ortwocoursesinpsychologyoreconomics.Afterall,wouldn'tthestudents bebetteroffwithasurveyofworkinthefieldwithoutattemptingto teachthemmicro-scriptsthattakeaverylongtimetolearnandwhich theymayneveruse? This,then,istheessenceoftheargument.Ineducationingeneral, thereisachoicebetweenasurveyofpastworksinafield,orlearning howtobeapractitionerinthatfield.Myargumentissimple.Surveycourses tendtoteachtothetest,emphasizethepointofviewoftheinstructor, leavestudentsyearslaterwithverylittlememoryofwhattheyhadlearned inordertopassthetest,andaregenerallyawasteoftime. Micro-scriptsontheotherhandaretestableinsimpleways,arenot biasedtowardstheteacher'spointofview,remainwithstudentsfora verylongtime,andprovideaframeworkintowhichtheworkofthegreat mastersofthatskillcanbestbeappreciated.Further,andthisisthe mainpoint,masteryofmicro-scriptsbuildsconfidence,ismuchmoreeasily motivatedinschool,andtheprocesstendstogetstudentstothinkabout whattheyaredoing. Asanexample,let'sconsidermusicaleducation.Theargumenthereis thatmusicaleducationoughttobeginwithlearningtoplayaninstrument andthat,afterthemanymicro-scriptsrelevanttoaninstrumenthavebeen learned,studentswillbebetterabletoappreciatetheworkofmusicians whohavegonebeforethem.Bythesamereasoning,ifwewantstudentsto understandmusictheory,theyshouldhavetocreatesomemusicfirst. Nowthismaynotseemlikesucharadicalidea,sincemanymusicschools doexactlythis.Butsuchapointisoftendevaluedaswegettohigher education,wheremusicscholarsareoftenclearlydifferentiatedfrommusicians, anditistheformerwhoteachthecourses.Further,highschoolcourses, andevenelementaryschoolcourses,oftenperpetuatethebiasesofuniversity levelmusicprofessors,thuscreatingnon-learning-by-doingcoursesin asubjectareawherethesetofmicro-scriptsareaseasilydefinableas iseverpossible. Manyelementaryschoolsaresmarterthanthisandteachkidstoplay anyway.Thesameisnottrue,unfortunately,insubjectsconsideredmore centraltoachild'seducation.Wedon'tletchildrenjustdophysics. Infact,wehardlyevenknowwhatthatmeans.Wedoletstudentsdomath, becauseweknowwhatthatmeans,butwelosetrackofwhywearedoing it.Onereason,Isuspect,isthatschoolsreallyliketoteachmicro-scripts whentheycanidentifythem.Theyareeasytomeasureandthusfitwell intoourtestorientedsociety. Butwhathappenswhenamicro-scriptishardtoidentify?Weknowwe wantstudentstobeabletoreadandunderstand,butitisn'tallthat easytotellwhenstudentsactuallyhavetherequisitemicro-scriptsto doso,especiallywhenthematerialtheyarereadingdoesn'tinterestthem. Butitiseasytotellifastudentcansolveaquadraticequation,and itisacognitivemicro-script,soschoolsemphasizemathematics.Thepoint isthatwhileidentifyingrelevantmicro-scriptsisindeeddifficult,one shouldbewaryofteachinganymicro-scriptonecanidentifyjustbecause itisinfactsomethingeasytoteach.Weneedtoteachmicro-scripts, buttheymustberelevantmicro-scripts.Thismeansknowingtheanswer towhatonecandowiththatmicro-script.Thethingsthatonecandowith algebraarefartoolimitedforanyonetojustifyteachingitforpractical reasons,soitisusuallyjustifiedasawaytoteachreasoning(although theremightbebettermeansavailablefordoingso).Itisagoodidea, therefore,toknowwhatmicro-scriptsoneneedsforwhatrealpurposebefore onegoesaboutdesigningacurriculum.   TheIdeaofCurriculum Schoolsarefullofcurricula,thatis,agreeduponsetsofcoursesthat constitutewhatthedesignersofcurriculafeelthattheirstudentsmust learntobe"qualified"inagivensubject.TheFrenchcurriculumcovers certainaspectsofFrenchlanguage,culture,andhistoryasdeemedappropriate bythedesignersofthatcurriculum.Themathematicscurriculumcovers certainmaterialinthethirdgrade,certainpartsofgeometryinhigh schoolandsoon.Whencollegessaytheyrequirefouryearsofmathematics, theymeanthattheyrequirestudyincertainparticularaspectsofmathematics, tobestudiedoverthecourseofacertainnumberofyears,withcertain testsattheend.Thereissomevariationinthesecurriculafromschool toschool,ofcourse,butnotallthatmuch,especiallywhenastandardized testloomsattheend. Theideaofacurriculumisthataschoolhastheright,indeedthe obligation,tosaywhatshouldbelearnedaboutagivensubject.Andtherein liestherub.Thereisaseriousproblemwiththeideaofacurriculum. Fromtheargumentssofarstated,weknowthatacurriculumoughtto benomorethanacollectionofmicro-scriptstobeacquired.Becausereal knowledgecomesfromdoing,andmicro-scriptsarewhatareacquiredin doing,thenitfollowsthatanycurriculum,course,orteachingprogram shouldbenomorethan,andnolessthan,asetofexercisesthatallow studentstoacquireamicro-scriptinthenaturalwaythatmicro-scripts areacquired,thatis,bypractice.Ofcourse,thereistheissueofmotivation. Noonewilllearnamicro-script,muchlesspracticeone,unlessthere isrealmotivationtodrivewhatmayberealwork.Takeforexample,the micro-scriptsmentionedearlier,programmingyourVCRandsendinge-mail. Neitheroftheseareintrinsicallyrewardingactivities.Learningtodo themcomesfromtheresultstheybring.Thismeans,toacoursedesigner, thattheresultstheybringneedtobebroughttothefore,servingas realmotivationtoacquirethemicro-script. Underthislight,theideaofcurriculumbecomesveryclear.Micro-scripts enablepeopletodothings.Tomotivateastudenttolearnamicro-script, oneofthreethingsneedstobetrue.Eitherthestudentmustfindthe resultofthemicro-scripttobeintrinsicallyrewarding,orthemicro-script mustbepartofapackageofmicro-scriptswhichareintrinsicallyrewarding, orthemicro-scriptmustenablelearninganothermicro-script. Manymicro-scriptscanbegroupedtogethertoaccomplishagoaleven ifnooneofthemwouldnaturallystandalone.Theclassicrestaurantscript whichIlaterreclassifiedasarestaurantMOP(seeDynamicMemory, Schank,1982)isacollectionofmicro-scripts(suchasorderingorpaying). Drivingacarisacollectionofmicro-scripts(suchasenginestarting, braking,orlanechanging).Playingbaseballisacollectionofmicro-scripts (suchasfieldingagroundballtoyourleft,hittingthecurveball,or sliding).Nooneofthesethingsiseverdoneforitsownsake.Noone feelstheneedtopayarestaurantbillwithoutitssurroundingmicro-scripts havingtakenplace.Noonedecidestoslideintoabase(unlesstheyare practicing)intheabsenceoftheneedto.Nevertheless,allthesethings takepractice,andonecanlearntodothemsothatoneisquiteskilled atvarioussubtletiesthatmightarise. Ihavereferredinotherworkstoorderingandpayingandscenesand saidthatMOPspackagescenes.Oneshouldnotconfusesceneswithmicro-scripts, althoughitisquiteeasytodoso.RememberthatIamusingthetermmicro-script inordertoavoidusingthewiderterm"skill."Bymicro-scriptIdoindeed meanoneaspectofthewordskillanditisthataspectthatisrelevant whenthinkingaboutthedifferencebetweenscenesandmicro-scripts.There isapayingscenewhichhaswithinitapayingmicro-scriptwhichmight benomorethantheskillofknowinghowtofillinthecreditcardslip properly.Thescenehasotherproperties(suchasthepresenceofthewaitress andtheuseofalittleplastictray)thathavenothingtodowiththe micro-scriptatall.Themicro-scriptreferstothesetofactionsone learnsaspartofone'srolewithinascene. Wedonotoftenrefertothesemicro-scriptbythemselves.Whileone mightsaythatoneknowshowtomaketoast,changeatire,orprograma VCR,itislessusualtosaythatyouknowhowtostartacarorpaythe check.Nevertheless,theseareallmicro-scripts.Thesecondcategoryof micro-script,theonethatoneneverbragsabout,ispartofthepackaged micro-scriptsthatonelearnssimplybecauseitispartofthepackage. Thepackageitselfisworthtakingabout.So,onecansaythatoneisgood atplayingbaseballorthatoneisagoodhumanresourcemanager,butthere isnoonemicro-scriptassociatedwiththeseso-calledabilities.Itbecomes obvious,therefore,thattheyarenotabilitiesatall.Rathertheyare namesforpackagesofmicro-scripts,nooneofwhichmaybeworthyofcomment. Nevertheless,eachmicro-script,whetherinapackageornot,hasthe sameproperties.Oneneedstolearnthembypracticingthem.Whenonedecides toteachthem,however,onemustbearinmindtheirimportantdifferences. Theonesthatstandalone,thatareintrinsicallyrewarding,canbetaught bythemselves.OnecanlearntomaketoastorprogramaVCRintheabsence ofanyotheractivityormotivationalissue.Onelearnsittolearnit. Thisissimplynottrueofpackagedmicro-scripts.Aslidinglessonmay befunforsomeonewhoisintrinsicallyrewardedbygettingdirty,but veryfewpeoplewanttotakeacreditcardsigninglesson,andnoonetakes abrakinglessonintheabsenceofanentiredrivinglesson.Micro-scripts thatarepartofpackagesmustbetaughtwithinthecontextofthosepackages. Weshallseewhythismatterslateron. Anothersituationariseswhenmicro-scriptsarelearnedinorderto dosomethingelse.Now,clearlythisistrueofeachmicro-scriptina packagebutitisalsotrueofmicro-scriptsthatarenotinapackage andofthepackagesthemselves.Thatis,onecanlearnamicro-scriptthat isintrinsicallyrewardinginordertolearnanotherthatisalsointrinsically rewarding.Oronecanlearnapackagethathasagoalaspartofalarger packagethataccomplishesadifferentgoal.Theideathatamicro-script isonlyusefulinthatitrelatestoadistantgoalisthecriticalidea inanunderstandingofwhatshouldbemeantbycurriculum. Wemightallagree,forexample,thatbeingabletocalculatesquare footageofanareaisausefulskillthatanyadultmightneed.Schools thereforeassumethatsuchskillsshouldbetaught,buttheyplacesuch instructioninacourseofmathematics.Iamarguingthattheconceptof micro-scriptmakesclearthatthereshouldnotbeanycoursesinmathematics intheearlyyearsofschool.Rather,mathematicsmicro-scripts,ofwhich thecalculationofsquarefootageisone,needtobetaughtinameaningful curriculum.Thereasonthatthismustbesoisthatsquarefootagecalculation isnotintrinsicallyrewarding,norisitapartofapackageofmicro-scripts thatdependuponeachotherlikerestaurantsanddriving.Itisaquite independentmicro-scriptthatnoonewantstolearnforitsownsakeand thuspresentsaseriousmotivationalproblem. Onepossibilityinsuchasituationistoreconsiderwhetheritisin factimportanttolearnthemicro-scriptatall.Butonceonehasdecided thatitisimportant,thecurriculumdesignerwouldneedtofindasituation inwhichthismicro-scriptmustbelearnedinordertoaccomplishanother goalthatisrewarding.Thus,ifthecalculationofsquarefootageisimportant tolearnwemightembedthelearningofitwithintheattempttoplanand buildahouse.Thiscalculationwouldneedtobemademanytimesinasuch asituationandwouldbelearnedinthatway.Ifthissituationisrewarding forthestudentthenthestudentwillindeedlearntherelevantmicro-scripts. If,ontheotherhand,nosituationcanbefoundthatisrewardingfor thestudentthatnaturallycontainsthismicro-scriptitisreasonable toassumethatthismicro-scriptisn'tallthatimportantforthestudent tolearn.Noteverystudentwillmastereverymicro-scriptthatwedetermine heshouldknow. Thesameistrueinbusiness.Ifwedeterminethatreadingafinancial report,apackageofmicro-scripts,isimportanttoknow,wemustfind acontextinwhichthatknowledgematters.Givingthestudentadecision tomakeinwhichthevariousmicro-scriptsinreadingafinancialreport comeintoplaycanmakeallthedifferencebetweenastudentreallyacquiring therelevantmicro-scriptsandhissimplelearningtheminordertopass atest.Onethingisimportanttorememberhere.Itisnotsimplyaquestion offindingthecontextinwhichthemicro-scriptscomeintoplay,they mustcomeintoplayquiteoften.Practiceisaveryimportantpartofmicro-script acquisition.Hereagain,thisdoesnotmeanrepetitionofthesamemicro-script againandagainasisdoneindrillandpracticesituationsinschool. Itdoesmeanfindingrepeatedsituationsinthecurriculuminwhichthe samemicro-scriptisofusesothatthepracticedoesnotseemlikepractice. Ifyouwantsomeonetobecomeagooddriver,theissueisnothavinghim driveincircles,butgivinghimajobwhichrequiresrepeateddriving inanon-artificialway. Theconceptofagoal-basedscenario,then,isthatitisameansby whichmicro-scriptscanbeacquiredwherethemicro-scripts(orpackages ofmicro-scripts)themselvesarenotintrinsicallyrewarding,butwhere thesituationhasbeensetupsuchthateverymicro-scriptisacquired becausethestudentcanseethathewillneedthatmicro-scriptinorder toaccomplishadifferentgoalthatitenables.Thestudent,inthisscheme, mustbeawareoftheprogressionofgoals.Hemustwanttoaccomplishthe goalthatdrivesthescenarioitself,hemustunderstandthesubgoalsthat leadtotheaccomplishmentofthefinalgoal,andhemustunderstandhow eachmicro-scripthelpshimaccomplishthevarioussubgoalsnecessary. Creatingmeaningfulcurriculameanscreatinggoal-basedscenariosthat comprisemicro-scriptsthathavebeendeterminedtobeimportanttolearn.   TheRoleoftheTeacher Indesigningacurriculum,itisimportanttounderstandthattheaimis toprovideenoughrelevantexperiencesthatallowfortheacquisitionof micro-scriptsandforthinkingaboutdifficultiesthatdonotresultin practiced,script-basedsolutions.Further,itisimportanttoprovide someguidancethroughthoseexperiencessothatthestudentcanknowthe difference.Thatis,thestudentneedstoknowwhenmorepracticeisrequired andwhenanexceptionhasoccurredandmorethoughtisrequired.Itis notimportantthatastudentfigureouteverythingforhimself.Ateacher cansuggestnewdatatoconsider,newexperiencestotry,and,whenasked, cananswerquestionsbyprovidingfactsthatcannotbereadilyinferred orattainedthroughrepeatedexperience. Theroleoftheteacheristobeanexposerofknowledge.Learningby doingentailstryingthingsout,formulatinghypothesesandtestingthem. But,astudentcannotdothisinavacuum.Theteachershouldbethere toguideustotherightexperiences.Theteachershouldalsobethere toanswerastudent'squestions,oratleast,tolistentohisquestions andperhapssuggestwaysthathecoulddiscovertheanswerhimself.Curiosity comesfromtryingthingsout,fromfailingonoccasion,fromexplaining why,andfromtryingagain.Thisiswhatanygoalbasedscenariomustentail. Howdoweknow,undersuchascheme,thatthestudentknowsallthat heneedstoknowaboutagivensituation?Wedon't.Butweshouldn'tcare thatmucheither.Agoodteachershouldhaveashisgoalexposinghisstudent toenoughsituationsthatthestudentwillbecomecuriousenoughtotake hislearningintohisownhands.Inotherwords,theroleoftheteacher inagoal-basedscenarioistoopenupinterestingproblemsandprovide toolsforsolvingthemwhenaskedbythestudenttodoso.Theaccomplishment ofthegoalshouldbeitsownreward.Thecurriculummustbeorientedtowards, andsatisfiedwith,theideathatastudentwilllearnwhattheyneedto inordertoaccomplishgoals.Hopefullytheywillhavebecomecuriousand acquiredbothoddballcasesandroutinemicro-scriptsalongtheway. Ifweabandontheideaofeasymeasurementofachievement,thenwecan begintotalkaboutexcitinglearnerswithopen-endedproblemsandwecan begintocreateeducationalgoalssuchaslearningtothinkforoneself. Ofcourse,suchthingsaredifficulttomeasure,butonecannothelpbut feelthatwe'llknowitwhenweseeit.Underthisview,theproblemsof howweteachandhoweducationisdeliveredbecomefarmoreimportantthan onemightinitiallyimagine.Actualcontentmaynotbetheissueatall sincewearereallytryingtoimparttheideathatonecandealwithnew arenasofknowledgeifoneknowshowtolearn,howtofindoutaboutwhat isknown,andhowtoabandonoldideaswhentheyarewornout.Thismeans teachingwaysofdevelopinggoodquestionsratherthangoodanswers. Tounderstandsomethingaboutwhygoal-basedscenariosmatter,let's takeasubjectwhichcouldbetaughtineitherthetraditionalwayorin amorereasonableway,andplaywiththeidea.Considerwine,forinstance. Ihappentoknowsomethingaboutwine,whichisanadultsubject,that is,onenotnormallyformallytaughtexcepttoadultswhohavespecifically requestedsuchtrainingandhavetypicallypaidmoneyforitafterwork. Let'sgotowineschool.Notarealwineschool,butawineschoolwhere theinstructionisdoneinawaysimilartothatdoneintheschoolsor inmanyformaltrainingprograms.Wewouldstartourinstructioninwine byhandingoutfourtexts.Onewouldbeageographytext,teachingabout whereBurgundyisandwherethewinegrowingregionsoftheUnitedStates are,talkingaboutVirginia,NewYork,andTexaswineries,forexample. Thesecondwouldbeanagriculturaltext.Itwouldteachaboutthevarious grapes,wherewhichisgrownandwhy,discussingsoilconditions,climate issues,optimalgrapeprickingtimes,andsoon.Thethirdwouldbeatext aboutthewinemakingprocess.Fermentation,storage,blending,andsuch wouldbeincluded,aswellasadiscussionofthewinebusiness,including whoownswhichchateausandsoon.Thefourthwouldbeahistorytext, answeringsuchquestionsas:WhatkindofwinedidtheRomansdrink?Who inventedthecorkstopper?Howwereissuesofproperstoragediscovered? WhydotheBritishprefertodrinkBordeaux?Whichwinegrowingregions ofFrancewerethereinRomantimes? Afterinstructioninthesevariousareas,wewouldbegintesting.What wasthebestyearforBordeauxinthelast30yearsandwhy?WhoownsChateau Margaux?WhendidMouton-Rothschildachievefirstgrowthstatus?Whatgrapes aregrowninOregonandwhy?WhatwasthefirstFrench-Americanjointventure inwinegrowing?CanyouidentifytheChateauneufduPaperegionofthe Rhonevalleyonamap? Whatiswrongwiththispicture?Nothing,Ithink.Itisthewayschools teachmostsubjects.Schoolsteachinformationthatcanbetested.How willtheyknowifyouhavelearnedanythingiftheycan'ttestyou?So, theymustteachsomethingtestable.Thetestsdrivethecurriculum,and peoplelosesightoftheoriginalpurpose.Noticethatnomicro-script (savethoseofmemorizationorreading)wouldreallybeinvolvedatall insuchacourse.Thegoalsofthestudent,whichpresumablyhadsomething todowithdrinkingratherthantheacquisitionoffacts,wereignored. Ingeneral,Idon'tthinkthatsuchaschoolwouldstayinbusinesslong. Studentswouldvotewiththeirfeet.Ifstudentsinschoolortraining programscouldvotewiththeirfeetintheanalogoussituations,theymost certainlywould. Theschoolthatwouldstayinbusinesswouldnotinvolvelecturesabout wine.Teachingaboutwinemeansdrinkingwine,notmemorizingfactsabout wine.Drinkingwithsomehelpfromsomeonewhoknowsmorethanyoudomeans thatyouwilllearnsomething.Beingabletocompareonewinetoanother, havingmanydifferentexperiencestogeneralizefrom,meansbeingable tocreatenewcases(aparticularlygreatwinewouldberemembered,for example)andnewgeneralizations(seeingacommonpropertythatallwines fromacertainplaceoryearhadincontrasttoothersfromdifferentplaces oryears,forexample). Overtime,alearnerbecomescuriousaboutawiderrangeofissues. Learningentails,amongotherthings,knowingwhatquestionstoask.This meanshavinggottenenoughcasesormicro-scriptsthatonecanbeginto wonderaboutthem,seekingoutnewcasesandrefinementsonmicro-scripts suchthatnewknowledgecanbeacquired.Itisonlyinthiscontextthat theacquisitionoffactsisofanyinterestatall.Toputthisanother way,factscanonlybeacquiredinawaythattheywillbeusefulifthose factsaresoughtafterbythestudentforreasonsofsatisfactionofcuriosity. IttookmealongtimeofwinedrinkingbeforeIbegantowonderabout Rhonewines,ortheBritishpreferenceforBordeaux(theyusedtoownit.) IknowaboutwhenChateauMargauxchangedhandsbecausethequalityhas changeddramatically(downandthenbackup)thelasttwotimesthatthat occurredandIreallylikeChateauMargauxandneedtoknowwhichyears toavoid.IvisitedthefamousChateauMargauxandreallyappreciatedthe placeandthewineItastedthere,butwouldnothaveifIhadn'tliked thewineinthefirstplace.Ashrineisn'tashrineunlessitmeanssomething toyou.IknowwhereBordeauxisnowbecauseIhadtofinditonamap inordertogettoChateauMargaux.IdrankBordeauxforyearswithout reallyknowinganymoreabouttheregionofBordeauxthanthatitwasin thesouthwestofFrancesomewhere.Allthesefactswouldhavebeenmeaningless andeasilyforgottenhadIsimplybeentoldthematthewrongtime.The righttimewaswhenIwantedtoknowthem,atimethatcouldonlyhave beendeterminedbymeandnotateacher. Processes Apartfromanymicro-scriptsthatwemaywishtoimparttoastudent,all students,invirtuallyallcontexts,needtobeabletoengageincertain processes,nomatterwhattheirparticularlivesarelike.Ifthereis asinequanonofeducationitmustbetheseuniversalprocesses, notasetofparticularfacts.Itisourcontentionthattherearethree processesthataremoreimportantthananyothersandthatanycurriculum mustteachthem.However,itiscriticalthattheybetaughtindirectly, embeddedinscenariosthatareotherwiseintendedtoteachmicro-scripts andcases.Thethreeprocessesarecommunications,humanrelations, andreasoning. Everystudent,indeedeveryadultmemberofsociety,needstobeconstantly learninghowtocommunicate,howtogetalongwithandunderstandothers, andhowtothink.Theseprocessesarelearnedquitenaturallywhenstudents arepartofteamsattemptingtoaccomplishgoals.Whatdoesitmeanto learntheseprocesses?Clearly,learningaprocessisdifferentthanacquiring amicro-script.Amicro-scriptcanbeeasilydescribedasasetofsteps andthosestepscanbepracticedsothattheybecomeroutineandrequire littleornothoughttoexecute.Sincemicro-scriptsareprescriptions foractionwecanmeaningfullytalkabouttheirexecution.Thesameis nottrueofprocesses. Wecannotsaythatsomeoneknowshowtodohumanrelations.Wecansay theyknowhowtocommunicateorhowtoreason,butitisverydifficult tospecifywhatwemeanwhenwesaysuchthings.Clearlywearenottalking aboutmicro-scriptshere.Itwouldbeverydifficulttospecifyasetof proceduresthatformapackagecalled"communication."Beingabletoget alongwithothersorthinkaboutanewproblemmayhavesomeexecutable proceduresbutitalsoseemstoentailagreatmanymorefuzzyconcepts, suchasbeingniceortryingunusualsolutions,thatareagreatdealmore difficulttoquantify. Thewordprocesshereshedslittlelightonthesephenomenainthesame waythat"skill"shedlittlelightonwhatitwasthatwewantedpeople toknowhowtodo.Aswith"skill"theword"process"canencompasstoo much.Therearemanyphenomenathatcanbecalledprocesses.Thereare politicalprocesses,economicprocesses,scientificprocesses,andsoon. Whattheseideashaveincommonisthattheyrefertocomplexsetsofforces thatcomeintoplaythatrequiremoreoftheirparticipantsthanasimple knowledgeofhowtoexecutecertainprocedures.Thephenomenatheyrepresent arecomplexandoftennotgiventoclearproceduresthatcanbeguaranteed towork.Thereisonewaytosende-mailandprogramtheVCR.Thereare knownsolutionstobrakingacar,ridingabike,ormakingtoast.Butfor whatwehavebeenlabelingprocessesthereareoftennogoodanswersor manygoodanswers.Whatanswerstherearearenotexecutableprocedures butrulesofthem,generalstrategiestotrythatmayormaynotworkunder theparticularcircumstancesthathavearisen.Forthisreason,itmight bebettertodescribethesubstanceofwhatwewantpeopletolearnabout thesephenomenaasparticipationstrategies. Thus,wecanrestatewhatislearnedinagoalbasedscenarioasmicro-scripts, cases,andparticipationstrategiesinvariousprocessesthatarecontained withinthescenario.Anidealgoal-basedscenariowouldinvolvemanypeople participatingaspartofateam,acomplexenvironmentinwhichtowork, andaneedtoreporttheresults.Suchascenariowouldcauseparticipants tohavetodevelopstrategiesforgettingalongwithotherteammembers, reasoningaboutthecomplexdomain,andcommunicatingtheresults. Learningbydoing,whenoneistalkingaboutprocesses,meansinventing foroneselfstrategiesthatworkwithintheprocessesthatoneisinvolved in.Whenweaskedwhatwaslearnedinlearningbydoingearlierwerecognized thatthesamementalstructureswehadalwaysusedwereactivehereas wellandthatouroldideaofscriptsandpackagesofscriptswasentirely relevanttolearningbydoing.Ineffect,learningbydoingmodifiesexisting memorystructuresatthelowestleveldescribedinSchank(1982). Nowwemustaskwhereparticipationstrategiesforprocessesfitinto thisscheme.TheanswerisagaintobefoundinSchank(1982).Thisbecomes clearwhenoneconsiderswhataparticipationstrategyactuallylookslike. Let'sconsiderafew.Somegoodonesforhumanrelationsmightbe:   ifyouwantsomeonetolikeyou,askfortheirhelp ifyouareinchargeofsomeone,befirmbuttreatthemasanequal Somegoodonesforreasoningmightbe: inordertoattackanewproblem,trytoseeitisaninstanceofan oldproblem inordertofindasolution,hypothesizeaworldinwhichthecurrentproblem wouldn'texist Somegoodonesforcommunicationmightbe: neversayeverythingyouknowinonespeech alwayswriteinaneasytoread,unpretentiousstyle Onethingthatshouldbeobvioushereisthattheserulesaremostcertainly notalwaysright.Theiroppositescouldalsoberightundercertaincircumstances. Further,theyareaccumulatedbyexperience,byactuallytryingtoengage inprocesses.Thus,theyhaveallthecharacteristicsofwhatwerereferred toasthematicorganizationpackets(TOPs)inSchank(1982)andhavebeen referredtoasindicesinseveralsubsequentbooks(Schank,1986,andSchank, 1991inparticular). Thus,nomatterwhatelseacourseisintendedtoteach,ifithasa formatthatincludesusingagroup,itwillalsocausehumanrelationstrategies tobedevelopedindividually,byeachparticipant,that,likeTOPSare domainindependent.Ifthecourseincludesopen-endedproblemsolving, itwillteachstrategieshavingtodowithreasoningsimplybyforceof havingtoengageinthesestrategies.Iftheresultsofanyofthisneeds tobecommunicated,strategiesforcommunicationwillbedeveloped.These threeprocesses,andhowtoengageinthem,shouldnotbeexplicitlytaught. Theywillbelearnedbytheverybestmethodofall:byhavingstudents experiencetheprocessesforthemselves. Withinthecontextofagroupthatisworkingwithinascenario,the issueofhumanrelationscomesupquitenaturallyandmustbeworkedout. Communicationswouldbepartofworkingwithinthegroupaswellaspart ofcommunicatingtheworkofthegrouptooutsiders.Anyscenarioshould havetohaveenoughunsolvedproblemsinitthatreasoningwouldneedto takeplaceonaregularbasis.Theideaisnevertoexplicitlyteachthese processeswithinacourse,butsimplytoengageinthemduringthecourse ofactionincludedinthescenario.However,explicitinstructionbyexperts oughttobeavailable,fromspecialists,whendifficultiesarise,handled onanasneededbasis. Thoughthethreeprocesseslistedabovearecriticalforanylearning situationandarealsocriticaltolearninandofthemselves,itisimperative thattheynotbetaughtdirectly.Forsomeprocessesthisisnotaproblem sincetheyhaveneverbeentaughtdirectly,thusthereisnoexistingbad stufftoundo.Withotherprocesseswearenotsolucky.Itiscommonenough forstudentstobetaughtprinciplesandtheoriesasasubstituteforactually engaginginaprocess.WeseethiswiththePythagoreantheorem,forexample. Itistaughtsimplybecauseitisaprincipleofmathematics,amathematical generalization,thatstudentscaneasilygrasp.Itisnottaughttoenable studentstodoanything.Similarly,studentslearnfactsaboutlanguage, asopposedtoimprovinghowtheyuselanguage.Theseideasareofgreat importancetoschools,sincetheyaremucheasiertotestthanthemore subjectiveissueofhowwellastudentengagesinaprocess. Evenwhenprinciplesareworthknowing,despitethefactthattheyusually havenopracticaluse,theyareextremelydifficulttolearnwithouthaving, insomesense,discoveredthemoneself.Parentslamentthattheywishtheir childrencouldlearnfromtheirownexperiences,butthereisaverygood reasonwhychildrencannotlearnfromtheirparent'sexperiences.Aswe learnwegeneralizefromourexperiences.Onlywhenthesegeneralizations aregroundedinactualcaseswillourmemoryofabadorgoodresultreinforce therulethathasbeenlearned. Wereallywanttoteachstudentsreasoning.Butthereisabigdifference betweenlettingthemcreatetheirowntheoriesand,whenthesetheories seemtofail,allowingthemtoconsiderother"official"theoriesinorder toseeiftheywork,andteachingthoseofficialtheoriesdirectly.In theformercasethestudent'sownthinkingprovidesamotivationtolearn more.Inthelattercase,theofficialtheoriesareobjectsoflearning inthemselves.Theargumenthereisthatitissimplynotimportantto learntheofficialtheoriesunlessonewantstolearntodophysics.But, withchildren,thegoalmustbetoteachreasoning,creativity,argument, andsuch,notphysics.Everygoal-basedscenarioconstructedtoteachvarious skills,must,firstandforemost,teachcommunication,humanrelations, andreasoning. Thereasonlearningbydoingworksisthatitstrikesattheheartof thebasicmemoryprocessesthathumansrelyupon.Humanmemoryisbased inscriptsandthegeneralizationofscripts.Welearnhowtodothings andthenlearnhowwhatwehavelearnediswrongandright.Welearnwhen ourrulesapplyandwhentheymustbemodified.Welearnwhenourrules canbegeneralizedandwhenexceptionalcasesmustnoted.Welearnwhen ourrulesaredomainboundorwhentheycanbeusedindependentofdomain. Welearnallthisbydoing.Inotherwords,welearnallthisbyconstantly havingnewexperiencesandattemptingtointegratethoseexperiences,or moreaccuratelythememoryofthoseexperiences,intoourexistingmemory structures.Thisintegrationprocessreliesuponnewdata.Thisdatais providedbyexperience.Whennewdataaresimplytoldtous,wedon'tknow whereinmemorytoputthembecausewedon'treallyunderstandtheuse ofthatdata.Whenweexperiencethedataourselves,wealsoexperience, atthesametime,othersights,sensations,feelings,remembrancesofgoals achieved,goalshopedfor,andsoon.Inotherwords,wehaveenoughcontext tohelpustoknowhowtocharacterizewhatwehavelearnedwellenough tofindaplaceforitinmemoryandwebeginthegeneralizationandexception process. Itfollows,then,thatwhatwelearnwhenwelearnbydoingwillbe detailsofhowtoaccomplishsomethinginaparticulardomain(amicro-script); strategiesthatareindependentofdomain(processparticipationstrategies); andthecasesthatstandaloneasexceptionsawaitingpossiblefutureintegration intothememorysystem.Learningbydoingworksbecauseitimpactsall theseimportantmemoryissues. TheAcquisitionofFunctionalKnowledge Learningbydoingallowsforthenaturalacquisitionofmicro-scriptsthat supplyalearnerwithasetofindividualorpackagedexecutableprocedures that,ifpracticed,willbeofuseforaslongasnecessary.Also,rules ofthumbabouthowtofunctioninthecourseofvariouscomplexprocesses areacquiredwhileengagingintheseprocesses.Wehavementioned,and willdiscussindetaillateron,theacquisitionofcasesthatserveas exceptionstoexecutableproceduresandstrategiesforbehaviorwhileengaging invariousprocesses. Allthisleavesopenthequestionofknowledge.Isthisallthereis toknowing?Isthisallthereistousefulknowing?Ifitisthecasethat theaboveitemsareallthatcanbelearnedbydoing,istheresomeother methodbywhichothertypesofknowledgeisacquired?Oristhepicture ofwhatisacquiredinlearningbydoingstillincomplete? Tobegintounderstandthisissuebetter,let'sconsidersomekinds ofknowledgethatdonotfiteasilyintothethreecategoriesmentioned above,namely,executableprocedures,participationstrategies,andexceptional cases.Tomakethiseasiertothinkabout,belowisalistofwhatmight normallybeconsideredtobesomeknowledgethatanintelligent,literate, adultmighthavethatdoesnotreadilyfitintoanyofthesecategories:   RichardDaleyisthemayorofChicago,followingthepathsetforhim byhisfather. MichaelJordanmaywellbethebestbasketballplayerwhohaseverlived. Itisthefreshnessofthefishthatmattersmostindeterminingthe qualityofsushi. 1970wasagreatyearforBordeauxandthewinesofthatyeararestill drinkingwell. KurtVonnegutwasanauthoresteemedbythechildrenofthe60'swho stillseemsrelevanttoday. GeorgeBushusedtheGulfWarasapoliticalinstrumentforhisown re-electionbutitdidn'tseemtohelp. In1841theU.S.hadthreedifferentPresidents. TheBalkanshavebeenahotbedoftroubleeversincetheOttomanEmpire causedoneethnicgrouptobedividedintotworeligions. Ifyouwanttogetaheadinlife,followyournaturalinstinctsand ignoretheadviceofyourcompatriots. Onewaytogetrichistoneverspendadime. Ifyouwantpeopletolikeyouaskfortheiradvice. Whenlookingatknowledgeofthiskind,twoissuesare:Whenwouldone acquirethisknowledge?andWhenwouldoneusethisknowledge?Onecould stretchthedefinitionsofthethreetypesofknowledgeacquiredinlearning bydoingtoincludesomeoftheinformationlistedabove,butbyandlarge theywouldberealstretches.Onecouldarguethatthesearecasesorrules ofthumborprocedures,buttheyseemtobemuchmorelikethekindsof staticknowledgethatpeoplecancallupasneeded.Andthereinliesthe keytounderstandingwhatthistypeofknowledgeisabout. Itisimportanttomakeadistinctioninanydiscussionofknowledge betweenthatwhichisimplicitandthatwhichisexplicit.Thetypesof knowledgethatwehavebeendiscussinginthecontextoflearningbydoing are,forthemostpart,quiteimplicit.Mostpeoplecannottellyouhow tosende-mailorprogramtheirVCRsorhowtotieatieorchangeatire. Itisaloteasiertoshowyoubecausethememoryforsuchproceduresis intheproceduresthemselves.Wedonotknowhowtotalkaboutthiskind ofknowledgebecausethatknowledgeisnotencodedinmemoryapartfrom theprocedureforexecutingit. Similarly,whilewecantellagoodstorythatindicatesanexceptional casethatweknow,wecannotsayexactlywhythatcasehascometomind. Weknowwewereremindedofitbysomethingthatwejustheard,andwe maybeabletomakevaguereferencestosomeofwhatremindedusofwhat weknew,but,althoughthecaseitselfisexplicitmemory,whatweknow aboutthecasethatmakesitrelevantisoftenimplicitanddifficultfor ustoactuallystate.Thisiswhypeopleoftentellstoriesandleaveout thepoint.Thepointistypicallyimplicitlyencoded. And,inthesameway,participationstrategiesareoftennearlyimpossible toexplicitlystate.Werarelyknowhowwebehaveorwhywebehavethat way.Wetreatpeoplethewaywedo,communicatethewaywedo,andreason thewaywedo,withoutthinkingaboutitverymuchatall.Whenwedotry tomakeconsciousourbehaviorinsuchsituations,weoftenhaveapoor pictureofwhatweactuallyaredoingandhowothersperceivewhatweare doing.Oftenwearethelastpeopletobeabletosayhowwethoughtof somethingorwhywesaidsomethingorwhywetreatedsomeonethewaywe did.Ingeneral,participationstrategiesareentirelyimplicitinmemory. Buttheinformationlistedaboveisquiteexplicitinmemory.Weknow thatweknowthatkindofstuff,andcancallitupatwill.Buthowdid welearnitandwhywouldwewanttoknowit?Let'sstartwiththefirst example: RichardDaleyisthemayorofChicago,followingthepathsetforhim byhisfather. Itisfairlyobvioushowonemightcometoknowsuchafact.AsIwrite this,IaminChicago,andsimplybyvirtueofbeinghere,Iamawareof whothemayoris.Further,mostAmericanswereawareofMayorDaley'sfather whenhewasmayorbecauseChicagoandthefirstRichardDaleyplayeda significantroleinthepoliticsofthe60's.IfeelquitecertainIdid notacquireeitherofthesefactsinaclassroom.Noonetaughtthemto me,yetitseemsconvolutedtoattempttomakeanargumentthatIlearned thembydoing. WhatexactlywouldIhavebeendoingwhenIlearnedthem?Itseemsobvious tomethattwogoodchoicesareeitherwatchingtelevisionorreadingthe newspaper.Inabroadsense,Isuppose,onecouldarguethatwatchingand readingaresomethingonecandoandsoIlearnedthesefactsbydoing aswell.However,itseemstomethatwemisstherealissuesentirely byadoptingsuchastance.Therealissuehastodowiththewaythatsuch materialisabsorbedintomemory.Ifthewaysuchmaterialisabsorbed doesnotactuallymatter,thenitwouldfollowthatthecurrentstrategy ofteachingfactsbyhavingstudentsmemorizethemwouldbeonethatis perfectlyplausible.SinceIclearlydonotbelievethistobethecase, itbehoovesmetoexplainwhythemethodofabsorptionmattersandwhat thatmethodmighthavebeen. Considerthehypothesisthatreadingandwatchingtelevisionare,in fact,twowaysinwhichinformationcanbeabsorbedintomemory.Iamwriting thisinthemorning,followingmynormalroutineofspendinganhourreading theChicagoTribuneandtheNewYorkTimes.Ireadalong storyonthefrontpageoftheTribuneaboutasmallchildwhodied. Idonotnowrecallthenameofthechildormuchaboutthecircumstances ofherdeath.ThatIrememberthisarticleatallissimplyarecencyeffect; itwillsoonbegonefrommymemory.Therewasmorethanonestoryonthe firingofthemanageroftheNewYorkMetsandthehiringofanewone inbothpapers.IreadallofthembecauseIamafanoftheMets.Atthis momentIcouldtellyouagreatdealaboutthiseventbecauseIhavebeen followingitandIcareaboutit.Idonotparticularlyremembertheactual articlesthatIread,butIcansafelysaythatIhaveabsorbedmanyof thedetailsofthemintomymemory.Howlongtheywillstaythereisquite unclear.TheMetshavehiredandfiredmanagersbefore,andwhileIcan probablynamemostofthem,mymemoryisfaultyandthedetailsarelikely tobewrong. IalsoreadintheTimestodayanaccountofamurderbeingtried inLouisianainvolvingaJapanesestudentwhowaslookingforaHalloween partyandunfortunatelyknockedonthewrongdoor.Ihadseenaninterview withsomeofthemurder'sneighborsadayortwoagoonTVandIwasstruck withtheirequatingtherighttoshootsomeonewhoknocksonyourdoor withtheAmericanwayoflife.Ihaveheardaboutthemurderandthecurrent trialonandoffsinceithappenedandwasinterestedtodayinthedefense attorney'saccountoftheeventsthatportrayedtheJapanesestudentas actingoddly.ItisclearthatIhavelearnedsomethingfromthecollection ofarticlesandstoriesthatIhaveseen. Infact,wecanlearnfromwhatseemstobepassiveabsorption,even ifwedon'tunderstandexactlyhowwecanorcan'tdoso.Thekeyissue isthatwerememberwhatmatterstous.Inordertounderstandwhywelearn whatwelearn,andhowwelearnit,wemustunderstandthatmotivation isaphenomenallyimportantpartofthepuzzle. Thisisnotjustanissueofsimplymotivatinglearnerstowanttolearn something.ThemotivationofwhichIspeakisinternallygenerated.The kindofmotivationrelevantherecomesfromknowledgegoals,notexternally generatedgoals(likegradesorcookies).Inordertomakeexplicitknowledge yourownyoumusthaveunderstoodtheneedforthatknowledgeatthetime ofitsappearance.Inotherwords,explicitawarenessofone'sknowledge goalsisonekeytotheabsorptionofexplicitknowledge.Itisbynomeans theonlyrelevantaspectoftheabsorptionofknowledgehowever. LetmeintroduceheretheconceptofExplicitFunctionalKnowledge(EFK), whichisknowledgethatweknowwecanuse.Toputthisanotherway,if youfindouttheanswertosomethingyouhavealwayswantedtoknow,it isunlikelythatyouwillforgetthatknowledge.Ontheotherhand,if Itellyousomethingthatyoudidnotwanttoknow,thatyoucanfindno obviousneedtoknow,itisunlikelythatthatknowledgewillremainwith youforverylong. TheideabehindEFKisthat,paralleltothephysicallearningbydoing thatdrivesthelearningofthethreetypesofknowledgementionedearlier, thereisacognitivelearningbydoingthatisgoingonaswell.Thedoing herehasnothingtodowithphysicalactions.Rather,itiscenteredon themind'sdesiretobuildupafunctionalknowledgebase.Thecreation ofthisknowledgebaseiswhatdrivescuriosityandiswhatmakesushuman. Weshalldubthisprocesslearningbycognizing. Tobetterunderstandlearningbycognizing,wemustreconsiderlearning bydoing.Learningbydoinghas,asitscorepremise,theideathatgoals drivelearning.Whensomeonewantstoaccomplishsomething,theyareforced topayattentiontothedetailedactionsthataccomplishthegoal.Ifthey wanttogosomewherebycar,theymustlearnmanydetailsofdriving.We havetermedthesemicro-scripts.Weknowthatnotallmicro-scriptsare physical.Thereisacognitivedimensiontothemicro-scriptsthatwelearn. Nevertheless,thegoalsarephysical--togosomeplace,tooperateapiece ofequipment,tobehaveproperlyinasituationsoastogetsomeoneto dosomethingthatyouwant. Sometimes,however,goalsarecompletelycognitive.Ortoputthisanother way,thegoalistoknowsomething.Whereasitseemsobviousthathigher orderanimalscanlearnmicro-scriptsbecausetheytoohavephysicalgoals, itislessobviousthatanimalsotherthanhumanshaveknowledgegoals. Inanycase,humansdoseemtohavesuchgoals.Andtheyoftendonotseem tobeinanywayinserviceofaphysicalgoal.Whenasmallchildasks whytheskyisblue,heisnothopingtousethatknowledgetohelphim todosomething.WhenIwanttoknowwhothenewmanagerisfortheNew YorkMets,Iwillindeedusethatinformation,butmyuseismostlycognitive. IwillusethatinformationtohelpmeunderstandwhattheMetsaredoing, ortoconversewithotherbaseballfansabouttheMets.Thenotionofuse hereispurelycognitiveanddiffersfromthatofthetermusein learningbydoing. Nevertheless,theanalogyisdirect.Learningbydoingworksbecause thenaturalphysicalgoalsthatpeoplestrivetoachievecauseaneedto acquiremicro-scriptsinordertoachievethem.Thesemicro-scripts arereinforcedbypracticeandcombinetogethertoallowustobecomeadept atcomplexphysicalactivities.Similarly,learningbycognizingworks becausethenaturalcognitivegoalsthatpeoplestrivetoachievecause aneedtoacquireknowledgeinordertoachievethem.Thisknowledge isreinforcedbyrepeateduseandcombinestogethertoallowustobecome adeptatcomplexcognitiveactivities. TheactivitiestowhichIamreferringhererevolvearoundthinking andcommunicatingone'sthinking.IcannotthinkabouthowChicagoisbeing runifIdonotknowanythingaboutitsgovernment.Icanonlyunderstand howgoodabasketballplayerMichaelJordanwasbywatchinghimandcomparing himtoothers.InordertodothisIhavetocareaboutbasketball,or athleticprowess,orexcellenceorsomethinglikethat.Caringaboutsuch thingsisamentalactivitygroundedintheneedtoknowmore.Or,toput thisanotherway,learningbycognizingentailsaskingandansweringquestions abouttheobservedworldinordertocometoconclusionsaboutit.Having aknowledgegoalmeanshavingaquestionandseekingitsanswereither byobservationorbyaskingsomeonewhomightknow. Therecanbemanyreasonstowanttoknowsomething.Onereasonmight betosupplyacognitivepiecetoamicro-scripttoenableyoutobeable todosomething.Anothermightbetosupplyapieceofknowledgethatwill enableyoutobeabletoknowsomething.EFKisoftwobasictypes,therefore. Ifweneedtoknowsomethinginordertodosomething,wearetalkingabout physicalEFK.Ifweneedtoknowsomethinginordertoknowsomethingelse, wearetalkingaboutcognitiveEFK. Thereasontomakethisdistinctionandtoputitinthiswayisrelated toteaching.Ithasalwaysbeeneasyforschoolstoidentifyknowledge thattheywishstudentstohaveandthentobeginaprogramtoimpartthat knowledgebytellingittothemandaskingthemtotellitbackonatest. Similarly,wecanmakestudentslearntodocertainmicro-scriptsproperly, withoutgivingthemanyunderstandingofwhytheymightneedsuchamicro-script, causingthemtoforgetthenewknowledgeassoonasatestisfinished. Whenoneistalkingaboutlearningbydoing,theproscriptionisclear: neverteachanyonetodoanythingthattheydidn'twanttolearntodo inthe firstplace.Ifmicro-scriptsareacquiredintheserviceofrealgoals thatstudentsactuallyhave,theywillnotbeforgotten. Thesameistrueoflearningbycognizing.Wecannotacquirenewknowledge unlesswetrulywantedthatknowledge.Asinlearningbydoing,theissue isthatgoalshavetobereal.Wecannottellastudentsomethingandexpect themtorememberit,unlesstheywantedtoknowitinthefirstplace. Now,itisclearthatthisiswrongifwetakealiteralviewofremembering. Wecanforcestudentstomemorizeinformationforlongperiodsoftime, especiallyifwegivethemmnemonicssuchasalphabeticalcuesorrhymes. Allthisdoes,however,isenablethemtotellthatinformationtothemselves eachtimesothattheycanhearitagain.Itdoesnotenablefunctional recallofthatknowledge. Recallinginformationfunctionallymeansbeingabletorecallitat theprecisemomentthatitmightbeofuse,andthisentailshavinglearned itwithrespecttoitsuseinthefirstplace.Toensurethatthishappens easilytheknowledgetobeacquiredmustbelearnedintermsofitspotential use.Thisisfairlydifficulttoachieveinschoolfortherathersimple reasonthatmuchofwhatschoolswantstudentstoknowhasnoactualuse. Evenwhenthatinformationdoeshaveuse,theschoolshaveoftenlongsince forgottenwhatitwas.ToseewhatImeanhere,let'sconsiderthefunctionality oftheknowledgethatIwrotedownearlierandseehowitcanbebroken downintothefollowingclasses: Usefulforunderstandingadomain:   RichardDaleyisthemayorofChicago,followingthepathsetforhim byhisfather. MichaelJordanmaywellbethebestbasketballplayerwhohaseverlived. TheBalkanshavebeenahotbedoftroubleeversincetheOttomanEmpire causedoneethnicgrouptobedividedintotworeligions. Usefulformakingdaytodaydecisions:   Itisthefreshnessofthefishthatmattersmostindeterminingthe qualityofsushi. 1970wasagreatyearforBordeauxandthewinesofthatyeararestill drinkingwell. Usefulforunderstandinglife:   KurtVonnegutwasanauthoresteemedbythechildrenofthe60'swho stillseemsrelevanttoday. GeorgeBushusedtheGulfWarasapoliticalinstrumentforhisownre-election butitdidn'tseemtohelp. Ifyouwanttogetaheadinlife,followyournaturalinstinctsandignore theadviceofyourcompatriots. Onewaytogetrichistoneverspendadime.  Ifyouwantpeopletolikeyouaskfortheiradvice. Trivia:   In1841theU.S.hadthreedifferentPresidents. Weshallrefertotheseknowledgetypesasdomainknowledge,decision-relevant knowledge,lifeknowledge,andtrivia.Whenattemptingtoimpartknowledge tostudents,therulesofthumbforhowtobestdothisrelatetotheknowledge typewearehopingtoimpart.Aswithlearningbydoingandforthesame reasons,learningbycognizingisbestdonewithinthecontextofagoal-based scenario.Let'sconsiderthesetypesoneatatime. DomainKnowledge Apersonwantingtoparticipateinadomainofexpertise,citygovernment, forinstance,mustknowsomethingaboutthesubjectathand.Thismuch seemsobvious.Butwhenitcomestotranslatingthisruleofthumbinto anunderstandingofwhatshouldgooninaclassroom,itiseasytoget confused.Whynotsimplyteachpeopleaboutthedomainstheyneedtobe conversantwith?Whynotsimplytellthemwhatwewantthemtoknowabout citygovernment?Theansweris:Becausetheywilllearntheinformation betteriftheycanactuallyuseit.Thismeanswemustaskourselves whatusesweanticipateforanydomainknowledgewebelievestudentsshould know. Thisquestionisnotalwayssoeasytoanswer.Inourexample,acitizen wouldneedtoknowhowtodealwiththegovernmentonvariousoccasions. Todothishemightwanttoknowwhohisrepresentativesareingovernment andhowhecanpetitionthem.Ofcourse,hecouldalwaysfindthisout whentheoccasionarose,againlearningbydoing.Whatexactlywouldbe thedifferencebetweenlearningaboutgovernmentalprocessinaGBSthat allowedonetoplayrolesinascenarioaboutgovernment,andlearning bycognizingwithrespecttothesamesituations? Oneansweristhatthedistinctionbetweenlearningbydoingandlearning bycognizingisaratherfineoneandthattheyarereallytwosidesof thesamecoin.Oneproblemwiththisansweristhatitisindeedpossible tobeanexpertonsomethingwithouteverhavingactuallydoneanything atall.Forexample,Iknowagreatdealabouthistory,knowledgeacquired entirelyfromreadingandtalkingaboutit.I'veneverstudiedhistory formally,haveneverwrittenanypapers,ordoneanything(notthatIknow whatthatwouldmeanforhistory)inhistory.ButIdoknowalotofstuff. Clearly,Ihavelearnedthisstuffbycognizing,butwhatexactlydoes thatmean?Howcanwemakethatnaturalprocesstakeplaceinamoreformal educationalsetting? Theanswerseemstobethatreadinganddiscussingcanbeallthatis actuallydoneandsomethinggoodcancomeoutofit.Isaythiswithsome trepidationsinceitisthisviewthatisbehindalltheproblemsintoday's educationalsystem.Weallknowthatreadinganddiscussionworkstosome extent,andsinceitissoeasytoimplementwesettleforaschoolsystem basedonthat.SoIhesitatetosaythatithasitsplaceafterall.What isitsplacethen? Oneofthethingsthatworksinschool,sometimes,istheattemptto getstudentsto"dothereading"forthenextday.Intheusualimplementation ofthisidea,areadingisassignedandstudentsknowthattheclassthe followingdaywillbebaseduponthatreading.Theyknowthattheymay becalledupontosaysomethingaboutwhattheyhavereadduringthatdiscussion. Forsomestudentsthisservesassufficientmotivationforreadingthe material.Theydonotwanttobeembarrassedinfrontoftheclass.Many studentsliveinfearofbeingcalleduponbytheteacher,havingtoanswer aquestionaboutwhattheyshouldhaveread.Forsomethisfearissufficient causetodothereading.Forothers,theydevisewaystodealwiththeir fearandavoidthereadingaltogether. Onewouldbehardpressedtocallthegoalof"learningtheinformation forreasonsofnotbeingembarrassed"agenuineknowledgegoal.Butwhat practicaldifferencedoesitmake?Eitherwaythestudentreads,discusses, andlearnsnewmaterial,ordoeshe?Theclaimhereisthatwhileknowledge goalscanbeinducedtheycannotberequired.WhenIlearnaboutwhatis happeningwithmyfavoritesportsteam,itispossibletoimaginethat thesceneismuchthesameaswithanassignedreading.Iknowthereis goingtobesomediscussionsoonaboutwhatisgoingonwithmyteamand Idon'twanttobeembarrassedbynotknowingthelatestinformation.Many peoplegothelatestmoviesforthisreason--theyknowtherewillbe discussionsofthematpartiesandsuchandtheydon'twanttobeoutof theconversation.Indeedfearofembarrassmentcancausemanypeopleto learnabouttheirgovernment,literature,history,andmanyothersubjects, simplybecausetheydonotwanttobeembarrassed.Recently,IheardVince Coleman,ablackplayerontheMets,sayhehadneverheardofJackieRobinson. Heapparentlywasnotembarrassedbythis,butmostNewYorkMetfanswere. Formostpeople,avoidingthiskindofintellectualembarrassmentcan serveasmotivationinschoolandout,forwantingtoknowthings.Why doesthismatterhere?Whenonewonderswhereknowledgegoalscomefrom, onemustrememberthathumanbeingsaresocialanimals.Theyneedtointeract withothersandverbalinteractionisanimportantpartofthesocialscene. Nearlyeveryonefearsdoingbadlyinsuchsituations,andsotheydowhat theyhavetotoavoidembarrassment.Thisindicatesthattherereallyis aknowledgegoalthatcomesaboutbecauseoffearofembarrassment.The questionweneedtoaddressis:"Isthereamorepositiveversionofthe samekindofknowledgegoal?"Whendoessomeonewanttoacquireknowledge forreasonsotherthanfearofembarrassment? Wetalkedearlierofexplicitfunctionalknowledgethatisofvalue inachievingagoal.Weknowthatthereisstuffweneedtoknowabout howtodothings,theknowingofwhichwillhelpusgetwhatwewant.Physical EFKistheknowledgeweneedtodophysicalthings.Butwhatisavoiding embarrassment?Itdoesn'tseemtohavemuchtodowithfunctionalknowledge. Whatisthefunction?Avoidingembarrassmentisn'tmuchofagoal,nor doesitseemtomakemuchsensetotalkabouttheknowledgenecessaryto dothatsincethatknowledgecouldbeofanysortinanyplaceortime. Nevertheless,peopledolearnforthisreason.Thequestionis,howlong dotheyretaininformationacquiredinordertoavoidembarrassment? Theanswertothismustdependupontheissueofsubsequentuse.We havearguedagainsttheideathatmemorizationcanbeawaytoacquire newknowledge.Obviously,weknowapersoncanacquireknowledgeinthis way.Thatknowledgewillremainwiththatpersonforsomeamountoftime, dependingonhowthoroughlytheyweredrilled.Theproblemisthatknowledge learnedinthiswayisusuallyonlyaccessibleinthewayitwaslearned. Thus,itisnotofgreatuseinreallifebecauseitwasnotacquiredin relationtoanyactualactivitythatmightoccur. Thestoryisdifferentwithknowledgeacquiredforthepurposeofdiscussion ofthatknowledge.Nomatterwhetherthatknowledgewasacquiredinorder toavoidembarrassment,ifitisindeedusedinsubsequentdiscussions, thenthosediscussionswouldcertainlyreinforcethatknowledgeandbegin tocausenewknowledgefromthediscussiontobeassociatedwithit.In otherwords,wecanlearnbycognizinganddiscussionisonewayofcognizing. Themethodusedbytheschoolswouldbejustfineifreading-baseddiscussion allowedcontinualthemestobefollowed,allowedtimeforgenuinereflection, encouragedtheformationandexplicationofdivergentopinions,andensured thattheinitialsubjectmatterwasofinterest.Letmeexplainwhythis matters. 1.Continualtheme:Onethingthatdiffersbetweenmyacquiring thelatestinformationontheNewYorkMetsandastudentlearningabout ancientGreecebyreadingHomeristhatIamcontinuallyinterestedin theMets.Ialwayswanttoknowaboutthemandamnotboningupforaparticular exam.Thus,Idothinkaboutthem,havethoughtaboutthem,andwillthink aboutthem.TheknowledgeIacquireaboutthemisEFK,wherethefunction isthinkingaboutandperhapsconversingabouttheMets.Whenastudent whoreadsHomerdoessobecauseheisenrolledinacourseinclassicliterature, heis,unlessheisplanningonbeingascholarofthefield,beingpoorly educated.HereagaintheproblemistraditionalcoursesasopposedtoGBSs. Itisveryimportantthatanycourseofstudyfocusontheattainment ofagoalthatisrealistic,achievable,andgermanetotheinterestsof thestudentsinvolved.TheGBSswehavementionedsofarhavetendedto bephysicalinthesensethatthegoalwasaperformancegoalthatusually involvedaphysicalcomponent.Clearly,thereneedbenophysicalcomponent toaGBS.TherecanbepurelycognitiveGBSs.SuchGBSswouldentailthe pursuitofagoalthatinvolvedunderstandingathematicallycoherentbody ofmaterialandbeingabletodiscussandargueforsomepropositionsentailed withinthatmaterialthatisgermanetoone'sowngoals.Courseslikethis alreadyexist.Butsometimestheyareactuallyquitedifficulttodifferentiate fromcoursesthataremoreorlessparodiesofwhatwehavebeensaying here. Thereare,quitetypically,manycoursesinanyschoolcurriculumthat superficiallymightlooktobeinlinewithwhatwehavesuggestedfor acognitiveGBS.Forexample,aliteraturecoursethathasasitsunifying themethatalltheauthorstobereadwereancientGreeks,mightostensibly beportrayedasacognitiveGBS.Onecouldclaimthatthegoalofthecourse wasunderstandingandbeingabletoargueforsomethesisorotherthat stemmedfromoneormoreofthebookstoberead.Thedifferencebetween suchaliteraturecourseandacognitiveGBSrevolvesaroundthereasons thattheworkswerebeingreadinthefirstplace.AcognitiveGBSwould firstallowthestudenttodecidewhatgoalhewastryingtopursuefor whichreadingthesebooksmightbehelpful.Forexample,somethingastudent wastryingtounderstandaboutlifeorabouthistorymightbethegoal. Thenthematerialtobereadwouldbechosenbythestudentsuchthatthat materialwasgermanetothestudent'sgoal.Thetaskofthestudentin readingthematerialwouldbetogatherwhatthestudentneededfromthe materialtohelphimmakeadecision,understandacomplexissue,ordeal withwhateverthestudent'sactualgoalwas.Forexample,ifastudent hadtomakeadecisionabouthowtheGreekgovernmentofacertainperiod weretoberun,hemightreadtheliteratureoftheperiodinorderto understandtheissuesandmakeanappropriatedecision.Insuchacase, wewouldexpecttheorganizingthemeofthematerialtobereadtobethe issuescoveredbythematerial,ratherthanthefactthatalltheauthors wereGreek.Thus,itisthegoalofthestudentthatistheorganizing themeinacognitiveGBS,ratherthanthecourseorganizationalthemes currenttodayinmostcurriculathatgroupmaterialaroundsomeconcept of"literacy."Typicallysuchcoursesconcernthemselveswithattempts tomakethestudent"literate"insomearea(liketheclassics)rather thanattemptingtogetthestudenttoknowsomethingheactuallymayhave wantedtoknow.Inotherwords,ifthemotivationforreadingwerenot avoidingembarrassmentatone'slackofknowledgeinagivenarea,but thehonestattempttoknowmoreaboutasubjectmatterthatconcernsyou, theresultscouldbequiteworthwhile. ThismeansthatthethemeofanycognitiveGBSwouldrevolvearound anissuethatwasofconcerntothestudentsintheGBS,andwaslikely tocontinuetobeofconcernaftertheGBSwasover.WecandiscussGreek authorsallyoulike,butifwhatwediscussisnotrelevanttotheissues withwhichIamconcerned,andifwhatwediscussneveroccursagainin mylife,andifwhatwediscussvarieswildlyfromdiscussiontodiscussion, Iwillforgetwhatwehavetalkedabout.If,ontheotherhand,weare discussingissuesthatconcernme,andwillcontinuetoconcernme,and thatbuildwitheachadditionalreading,providingmoreevidenceforvarying pointsofview,Iwillrememberwhatwehavereadanddiscussed. Thereareteacherswhoconductclassesinthiswayandtherearecourses thatareconstructedinthisway,typicallyinEnglishandhistorydepartments insomeofourbetterhighschools.Theyaretobecommendedfordoing itright.Ingeneralhowever,eventhesecoursestendtoendinthedreaded exam.InacognitiveGBS,thefinalmeasuremuststillbeperformance, inthiscaseperformanceinbeingabletoadoptanddefendapointofview, citingevidenceforone'sposition.Thereisnothingradicalhere.This methodisquitetypicallyusedingraduateschools,forexample.Domain knowledgeislearnedinthisway.Thefunctionofsuchknowledgeisto enableonetothinkbetteraboutasubjectofinterest.Thisistheonly waysuchknowledgeshouldbelearned,sinceitdoesn'tmatterwhatone knows,itmattershowonecanputtogetheracoherentargumentforapoint ofview. 2.Genuinereflection:AnypurelycognitiveGBSmustrevolve aroundtheactofreflection.WhenIlistentostoriesaboutMayorDaley Iamconsideringissuesofgovernmentthataffectme.Imightwonderwho tovotefor;thatmightbeonereasontolistentothemayortalk.But Ialsomightwanttohaveanopiniononapoliticalsubject.Whenanew taxbillispassedandallthepeopleIknowaretalkingaboutit,Iwant tothrowinmytwocents.Partofthismaybetheembarrassmentfactor again,butpartofitalsoisaconcernforhowthenewtaxeswillaffect me.Imightwanttocallmyaccountantandaskhisadvice,orImightsimply getangryandattempttobetterunderstandthepoliticalalliancesthat existinthecountry.Imightviewitallasagiantsoapoperathatis veryentertaining,orasapuzzletobesolvedabouteconomics. Nomatterwhywechoosetofollowthepoliticalissuesthatarereported dailyinthemedia,thephysicalperformancegoalofvotingisnotall thatcompellingareasontospendmuchcognitivetimeontheseissues. Wefollowtheseissuesbecausetheyareinterestingtothinkaboutfor avarietyofreasons.Thekeypointisthatwedothinkaboutthem.Thus, anycognitiveGBSneedstoallowtimeforthinking,forworkingoutone's ownarguments,forgatheringone'sowninformation,andforformingnew generalizations.TheEFKacquiredduringsuchaperiodofreflectionis acquiredmostlythroughreasoningprocesses.WecanhearaboutSerbian actionsinBosnia,butwemustcometosomeconclusionaboutthembefore wecanengageinthenextimportantstepsinacognitiveGBS. 3.Divergentopinion:Whenreflectionhasoccurredandaconclusion hasbeenreached,itistimetoengageindiscussionwithothers.Discussion withothersisakeyaspectoflearningbycognizing.Itisveryeasyto cometoconclusionsthatdon'tholdwaterwhenreasoningonone'sownand itisthusveryimportanttotestone'sconclusionswithothersandto attempttopokeholesintheargumentsofotherswhohavereachedopposite conclusions.Again,someschoolsandcoursesdoallowstudentstodothese thingsandtheyaretobecommendedforthat.Unfortunately,thereisoften afeeling,eveninthemostenlightenedcourses,thatthereisinfact arightanswerandthatthestudentneedstobeledbytheteachersto theplacewherethisrightanswercanbeproperlyviewed. Thereasonthatthisisproblematicisnotonlythatthereprobably isn'tarightanswer,but,moreimportant,thatacourseshouldn'tbefocusing onthetransmissionofanswersasitsgoal.ThegoalofcognitiveGBSis nottoteachthefactsofthedomainofinterestbuttoteachreasoning withinthatdomainofinterest.Theknowledgeitselfdoesn'tmattersince thatknowledgewillbeacquiredquitenaturallyindailyroutinesifthe learnerisbothcapableofreasoninginthatdomainofknowledgeandhas acquiredabasicunderstandingofthatdomain.Thatbasicunderstanding shouldnotcomefromspoonfeedinganswersormemorizationoffacts,but fromparticipatingincontinuedconversationsbaseduponreflectionsthat thelearnerhasmadeonhisown.Thesecouldonlyhavehappenedinthe firstplaceifthelearnerwaspersonallyinterestedinthesubjectand wasreadytoreflectuponit.Thus,acognitiveGBSmusthaveadiscussion period,unbiasedbyassumptionsofwhatconstitutesthecorrectargument, thatallowseachstudenttovoicetheconclusionsreachedduringthereflection periodandtoattackthosereachedbyothers. 4.Subjectmatterofinterest:Onerealissueinthedesignof cognitiveGBSsthatexamineadomainofknowledgeistheselectionofthat domain.Wecannotsimplyallowdomainstobechosenbecausetheyinterest theschoolboard,orthecollegeboard,oreventheteacher.Inherentin acognitiveGBSistheideathatthestudenthadtheinterestthatwould drivethedomainbeingtaughtpriortoenteringanycourse.Toputthis anotherway,tolearnbycognizing,onemustbemotivatedtothinkabout thesubjectinthefirstplace.AcourseinthehistoryofBosniamight havelittleattendanceintheghetto,butacourseindealingwithviolence, whichcouldeasilyhaveBosniaasoneoftheplacesunderstudy,might haveagreatdealofrelevancebecausethestudentsarelikelytohave alreadybeenthinkingaboutthatsubject. Sincethekindsoffactsthatmakeeducatorsproudcanbelearnedwithin amultiplicityofcontexts,thetrickinanycognitiveGBSistofinda domainofinterestthattrulyexcitesastudentandthenintroducescases thatareapplicabletothatdomainthatcontainthematerialthattheteacher feelsmustbeknown.Thus,ifwewantstudentstoknowaboutColumbus, wecandesignacognitiveGBSthatisaboutexploration,intendedtointerest studentswhowanttoseenewworlds,inwhichtheycandiscusshowbest todothat.WithinthatcontextaccountsofColumbus'voyagescanberead. StudentswouldpickupEFKaboutproblemsinexplorationthatwouldbe groundedinavarietyofcasesofinteresttothosewhofeelthatknowing aboutColumbusissomehowpartofbeinganAmerican.Nevertheless,and moreimportant,thestudentswouldlearntothinkaboutexplorationby discussingissuesofwhichtheyhavebecomeawareviareadingwiththeir peers. Day-to-DayDecisionMaking ItseemsobviousthatthewaytoteachtheEFKthatispartofday-to-day decisionmakingistoallowstudentstheopportunitytomakedecisions. Thisarguesforthecreationofenvironmentsinwhichstudentsmakemany decisionsthattheywouldnotordinarilygettomake.Inparticular,they needtobeallowedtomakecontrastivedecisions,thatistochooseone thingonedayandthenmakealternativechoicesthenext,inordertolearn thedetailedlevelofnuancethatispartofgooddecisionmaking. AnexampleIcitedearlierwasinknowinghowtoselecttherightyear ofawinetoorder.Thetricktodoingthisisrootedinbadexperiences. Ifeverythingturnsoutwell,itisdifficulttolearnmuchfromadecision onehasmade.Tolearntodrinkwine,andtowindupwithEFKaboutspecific yearsinBordeaux,onemustacquiremanyexpectationsandmanyexpectation failures,eachallowingonetodiscriminatebetter.Inordertomakeproper day-to-daydecisionsonemustknowwhattoexpectastheoutcomeofeach decision.Toseethisinthecaseofwine,Imagineasmallbabyatits mother'sbreast.Itmaynotknowwhattoexpectthefirsttimeitstarts tosuck,butafteranumberoftriesatgettingandreceivingmilkfrom itsmother,thebabywillbequitesurprisedifonedayitgetschocolate milk.Ababywouldcryinthissituation,notbecauseitwouldn'tlike chocolatemilk,onewouldsupposeitwould,butbecauseofexpectation violation.Childrenlearntoadapttoallkindsofthingsbynotingexpectation failureandadjustingtoit.Ababymaycrythefirsttimeitisexposed tosomethingnew,whenithadexpectationstothecontrary,butthebaby willquicklyadapt. Let'simaginethatinsteadofchocolatemilkthebabysuddenlyfinds itselfdrinkingChateauMouton-Rothschild1966.NoonewillfindMouton-Rothschild tobeagreatwineifitisthefirstwinetheyhaveeverdrunk.Before youcandiscriminategreatwine,youhavetohavefirstdrunkwine.Very fewofusdrinkourfirstglassofwineandraveabouttheexperience. Wineis,afterall,notwhatyouexpected.Fewofuslikeourfirsttaste ofwineorbeeroranythingalcoholic,forthatmatter.Weallknowthat wehavetolearntodevelopatasteforsuchthings,butwhatdoesitmean to"developataste?"Thefirsttimewehaveanewexperience,weonly havepriorexperiencestoworkwith.Ifwewanttolearnimportantdiscriminations inataste,forinstance,itishelpfulifthosediscriminationsarerather onthefineside.Ifthediscriminationsarerathergross,thenlittle willbelearnedfromtheconnoisseur'spointofview.Ifeverythinghappens thewayyouexpectedittohappen,youmaywellbehappy,butyouwon't learnathing. Manyyoungpeoplegettheirfirsttasteofalcoholincollege.They drinkbeerindiscriminately,takingwhateverisoffered.Theyoftendon't wonderiftheylikedthestuff,theyarenotdrinkingitbecauseofthe taste.Whatshouldsuchastudentexpect?Whatisthebeergoingtotaste like?Whatcanwepredictaboutwhatthestudentmightbethinkingbefore hetasteshisfirstbeerandwhatwouldyoupredictthathemightthink afterwards?TheseareveryimportantquestionsforunderstandingEFKbecause knowledgeisonlybuiltuponpriorknowledge. Thenovicebeerdrinkercouldonlyhavehadoneoftwobasicexpectations. Sinceexpectationscomefrompriorgeneralizations,wecanonlyexpect whatwealreadyhaveexperienced.Wehavetohaveabasisofcomparison, andthiscomesfromthepriorexperiencethatwehavechosenasthebest expectationwecanmusteratthetime.Onemightguess,forexample,that thisstudentwouldexpectthateitherbeertastedlikesoda,thething itmostresemblesphysicallyintheexperienceofastudent,oritthat ittasteslikesomeotheralcoholicexperience,suchaswinedrunkata religiousceremony. Someoftheexpectationsthatsuchastudentmighthavewouldbequite reasonable.Forexample,hemightexpectaliquid,forexample,perhaps anon-poisonous,possiblyslightlynourishingliquid,probablyarefreshing-on-a-hot-day kindofliquid.WhenIdrankmyfirstbeerIrememberbeingsurprisedthat itwasbitterandwasn'tsweet.Whatkindofcriticismisitofbeerto saythatitisn'tsweet?Allalcoholhadbeensweetbeforeinmyexperience, soIexpectedsweet. Everytimeweexperienceanexpectationfailure,weneedtoexplain itsothatitdoesn'tkeephappening.Youcan'tgothroughyourlifealways expectingtheretobeaparkinglotonthecornerofFourthandMaple. Thedaytheystartconstructiononanewofficebuildingonthatcorner, youmustdecidewhetherthisistemporary,likeacarnival-maybeitwill goaway-andifitisn't,youbegintoupdateyourexpectations.Noelaborate explanationisneeded;infact,wecanexplainitsimplybysayingtoourselves that,yes,buildingsdotendtogetbuiltwhereparkinglotsoncewere. Butwhentheyteardownabeautifuloldhousetomakewayforaparking lot,aslightlymoreelaborateexplanationmustbeconstructed,onethat talksabouttheinsensitivityofourtimes,perhaps,ormaybeoneabout themoneyneededtorepairagrandoldstructureisjusttoomuchforanyone. Butwhenexpectationsfailhorribly,whenbeerjustdoesn'ttasteanything likeCoca-Cola,wehavenoexplanationsthataresatisfactory.Whatcan yousay?Beerjustisn'tCoke,anditisn'tsweetwine.Whenthishappens, wecreateanewcategory. Oncethatisdone,weareonourwaytobecominganexpert.Thenext timesomeoneservesusabeer,wecanannounceproudlythatMillerjust doesn'thavetheflavorofBudweiser.Infact,pronouncementslikethat, madebyamateursafterhavinghadonlytwobeersintheirlife,areusually quiteaccurate.Yourememberyourfirstbeerandcaneasilydistinguish thetasteofthesecondfromthefirst.Afterhavingdrunkhundredsof beersofmanydifferentsorts,itbecomesharderandhardertodistinguish onefromtheother.Youjusthavetoomuchinformation.Unless,ofcourse, youarepayingattention,carefulattention.Youhavetocareaboutwhat youaregoingtolearninordertolearnanythingatall. Nowimaginesuchanewexpertbeerdrinker,tastinghisfirstglass ofchampagne.Heshouldexpectsomethingbeer-like.Champagneevenlooks likebeer.Nowsupposethatthechampagnedrinkerlikeschampagneagreat dealanddrinksalotofit,gettingdrunkandthenlatergettingsick. Whatcanthestudentlearnfromthisexperience?Oneseriousproblemin learningtomakeday-to-daydecisionsisunderstandingtheresults.Deciding whichgeneralizationtomake,andthuswhichnewexpectationtogenerate, whenoneisdealinginacomplexenvironment,requiresknowingmorethan youactuallycanknowonyourown. SupposethatwegotoeatinafinerestaurantthatservesThaifood. YouhavenevereatenThaifoodbefore,youlikethemeal,butthenext dayyouaresick.ShouldyouavoidThaifoodinthefutureorjustthat restaurantorjustsquid,whichyouatethereforthefirsttime?Orshould younevergoouttoeatwiththepeoplewhotookyoutothatrestaurant? Inreallife,wehavenoeasyanswerstosuchquestions.Inscience,we canrunanexperimentandcontrolthevariables.Youcaneatatanother Thairestaurant,youcangobacktothesameoneandavoidthesquid,and youcanalsogoouttoanotherrestaurantthatisnotThaiwiththesame company.Butyouarereallyunlikelytodoallthis,andevenifyoudid, itwouldprovenothing.Supposeyougotsickatthenon-Thairestaurant. Doesthatreallymeanthatthecompanymadeyousick?Andsupposethat youatethesquid,anditwasokay.Doesthatmeanitwasokaythefirst time,too?Beingscientificinreallifeisverydifficult,and,infact, noneofustriestobe.Wejustmakethegeneralizationsthatwewantto makeanyway. Ittakessometimetomakeanexpertonanything.Tomakeawineexpert outofournovicebeerdrinkeronewouldhavetoexposehimtosomewine ofanysortandthen,gradually,keepaddingnewinformation.Westill can'tgivehimChateauMouton-Rothschildbecausealthoughhemightnotice thedifferencebetweensometablewineandtheMouton,hewouldn'tknow whathewasnoticing.Ourbeerdrinker,evenonewhonowlikeswine,too, wouldn'tnoticeanythingabouttheMoutonotherthanthathelikedit. Changesinexpectationscannothappenovernight.Inordertogetready toappreciatetheMoutonheneedstocreatecomplexknowledgestructures thatpertaintowine.Containedwithinsuchstructuresarethedetailed expectationsaboutsmell,color,andvariousaspectsoftastethatone mustcompareandcontrastinordertocomeupwithanewidea,amodification oftheexistingexpectationswithintheknowledgestructure.Newideas areinherentlymodificationsofoldideas. Beingabletoaddnewinformationwithoutregardfortheoldinformation itreplacesmightseemappealingontheassumptionthatwehaveemptyspaces inthemindthatwouldsomehowbefilledupbythenewstuff.Buthowwould weeverfindthenewinformationwehavejustadded?Forinformationto beusefulyoumustknowhowtofindit. Imagineaddinganewbooktoyourlibrary.Youmightaswellnotown itifyouplaceitsomewhereandforgetwhere.Inasmallenoughlibrary, youcouldcountonstumblinguponit,butasthelibrarygotlarger,it wouldbenecessarytohaveaneffectiveindexingsystemthatwouldallow youtofindsomethingonthebasisofsomeschemeconnectedtoimportant informationaboutwhatiscontainedinthebook,suchasitsauthoror itssubjectmatter.Similarly,anewfactmustbeplacedsomewhereinthe mind.Peoplearenotusuallyawarethattheyplacenewfacts,experiences, ideas,andsuchsomeplaceinmemory,butinametaphoricalsense,they do.TheremaynotbeactualspotswhereonecanfindGeorgeWashington, buttherehastobeanindexingschemethatallowsonetohear"President, worewig,hadwoodenteeth,choppeddowncherrytree"andtoknowinstantly whowearetalkingabout.Buthowdoesthiswork?Labelssuchas"wooden teeth"areindicesusedbythemindtoretrieveinformation. InordertoappreciateanddetectthedifferencesinMoutonRothschild onemusthaveaplacetoputthatinformation.Thatplacewouldneedto standinrelationtootherplacesthatstoreinformationaboutwineand wouldbeintermsoffeaturesofthewinethatwerebegatheredovertime bylotsoftasting.Theeffectofthistastingistogathertogethera setoffeaturesthatareofuseinday-to-daydecisionmakingthatare groundedinactualexperience.Thevalueofallfeaturecollectionisto beabletosay,whentastinga1959Mouton,thatitisbetterthanthe '61butnotasgoodasthe'59Latour.Ofcourse,youmightnotcareenough aboutwinetosaythis,norhaveenoughknowledgetosayit,butifyou bothcaredandhadtherelevantexperiences,youwouldwanttobeable tosayit.Theonlywaytodothisistobecontinuallyre-examiningand re-usingthefeaturesthatyouhavepreviouslyused.Todothis,youmust havemyriadexpectationsandbeabletodealwiththefailureofthose expectations.Whenexpectationsfail,youmustbeabletoexplainwhy. Thisisthebasisoflearning.Ifyouwanttoknowhow1959Mouton-Rothschild tastes,therefore,drinkingabottleofitisn'tallyouneedtodo.You needtoworkuptoitwithlesserwines,tastebothyoungerandolderwines, tastewinesofthesameyearofchateausofequivalentquality,andtaste otherMoutons.Ifyoufailtodothis,youwilltastethewine,butyou won'tlearnawholelotfromtheexperience. Inordertogetgoodatmakingdecisionsthen,studentsneedtomake agreatmanyofthem.AcognitiveGBSmustallowstudentstheopportunity tomakenumerousdecisionsandtodiscussthosedecisionswithotherstudents. Thepurposeofthediscussionistoencouragethecollectionoffeatures andwaysoftalkingaboutthosefeaturesthathelponediscriminatebetween choices.Studentsmustnotonlybeallowedtochoose,theymustalsoreflect onwhytheychosethewaytheydid.Todothistheymustbeabletodefend theirchoicesandtodothistheyneedtobeabletoarticulatethefeatures ofasituationthatcausedthemtomakethedecisionstheydid UnderstandingLife TeachingtheEFKthatispartofunderstandinglifeisrathercomplicated. Oneproblemisthatunlikedomainsofknowledgediscussedabove,there islittleagreementonthefacts.Anotherproblemisthatunlikedayto daydecisionmaking,thereisnoprogramofordereddecisionsthatcan begonethroughtoarriveatnuancesofknowledge.Forexample,let'sreturn tothetwoadagescitedabove: Ifyouwanttogetaheadinlife,followyournaturalinstinctsand ignoretheadviceofyourcompatriots. Onewaytogetrichistoneverspendadime. Theyarebothneithertruenorfalse,andneithercanbelearnedin anyordinarysenseoflearning.Nevertheless,peoplefeelthatthey"know" suchthingsandthattheywerelearnedin"theschoolofhardknocks." Itisfairlyobviousthatgeneralizationsmadeoverthecourseofa lifetimeaboutstrategiesforsuccessarenotlikelytobebesttaught inashortcoursethatproposestosimulatelifeconditions.Anysuchcourse wouldbenaturallyslantedtowardsthegeneralizationsthattheteacher wantedmadeandwouldthusfailtoteachthekeyissue.Theissuewith respecttosuchgeneralizationsisnotknowingthembutmakingthem.You canhaveopinionsonwhatmakesforahappylife,orhealthychildren, orgreatwealth,oranyothersubjectwhichhasbeenreducedtomyriad proverbs,andImayhaveadifferentopinion.Therearenorightanswers inthisregard.Thereareonlybeliefsthatindividualshaveandbeliefs thatvarioussubcultureshave.Whatisimportantislearningtomakethese generalizationsinthefirstplace,ortoputthisanotherway,toobserve lifeandlearnfromit. Putthisway,itseemsclearthattheteachingissueherecanbeaddressed byhavingstudentsreasonaboutsituationsanddiscusstheirconclusions withothers,defendingtheirpointsofview.Thediscussionwouldneed torevolvearoundtherationalebehindthosegeneralizations,notaround thegeneralizationsthatwereformedbyastudent.Thelessonsareinthe reasoningprocessesthemselves,notinthebiasesandbeliefsystemsof theparticipants.Asitturnsout,agoodvenuefordoingthisisthereading ofliterature.ButIsaythiswithsometrepidation. Theproblemisthatliteraturecoursesinvariablyaretaughtwithrespect toissuesofwriting,appreciationofclassicalauthors,detectionofthemes ofvarioustimeperiods,anddeconstructionofthetext,amongotherthings. Iamsuggestingthatliterature(andforthatmatter,movies)hasvalue inthepresentationoflifesituationsandthepossibilityfordiscussion ofwhattherightcourseofactionmightbeinthosesituations.Inother words,inacoursein"life"oneneedstodiscussissuesthatcomeupin life.Thebestwaytodothisistoexperiencelifevicariouslyinavariety offormatsandsituationsandthenhavetheteacher,whowouldbea"reasoning teacher"inthiscase,notaliteratureteacher,helpstudentsformulate pointsofviewaboutpropercoursesofactionandaboutlifethemes.This processhappensquitenaturallyoutofschoolallthetime.Whenteenagers discussmoviestheyoftendwellonlifethemes,butwithoutguidanceand inthenon-intellectualstanceoftentakenbyteenagers,theymightdwell onthebaserissuesandnotlearnasmuchaboutlifeastheymightwith thehelpofateacher. Thesamecourseofactionpertainstobusiness.Therearefewerbusiness moviesandlessbusinessliterature,buttherearesomeexamplesofthese genres.Evenso,thereareclassicbusinesscasesthatstudentsoftenconsider forreasonsdifferentthanwearediscussinghere.Whatwearesuggesting isthatgeneralbusinessthemesarebesttaughtbyseeingexamplesrather thanbypreaching.Thus,whenacompanywishestoteachitsemployeesthat honestyisthebestpolicyinbusiness,theytendtopreachit.Butteaching isbetterthanpreaching.Teachinginthiscasemeansallowingstudents toreadaboutorseedepictionsofsamplesituationsthatillustratepossible coursesofactionandthenallowingthemtodiscussthepossibilities. Tosomeextentthisisdoneinbusinessethicscoursestoday,butoften theserevolvenotaroundreasoningtherightcourseofactionbutlearning thefinepointsofthelaw. LearningfromExperience:CaseAcquisition Welearnmicro-scriptswhenwelearnbydoing;welearnparticipationstrategies whenweparticipateinaprocess;welearnexplicitfunctionalknowledge whenwelearnbycognizing;andineachofthesethreetypesoflearning welearncases.Whileitmayseemthatknowledge,strategies,andmicro-scripts arecriticalaspectsofwhatweknow,andtheysurelyare,theydonot havetheoverwhelmingimportanceintheformationofuniqueindividuals withdistinctpersonalities,opinions,andreasoningabilitiesasdoes theacquisitionofacasebase. Whenpeopleareconfrontedwithnewsituationstheytendtoattempt toseethemasoldsituations,onestheyhavedealtwithpreviously,so thattheycancopybehaviorthathasworkedfortheminthepast.Typically, thissortofcasebasedreasoningtendstobeaversionoftheoldconcept ofascript.Whenonehasbeeninarestaurantmanytimesbefore,oneneedn't askexistentialquestionsaboutwhattodonextorwhyeachroleplayer isdoingwhatheisdoing.Scriptssaveprocessingtimeandenergy.We dowhatwehavedonebefore.Thedifferencebetweencasesandscriptsis reallyjustoneoftheoverarchinggeneralityandubiquityofthescript. EveryonehasmoreorlessthesameMcDonald'sscriptbecausetheworld overoneMcDonald'sislikeanother.Wecanassumethatourknowledgeabout howtooperateinthemisnotindividualizedinanyinterestingway. IcannotassumethateverybodyhasthesameLuteceorTaillevantscripts, however.Mostpeoplehavenotbeentotheseplaces.However,iftheydid eatthere,theirbehaviorwouldonlydifferfromeachotherinsmallways. Thefancyrestaurantscriptcanbeinferredrathereasily,andmostpeople canadapttheirpriorrestaurantscriptstohelpout.Thus,whenaparticular scriptisunavailable,theusualstrategyistofindtheclosestpossible scriptanduseit. Thedistinctionbetweencasesandscriptsisnotthatgreat.Thereason forthisisthatwhenanewsituationisencountered,andthebestpossible oldscriptisusedtohelpout,theunderstanderwillstillrecognizethat anewsituationhasbeenencountered.So,whenourfirsttimedinerat Taillevanthastoresorttousingthescriptthathehadforthebestrestaurant inhishometowntohelphimunderstandhowtobehave,eitheroneoftwo thingswillhappen.Eitherhewillfindthatcertainstuffworks(e.g., "Youwillbehandedawinelistandwillbeexpectedtoorderwinewhich willbepouredoutfortheorderertotastefirst")orhewon't.Whenhis rulesfail(whenhesendsbackthechocolatesthatarrivedwiththecoffee sayinghedidn'torderthem)hewillbegintoacquireanewcase. Peopleacquirenewcasesbecausetheoldscripttheywereusingdidn't workallthatwell.WewouldexpectourfirsttimedineratTaillevant torememberandtellthestoryofhisdiningexperience.Further,wewould expectthat,ifheshouldfindhimselfatTaillevantagain,hewouldnot makethesameerrorshemadethefirsttime.Hewouldhavelearnedfrom experience.Learningfromexperiencemanifestsitselfastheacquisition ofanewcasewhichhasbeenaddedtomemory. Twoquestionsthatcanbeaskedatthispointare:Whereinmemoryis thatcaseadded?andWhatformdoesthecasetakeinmemory?Thesequestions matterbecausetheiranswerswilltellushowlearningfromexperience actuallytakesplaceandwhatkindsoflearningfromexperiencecantake place. Whenascriptisbeingformedinmemory,itowesitsexistencetorepetition andcontinueduse.Noscriptisformedwhenagivenbehaviorisdoneonly once,orinanycasedonequiterarely.Further,evenifthereisagreat dealofrepetition,lackofcontinuedusewouldkillthescript.(Howmany peoplecouldgobacktosixthgradeandrecalltheclassroomroutinethat wasatonetimeascriptforthem?)Sincerepetitionandcontinueduse mattersogreatlyinscriptformation,itseemsobviousthatatthetime oftheinitialencounterwithanewexperience,memorycouldnotpossibly tellthedifferencebetweenascriptandacase. Thusitstandstoreasonthatscriptsandcasesarethesamethingas farasprocessingofnewinformationisconcerned.Toputthisanother way,humanmemoryisfullofprocessingstructures.Thesestructurestell uswhattoexpectnextfromotherpeoplewhoareactinginasituation andwhattodonextinresponsetothoseactions.Wehavedescribedin Schank(1982)howMOPsareformedascontainersforaspectsofsuchprocessing structuressuchthatlargerstructurescanbeputtogetherfromsmaller structures.Thus,knowledgeofhowtoactinafancyrestaurantcomesfrom whatweknowaboutpaying,ordering,tastingwine,andsoon,someofwhich areparticulartofancyrestaurantsandsomeofwhichcomefromwhatwe knowaboutcontractingforservices.TheMOPisanorganizerofscenes whichcontaintheprocessingrulesforparticularsituations. Butwheredocasesfitinthisscheme?InSchank(1982)wesaidthat caseswerefoundaswholeswhentheywerelabeled(orindexed)byTOPs whichwereexplanationsofsituationsthatwerecouchedinthelanguage ofgoalsandplans(seealsoSchank(1986)).Also,weindicatedthatcases weresometimesstoredasexceptionstoexpectationswithinscenesina MOP.Thus,casesaretobefoundintwoplacesinmemoryinthescheme presentedinSchank(1982).First,theyareinsidescenes,storedasexceptions, waitingforconfirmationthattheirexceptionwasnormalandthatthey shouldbegeneralizedintonewscenesornewpartsofscenes.Second,they arelabeledbyTOPs,storedintermsofcertaingoalinteractions,and planningsituationsthatmightoccur. Whatdoesthistellusaboutlearning?Obviously,learningtakesplace whenanexistingmemorystructureneedstobemodified.Welearnbecause someprocessingstructuregotitwrong,thatis,anactordidnotdowhat wasexpectedofhim,oranactionwedidturnedoutbadly(orunexpectedly well). Ifwelearnbymodifyingmemorystructures,thenitstandstoreason thatwecannotlearnanythingmuchifwedonothaveprocessingstructures tomodify.Inotherwords,wecanonlylearnanewcasewhentheoldcase wewereusingforprocessingturnedoutnottowork.Sinceexpectations needtofailinordertoacquireanewcase,weneedexpectationsinthe firstplaceorwewon'tlearnmuch.Sinceexpectationsonlyexistinside scenesinMOPsandinsideplanningstrategiesinTOPs,andthesearederived frompreviouscases,acleareducationalstrategyemerges. Anyeducationalschememustfocusoncreatingexpectationsinthemind ofthelearnerandthenpresentingcaseswhichcausethoseexpectations tobemodified.Sincetheexpectationsthatarecriticalherearethose containedinscenesinMOPsandinplanningstrategiesinTOPs,itisclear whatmustbedoneinanylearningsituation.Inordertolearnanewcase, asimilarcasemustalreadyexistinmemory.Further,thatcasemustmake apredictionaboutwhatwillhappen,whichturnsouttobewrong.Thenew casecanthenbeunderstoodintermsofapartialmatchtotheoldcase andintermsofexplanationsthatneedtobecreatedbythelearnerto accountforthedifferencesbetweencases.Inotherwords,thereisan artinpresentingnewcasestoastudent.Newcasesmustfollowinaparticular wayfrompreviouslypresentedcases.Theymustmodifyexpectationsbuilt upbythepriorcase.Therecanbenonewcaseswithoutpriorpartially matchedcases. Thereasonforthiscomesfromthetwoquestionscitedabove.Where doweputanewcase?Theansweristhatnewcasesarestoredinrelation totheaspectoftheoldcasethatfailed.Sinceanewcaseneedstobe storedinmemoryinorderforittobelearned,wewouldhopethatitwould bestoredsomeplacewhereitcouldbefoundsomeothertime.Thiscanonly happenwhencasesarestoredintermsofexpectationsthatareactivated bysituations.Ifacaseisstoredindependentofanexpectationlinked toasituation,nothingwouldcauseittocometomindduringactiveprocessing. Thesecondquestionabovewas:Whatformdoesanewcasetake?Theanswer isthatitsimplycopiesmostaspectsoftheoldcasefromwhichitwas derivedandaddsanexceptionthatistrueundercertaincircumstances, anditnotesthosecircumstances.Thus,ithastheeffectofcausingdetailed discriminationsinexpectationstobemadethatallowalearnertodetect nuancesofdifferenceinacomplexsituation. Thelessonforeducationhere,then,isthatonecanonlylearnfrom experienceiftheexperienceoneishavingisstronglyrelatedtoanexperience onehasalreadyhad.Sincesomuchofeducationfailstounderstandthis keypoint,andsinceallowingstudentstolearnfromexperienceissocritical toeducation,weshallnowexplaincarefullyexactlyunderwhatcircumstances learningnewcasesfromexperiencecanworkandunderwhichcircumstances itwillnotwork. Whileeducatorsoftenunderstandthesignificanceofpresentingcases totheirstudents,theyoftenfailtounderstandthesignificanceofthe orderingandtimingofthecasestheypresent.So,businessandlawschools whichusecasemethodsofteachingfailtorecognizetheerrorstheymake incaseselection,casesize,caseordering,andotherfactorsthatseverely affectstudents'abilitiestoabsorbthematerial.Thegoal,afterall, isthatstudentsrememberthecases,storingtheminawaythatassures theirretrievalatarelevanttimelaterinlife.Inorderforthisto happen,particularattentionmustbepaidtothememoryissuesthatmitigate theirabsorption. Thekeyerrorthatmostcase-organizedcoursesmakeisthepreference fortemporalorderingoverthematicordering.Temporalorderingofcases occurswhencasesarepresentedinaserialorderdeterminedbythetime inhistorywhenthecaseactuallyoccurred.Thisistheworstpossible orderingofcasesthatcouldexistbecauseittotallyignorestheissues ofpartialmatchingofpriorcasesthatenablesnewcasestobestored intermsoftheexpectationfailuresofoldcasessincenoexpectation failuresoccur. Creatingproperlyorganizedcoursesbasedoncasesdependsonmaking surethateachcasesetsupthenext.Thatis,everycaseneedstoprovide itsunderstanderwithnewexpectations,someofwhichfailinsubsequent cases.Itiseasytomisunderstandtheconceptofcasessettingupcases. Whycouldn'tthecaseofwhathappenedin1810setupthecaseofwhat happenedin1815?Isn'tthatonecasesettingupanother?Ofcourseit isinthetemporalsense,butitmightnotatallbeasetupinthethematic sense.Theissueiswhetherthematerialinthesecondcasebuildsonthe expectationssetupinthepriorcasebyconfirmingsomeandviolating others.Thisdistinction,betweencasesthatbuildoneachotherandthose thatmerelyfolloweachother,iscentraltothegoalofhavingastudent willremembernotonlythecasesbutalsotheprinciplesthosecasesexemplify. Therearemanypossibleorderingsofcasesanddecisionsonwhatmakes casesappropriatebesidestemporalorderingthatareofconcernhere.In general,anysyntacticorderingorselectioncriteria(e.g.,onefromthis typeandonefromthattype,orallthecasesthatinvolvefireengines) willmakeforacoursethatviolatestheprinciplesthatunderliememory's abilitytoabsorbnewinformation.Theorderingandselectionmustbemade accordingtothefollowingmaxims: 1.Nocasebeforeitstime 2.Anynewcasemustviolateexpectationsfrompriorcases 3.Casesshouldrelatetoactions 4.Casesshouldhavethepotentialtochangebehavior Wewillnowconsiderthesemaximsoneatatime. 1.Nocasebeforeitstime Itistemptingtotellchildrenstoriesthatareofgeneralinterest. Thus,onecantellofGeorgeWashingtonchoppingdownthecherrytreeor ofPaulRevere'sridebecausethesearestoriesoftheculturetowhich childrencanrelate.Butwhenweconsiderthatwearetryingtodomore thanentertain,suchstoriesneedtobemorethansimplyappealingtochildren. Theyalsomustbegermane.Thequestionis,ofcourse,germanetowhat? Perhapsthebestwaytoillustratetheissuehereiswithreference tothestory"TheBoyWhoCriedWolf."Typically,parentstellthisstory whenachildhascomplainedaboutsomeactionsonthepartofanotherchild whenitturnsoutthattherereallywasn'tmuchofaproblemandthecomplainer hadexaggeratedorjustplainlied.Thisstoryisnotsuchafascinating story,andprobablyistoldbyparentsatjustthetimethattheyperceive thatitisneeded. Thispatternofjustintimestorytellingisonethatparentsandteachers knowtobetherightthingtodoinordinarylifesituations,butitis violatedallthetimeineducationalsettings.Thishappensbecausesomeone simplywantstotellastoryforsomereason,ormorecommonly,because thatstoryhasbeenmandatedtobetoldbysomecurriculumcommitteeas somespecifiedtimeintheschoolyear.Whenthishappenstwobadthings occur. First,thelistenerisoftenbored.Frequently,listenersfindthemselves distractedwhentheyhavenoneedforwhattheyarehearing.Onemustbe readytohearastory,toreceivealesson,ortoreadabook.Thesame messagetoldbeforeitstimeisoftencompletelyignoredbyapersonwho mightrevelinthatstoryatsomelatertime(ormighthaveloveditat someearliertime.)Ifwewantlistenerstorememberwhattheyarebeing told,theymustwanttohearwhattheyarebeingtold."Want"means inthiscase,thepresenceofanactiveexpectation,question,orcuriosity aboutsomelifestrategiesthathappenstobeaddressedbythenewstory (orcase). Thesecondproblemisthatthelistener,havingnoclearneedforthe story,islefttodeterminethepointofthestoryforhimself.Thismeans thatalistenerisleftthinkingaboutwhyGeorgedidn'tliketreesor wantedtoeatcherrypie,orwhyPaulReveredidn'tusehiscarorwhat theroadswerelikeinthosedays.Whileitisfineforlistenerstospeculate onaspectsofacasethattheyfindinteresting,theintended"lesson" ofthestoryfailstocomeacrossand,moreimportant,theentirestory isunlikelytoberememberedatallunlessthelistenerdoesaremarkably goodjobofcreatinghisownidiosyncraticlesson. Thissameproblemoccursinbusinesssituationswhenaclassiccase istoldtoanaudiencethatcouldnotpossiblyappreciateitspoint.Left tomemorizethepoint,thetraineeshavenocluewhattodowiththismemorized pointandtheyfailtolinkittoactualbehaviorsthattheyhavehadon thejob.Sometimestheycannotdothisbecausethecompanythatistraining themisgivingthemtrainingpriortotheirdoingthejob,whichconsidering whatIhavebeensayinghereisabsolutelyludicrousfromamemoryand expectationpointofview.Howcantheylearnsomethingthatrelatesin nowaytoanyexpectationthattheyhaveeverformed?Butevenwhenexpectations havebeenformedandwhenatraineehasworkedonthejob,thenewcases thathehearsaboutoftenrelatetosituationsinsomefuturejobforwhich hehasnoexpectations.Thetraineeisthusleftwithcasesandnoplace toputthem,whichmeanshewillsoonforgetthem. 2.Anynewcasemustviolateexpectationsfrompriorcases Theparticularsofwhatcaseisbestpresentedwhenareimportantto workout.Therightthingtoaskabouttherighttimetotellthecherry treestoryis,"Afterwhatcaseshouldthecherrytreecasebepresented?" Onepossibility,averygoodoneindeed,isthatthis(andallothercases) arepresentedonlyafterthelistenerhastakensomeactionthatshows heisinneedofthecase(lying,inthisexample).Thispointshallbe elaboratedfurtherinthenextmaxim.Hereweaddresstheissueofwhat todowhentheonlymediumavailableisthepresentationofcases. Theorderingofcasesinacontinuouspresentationofcasesrequires thateachcaseaddresssomeexpectationinapriorcase.Putthisway, thecherrytreecasewouldhavetobepresentedafteracaseaboutlying andgettingawaywithitifitwerepartofacourseonhonestyinrelationships. OritcouldbepresentedafterthecaseofCainandAbelifitwerepart ofacourseonmanaginghostilityinchildren.Iamactuallynottrying tomakeajokehereatall,butrathertobringupasignificantissue. Thereisnowaytosaywhenthecherrytreecaseoughttobepresented intheabsenceofanunderstandingofwhatkindofcourseitwasapart of.WhatisabsolutelywrongisthatitbeusedasacaseinAmericanhistory sinceittellsusnothingwhateveraboutAmericanhistory.Itmightbe partofacourseinWashington'scharacter.Thiscouldbeusefulinsetting upexpectationsabouthishonestythatmightbebuiltuponorviolated inasubsequentstoryabouthisadultbehavior,butIhaveneverheard suchastoryandcertainlyhaveneverheardofitbeingtoldforthatreason. Thisbearsontheideasbroughtupearlierofthethematicorganization ofcasesinacourse.Casescannotbeeasilyrememberediftheyarenot partofsomeorganizedsetofexpectationsaboutacertainclassofbehaviors. ItmaybeappealingtotellPaulRevereandGeorgeWashingtonstoriesto childrenwhomaywellrespondtothemaschildrenrespondtoanywelltold story.Butifwewantchildrentorememberwhattheyhavebeentoldand putthatstorytouseinsomeway,theyneedtobetoldwithsomecoherent themesinmind,buildingeachnewpointonanexpectationsetupbyaprior case. 3.Casesshouldrelatetoactions Ofcourse,thebestteachingrelatestoactualbehaviors,notpassive listening.Thisiswhatlearningbydoingisallabout.Notalllearning canbelearningbydoing,butwhenpossiblethismustbethefirstmethod ofteaching.Thisdoesnotmean,however,thatcasesmustonlybeactually experiencedtobelearned.Wecanabsorbcasesthataretoldtousifthey aretoldattherighttime.Thequestionis,"Whatistherighttime?" Expectationsarecreatedbybothcasesandbybehaviors.Whenyousee amanenterastorewithaguninhishand,youexpectarobbery.This issomewhatdifferentfromreadingaboutthesamesituation.Youstill expectarobbery,butyouarenotafraidandarenotwonderingwhatyou shoulddonext.Thepriorsituationis,ofcourse,farmorememorable. Nevertheless,onecantellacaseineithersituation.Ideally,inateaching situation,wewanttosetuptherobberywiththestudentasaplayerin thescenesothatitfeelsreal.Themorerealitfeelsthemorememorable itwillbe.Then,anyteachingwewishtodoinvolvinganewcasecanbe understoodintermsofthecasethathasbeensetupinarealisticway. Thelistenerisreadytohearaboutthesecondcaseafterexperiencing thefirst.Insomesense,thesecondcasewillberememberedaspartof thefirst,sothemorememorablethefirst,themorelikelythattheupcoming casewillberememberedaswell. 4.Casesshouldhavethepotentialtochangebehavior Thismaximis,ofcourse,quitecritical.Learningisaboutbehavior changeafterall.Thus,whatweneedtodoisrememberthatwhenacase istold(afteradoingexperience,forexample)wewantthelistenerto havetoactuponthelessonofthenewcaseimmediately.Thatis,ifthe casebeingtoldishowsomeonediedinarobberyattemptbecausetheythreatened therobber,thenwewantthenextexperiencetocausethelearnertohave tomakeadecisionabouthowtodealwiththerobber.Or,toputthisback tocherrytrees,ifthereisn'tasituationpresentedwherethelearner needstochoosebetweenlyingandtellingthetruththelessonwillbe lost. Itfollowsfromthisthatcasesmustbefollowedbyactionsofsome sort.Iftheactionsarepurelycognitive,andallalistenerneedsto doissaywhathewoulddo,weruntheriskofhavingstudentsparrotright answersindependentofrealvisceraldecisionmaking.Studentscanlearn tosaytherightanswersbutcantheylearntodothem?Thiscanonlybe foundbyalternatingcaseswithactionsinsomeway. Conclusion Learningbydoingworksbecauseitteachesimplicitlyratherthanexplicitly. Thingsthatarelearnedimplicitlyneedonlybeexperiencedintheproper wayatthepropertime.Inordertomakeclassroomsintolearning-by-doing experiencesweneedtoallowstudentstobeinsituationsthataregermane totheirinterests. Whatstudentslearnwhentheylearnbydoingoftenremainsimplicit. Micro-scripts,participationstrategies,explicitfunctionalknowledge, andlessonsfromcasesareoftenthekindofknowledgethatpeopledon't reallyknowtheyhave.Theknowledgecomesupwhentheyneeditandpeople cansometimesexplicitlystatewhattheyknow.Educatorsareoftenconfused bythefactthatpeoplecanexplicitlystatewhattheyknow.Infact,they aresoconfusedbythisthattheyperverttheeducationsystemsothat itwillhighlighttheexplicitstatingofwhatoneknowsratherthanhighlight thebehaviorthatwouldindicatethepresenceofimplicitknowledge.We mustturnthisstateofaffairsaroundifwearetoeverreallychange education.   References Dewey,John.1916.DemocracyandEducation;AnIntroductiontothe PhilosophyofEducation,NewYork:Macmillan. Schank,R.1982.DynamicMemory:ATheoryofLearninginComputers andPeople.Cambridge,England:CambridgeUniversityPress. Schank,R.1986.ExplanationPatterns:UnderstandingMechanically andCreatively.Hillsdale,NewJersey:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates. Schank,R.1991.TheConnoisseur'sGuidetotheMind.NewYork: SimonandSchuster. SchankR.andR.Abelson.1977.Scripts,Plans,Goals,andUnderstanding: AnInquiryIntoHumanKnowledgeStructures.Hillsdale,NewJersey: LawrenceErlbaumAssociates.