Learning how to learn
Abstract
Purpose
Some of Heinz von Foerster's central topics of reflection (the crucial role of the observer, the admission of the autonomy of the knowing subject, the rejection of all absolute conceptions of truth, the significance of paradoxical and circular figures of thought, etc.) are of consequence to university education and teaching in many different ways.
Design/methodology/approach
The author crucially describes the central ideas of Heinz von Foerster and related authors on education, learning and teaching.
Findings
The author shows that the concepts developed by Heinz von Foerster suggest a paradigmatic re‐orientation; the concept of knowledge transfer must be replaced by the stimulation of self‐directed learning geared to the reality of students; learning environments must be created that enable students to recognise and experience ready‐made answers primarily as questions, and solutions primarily as problems. The constructivist understanding of the multiplicity of worlds and realities is particularly well suited for university teaching to support intellectual curiosity, fascination, and cooperative reflection.
Originality/value
Heinz von Foerster's brand of subversive constructivism inspires the dismantling of stifling hierarchies of knowledge, encourages dialogue‐oriented learning, relies on the autonomy and intellectual self‐sufficiency of the individual, and stimulates the delineation of ideal‐type role‐models and interaction patterns of different kinds.
Keywords
Citation
Poerksen, B. (2005), "Learning how to learn", Kybernetes, Vol. 34 No. 3/4, pp. 471-484. https://doi.org/10.1108/03684920510581657
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited