getting real...

Today I make a presentation at the Eureka Springs Rotary on the subject of real learning and getting real. The following is from a study of the effectiveness of hands-on learning by Korwin and Jones:

Bruner (1966, p. 41), a supporter of varied learning experiences, stated that "...increasing the manipulability of a body of knowledge" creates both a physical and mental optimum learning structure and con- tended that physical operations create feedback of learning that allow children to see it happen. Lipson and Fischer (1983) sustained this reasoning, stating "Experiences without words are difficult to integrate, describe, and retrieve. Yet, words without experience tend to have limited meaning. The two reinforce each other and are defined by one another" (p.254). Martinez (1985) further explains this in saying that a student who is introduced to a concept such as walnut wood will grasp a different meaning than a student who actually uses walnut and experiences its properties firsthand.

The point is to explain that even though some may think that hands-on learning is messy and time consuming, its effectiveness more than makes up for its challenges.

I am working on a 6 string guitar neck and two more common cigar box guitars, but with boxes I made myself.

As you can see, we caught a pig in the trap yesterday. It was about 24 inches high and weighed about 125 lbs.

Make, fix, create, and extend to others the likelihood of learning likewise.