• Uncategorised

    On Motivation and Learning

    Much of the scholarship on adult learning can be summarised in the following statement:Adult’s learn what they want to learn and what they find useful and applicable to their life experience.In contrast, young people, certainly up to teenage years, are happy to learn what is put before them.  Adults, on the other hand, will discriminate and select when it comes to learning.It stands to reason therefore that motivation for learning is an important topic in adult education.  Motivation theories address the question of why we learn as distinct from cognitive theories that try to explain how we learn.When we use the term “motivation” in everyday life it can mean several…

  • For Teachers

    Problem Based Learning: The Apprentice?

    Those that know me will know that I am a fan of Problem-Based Learning, usually referred to as PBL.Ireland’s version of “The Apprentice” is being aired on TV3 and watched by many including our household. The idea is that contestants are fighting it out to get a big job as apprentice to Bill Cullen (Ireland’s best known, self-made entrepreneur). For each episode the contestants are asked to complete authentic tasks usually with a sales or design element.We get to see them work in groups, select a project manager, set goals, solve problems and think and act creatively. As television it’s quite absorbing and informative and there is plenty of learning…

  • Philosophy & Science of Learning

    My Philosophical Development by Bertrand Russell

    I am reading a wonderful book called My Philosophical Development by Bertrand Russell – I picked up a 1959 first edition in a wonderful second hand bookshop, Trinity Books in Carrick On Shannon.  This is like a beginners guide to Russell by himself and, in it he traces his thinking down through the years.There is a particularly poignant section where Russell reproduces copies of his notes from his teenage years.  He writes (p280): Just before and just after my 16th birthday, I wrote down my beliefs and unbeliefs, using Greek letters and phonetic spelling for the purposes of concealment.What Russell was at pains to conceal at this young age were…

  • The Cycle of Life

    Weekend in Rota d’Imagna

    Maire and I and our Caoimhe (19) and Jim (16) decided to spend a short weekend away in Italy – we had spotted cheap flights to Bergamo on Ryanair and used Tripadvisor to scour the area nearby for cheap but good hotels. We came accross Hotel Miramonti which is about 40 minutes from Bergamo up in the mountains.The town was called Rota d’Imagna and it is very pleasently located high up in the alpine foothills. We also spent a day in Bergamo itself – this is a wonderful town especially the old city. This was a great weekend – really enjoyable with just the four of us.  Maire and I…