I once heard a story about a man who wanted to know what gold was. He was told that if he climbed this particular gigantic staircase, he would reach the top and know what gold was. Along the way he kept asking what gold was, but the people just smiled, shook their head, and said, "Keep going."
The man reached the summit of the staircase. Hands shaking with excitement, he opened the door... and there was a block of gold. In astonishment, he whirled around to look down at the staircase he had just climbed. It was made entirely of gold.
This story sums up the idea of learning as a process and a product. The two principles are deeply interconnected. For the man to even understand what gold was, he had to climb a staircase made of gold, and he could only have the realization of its value when he reached the top.
Writing this blog post is a process - I reflect upon a school assignment and I formulate my thoughts into words and stories and ideas. And yet as a produce, I must hit "Publish Post" for you, my professor, to even grade this work and count it towards my grade in Integrating Technology into the Classroom.
I identify with viewing learning as a process - I feel that is 90% of my experience in this world. The other 10% is the outcome of that learning, and how do I continue to evolve in my learning as feedback. Instead of "knowing that" I want to "know how"... and yet I must begin with "knowing that" to "know how."
I mean, the man could have simply Googled a definition and image and maybe even shopped for it online. But his process was to journey far, to have an experience. Learning is an experience.
I want to climb the staircase.
The man reached the summit of the staircase. Hands shaking with excitement, he opened the door... and there was a block of gold. In astonishment, he whirled around to look down at the staircase he had just climbed. It was made entirely of gold.
This story sums up the idea of learning as a process and a product. The two principles are deeply interconnected. For the man to even understand what gold was, he had to climb a staircase made of gold, and he could only have the realization of its value when he reached the top.
Writing this blog post is a process - I reflect upon a school assignment and I formulate my thoughts into words and stories and ideas. And yet as a produce, I must hit "Publish Post" for you, my professor, to even grade this work and count it towards my grade in Integrating Technology into the Classroom.
I identify with viewing learning as a process - I feel that is 90% of my experience in this world. The other 10% is the outcome of that learning, and how do I continue to evolve in my learning as feedback. Instead of "knowing that" I want to "know how"... and yet I must begin with "knowing that" to "know how."
I mean, the man could have simply Googled a definition and image and maybe even shopped for it online. But his process was to journey far, to have an experience. Learning is an experience.
I want to climb the staircase.
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