People learn incredibly much from their daily living because often they pursue the things they are interested in. The things fit their goals, which is an important condition for learning. It is essential to set the stage.
Because of pursuing interests (or obligations) people try out things. Some attempts succeed, others fail, which result in questions. The questions lead to introspection, pondering, asking other, consulting sources (e.g. a Google search). The question in turn readies the mind for the answer. If answers are made available without the need to match a question, the answers often go wasted.
This three-step learning waterfall is illustrated below. In natural learning, people wonder about their experiences, they draw conclusions. This process bring about indices. Future learning is either allocated to an existing category or a new category indexed.
In research the central research question or hypothesis is the crux of a study. Once the question is clarified and delimited, then the research is focused. A colleague at Unisa, Paul Prinsloo, once shared the following story (Download a_story_about_the_power_of_questions.doc) about the power of questions
The art of accomplishing the desired outcome from in vivo learning is in formulating the correct questions students need to find answers for.
Schank, R.C. & Cleary, C. 1995. Engines for education. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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