I do believe that humans are prone to working together. It is one of the things that has made us a successful species and part of the premise of the hunter/gatherer model. Unless we work collectively, especially when it comes to food, then many of us would not make it. Think about what would happen to the unfortunate individuals with severe handicaps or disabilities. Even though paternal instincts to protect offspring would kick in and help to protect them, without the collective support of the extended family, these children would not likely survive to adulthood as the parents would focus on the stronger "normal" siblings. Thankfully we can think and reason unlike most animals (although their is often lack of evidence, especially in our schools).
As Reingold related, Wikipedia is a good example of constructivist principles in action (2005). People sharing ideas in a forum that allows others to evaluate information that's already been supplied and editing either to correct errors or to add to the body of information, this is "connecting" and "constructing" knowledge and ideas which also can and does lead to new understandings (Driscoll, 2005).
References:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Rheingold, Howard. (2005) TED conference video: Way-New Collaboration. Retrieved: January 11, 2011 from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the good things have come from collaboration and vice versa. However, we have to fight off the forces of selfishness.
Hopefully the good will triumph over evil, but we can't be too altruistic and think that everyone is going to do the right thing, or take advantage of the others work.
You commented about '"connecting" and "constructing" knowledge' which started me thinking (always a dangerous proposition) about the human brain. Which metaphor of the brain fits better with current research? Constructivism views learning as an activity of sense-making that is very personal or subjective, and connects to prior knowledge humans have about a topic. Way back in my undergrad work, I came across an article by the Caines with a brain pictured as a jungle. I have never forgotten that. The article claimed teachers should teach learners in classrooms that were jungle like. I do however think a bit of housekeeping can be a good thing.
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