Learning How to Learn

by Joseph D. Novak, D. Bob Gowin, Jane Butler Kahle (Foreword)

For almost a century, educational theory and practice have been influenced by the view of behavioural psychologists that learning is synonymous with behaviour change. In this book, the authors argue for the practical importance of an alternate view, that learning is synonymous with a change in the meaning of experience. They develop their theory of the conceptual nature of knowledge and describe classroom-tested strategies for helping students to construct new and more powerful meanings and to integrate thinking, feeling, and acting. In their research, they have found consistently that standard educational practices that do not lead learners to grasp the meaning of tasks usually fail to give them confidence in their abilities. It is necessary to understand why and how new information is related to what one already knows. All those concerned with the improvement of education will find something of interest in Learning How to Learn.

Genres: Education, Psychology, Self Help, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1984

About the author

Joseph Donald Novak (December 2, 1930 – September 22, 2023) was an American educator, and professor emeritus at the Cornell University, and senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition. He is known for his development of concept mapping in the 1970s. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Stuart Macalpine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very important book on concept based learning - I would say a 'must read'. It provides wonderful context for how to use concept maps to understand chunks of learning, and accompanies this with brilliant 'Vee' diagrammes that let teachers understand the relationship between 'doing' and 'understanding' in their unit or even discipline.

There are huge overlaps with TOK which I will be blogging about. A brilliant book.

[Tysseer Harak · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب حلو كفكرة , بس obsolete خلاص :)
وإن كان أثار في ذهني تساؤل: هو ايه الفرق الجوهري بين الكونسبت ماب (خريطة المفهوم) والمايند ماب (الخريطة الذهنية) ؟ حد يعرف؟

[Thejashwini Dev · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone in education who is deeply concerned of learning methodologies. This book will give a head way to create curriculum, assessments and interviews, that results in meaningful learning.

"Educational value increases when we recognize new meanings and feel the emotion in the process."

 

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

The material is good, but chapters seem to drag on way more than needed. Maybe it's the academic format. Worth at least a quick scan, I got quite a lot of good information from it.

[Hasan Mahmud · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter what or where you are learning, you don’t have to learn alone.

[沛馨 黃 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite viewpoints about learning almost everything.
Recommended for every learner

[Rahul Chowdhury · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is all about concept mapping and Vee diagram, the graphical tools used to assimilate and present knowledge in terms of concepts and events. The author presents detailed discussion on how to create them and the importance of them in enhancing learning. The first 3 chapters are where they introduce concept mapping and Vee heuristics. Rest of the chapter is devoted to implementation in various settings.

If you have often confused about the difference between concept-map and probably more popular mind-map read this book. Yes, they are not same as often believe to be so. To give you a hint, it's all about propositions, so go figure out yourself by reading this book.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I'm going to finish this book. I kept getting recommendations about it from other books, but it was a bit to difficult to read for me.

[Wilson Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ótimo livro para educadores e professores em geral. Conteúdo extremamente atual!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff about fee diagrams and concept maps. Convincing but a tad technical for the layman.