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Never mind - if you read this book, you're bound to gather some really important insights into the nature of learning, creating and using knowledge, and if you're in education or training, you'll come away not only with a higher awareness of learning theory, but some exciting ideas to try in your own practice.
However, for those unfamiliar with Novak's past work, this book is revolutionary. He shows how the theories of behaviorism and positivism have led to an education system that, despite increasing expenditures, fail to teach children and instead encourages learning by rote. He goes on to show that knowledge is created by the learner, not caused by the teacher, not "poured into people's heads". He also addresses the emotional aspects of the educational "context" (his word).
This book is not just for educators. Anyone unfamiliar with Novak's work with Concept Maps, Knowledge Vees or the Constructivist philosophy will have a lot to gain from reading this book.
One annoyance: there are quite a number of passages that are repeated! I blame this on the editor, not the author. It doesn't take away from the message of the book, but it gives me the feeling that something else might have been missed.
But this book is not simply for professors and other members of the "intellectual elite." It is first and foremost a helpful guide to teachers, students, business managers and healthcare workers who want to succeed in the competitive arena of the "knowledge age."
Perhaps the most important contribution Novak makes is his careful description [and multiple examples] of concept mapping and V diagramming as tools for facilitating learning, understanding and knowledge creation. Unlike many "recipes" and "panaceas" offered by others, Novak cites numerous studies that provide very strong support for the use of these powerful "metacognitive" tools.
This book is an extraordinarily important contribution to efforts that seek to empower people to become meaningful learners and knowledge makers. It should be read by every college student, every teacher, and by all those charged with managing knowledge professionals.
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The author discusses Concept Mapping (Entity Relationship diagrams for computer people) and Vee Diagrams, a template for structuring knowledge on specific concepts.
He shows how these two tools can improve learning in students. His examples start with a science class that uses a laboratory to teach practical skills and scientific method learning to students. For these students, the two tools become important for structuring knowledge and directing future research.
His results show that students need to make learning relevant to their existing knowledge and these tools will help do that. His results show an initial drop off in standardized testing after applying these tools, but then the scores pick back up and exceed standard rote-learning. I would agree with this -- if you're talking about the upper 20 % of the students. But I can't see the class laggards buying into these tools, as they require the student to be in love with their subject. These tools show you how to go deeper and how to find new knowledge.
I would recommend these tools for advanced classes and motivated students. I agree with the author that they will help researchers push back the envelopes of knowledge on their fields of specialization.
The Vee tool forces a template of things to "Think" and "Do" when you are formulating questions on a topic. Although perhaps tedious for some, it appears to work very well. I liked it very much. Students in a science lab can use these templates to decide what questions to research, what tests need to be run, how to know if they are successful, etc.
It is in this scientific area where the big payoff for these Vee charts are. I doubt that John Q. Public is going to find them as a useful tool on everyday learning decisions. For this reason I recommend this book for any type of researcher. The author describes how these Vee Charts have been used successfully by graduate students on their theses.
But John Q. Public can easily apply the Concept Maps. And, the author uses these maps as a tool to interview and assess students. The author also uses them to help develop books, articles and learning materials.
This book would be excellent for someone who has read Kuhn (scientfic revolutions) and wants to find some tools and methodologies for extending knowledge in his field.
I think the author is correct in most of his work. This book is particularly recommended for graduate students doing any kind of research papers.
John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX