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Thanks Dave for summing up our differences and similarities. I think you summarized everything well.

Luke, I really enjoyed the video and example you posted to prove how we need to teach students to think about the implications of their knowledge and actions. It was a solid real-life application. The question for the group then becomes how do we effectively do this in our classrooms? Here is an article I recently looked at that shows how our actions can easily affect what a student believes to be truth. It once again proves that our beliefs and actions need to be in-sync as we come alongside students in the learning process.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/200910/your-actions-affect-what-others-do-even-when-those-others-are-infants

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I think Graham would also say learning truth is insufficient if is not obeyed (or "acted on"), and that truth is more than just facts.  Parker Palmer (whose ideas about truth are all over this book) in To Know as We are Known gives the example from the documentary "The Day After Trinity" when scientists tested the first nuclear warheads.  They spent years researching and developing a bomb and had sufficient knowledge of physics and chemistry, but they hadn't reflected on the truth of the implications for the future until after all was said and done.  Graham seems to be talking about acting in obedience to this kind of truth.  CMU's webpage only answers the question "how can we learn that physics and chemistry?"

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DR  J  ROBERT OPPENHEIMER   NOW I AM BECOME DEATH, THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS

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(Dave) So... now what?  (PLEASE EDIT AS YOU LIKE)

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(Dave) So... now what?  (PLEASE EDIT AS YOU LIKE)

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Have we gone as deep as we can on this, or have we only scratched the surface really well?

Most of our "similarity" posts highlight the following:

1. New beliefs, knowledge, and skills need to be connected to previous truths and a wider context in order to become fixed.  Part of this fixing process requires skills/truths to be activated in an environment which supports the application of these new truths and skills.

2. For students, self-motivation and self-monitoring are key intrinsic qualities in directing and sustaining learning.  It is the role of the teacher to provide "matched" opportunities for students to have authentic experiences to kick-start a cognitive/creative dissonance which must be resolved.

Most of our "differences" posts highlight the following:

1. Graham's focus on truth application as it is displayed in behavior,   action, and belief systems is centered on a "heart-level commitment" which transcends typical definitions of the whole child.  While Graham is interested in the process by which students accumulate knowledge, he seems more interested in students gaining wisdom by discerning how these new heart committed truths can be used to glorify God and be put to service in His Kingdom. CMU's learning theory make no mention of wisdom and its definition of the whole child is limited to intellectual, behavioral, social, and emotional development (which, to be fair, encompasses a lot).  "Truth" is not found in the Bible but through experiences (which may or may not be rewarding and positive) and by acceptance (partial or whole) of new skills or beliefs formed through relationships with others and their environment.

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1. Self motivation:  I believe DG infers this through techniques which recognize the image bearer; CMU states that self motivation is critical, and comes from prior success and the teacher's support.

2. Gaining skills and then relating/applying them to real life are important for "mastery."

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Graham's principles are born from a framework which invokes God the Creator.  CMU's principles are rooted in cognitive, behaviorist, and humanist research.
Graham's principles have an outcome centered upon developing the Christian Mind while CMU suggests an outcome more fit for high standardized test scores.
The purpose of the two are not exclusive to one another. While I would believe Graham to be a proponent of academic rigor and skills, I can't help but think he would ask 'So What?' if a student showed him a report card full of A's.

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Luke, I think you summed up all of our similarities and differences well in your post entitled, "Why the Differences?" I believe that once we have strong understanding of how to carry out God's image in ourselves and in our students, we can then  discern what other learning theories connect. If we carry out the image of God, all other learning theories will fall into place accordingly.

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Both of these sources seem to describe the same thing (the best way for learners to learn), so why are they so different?  My initial thought is that CMU is a broad summary of educational research, whereas Graham's chapter isn't research-based, but the result of musings over what the image of God (and the Bible in general) could mean for learning.  Graham even says that "the Bible is not a textbook for learning theory", so we should expect the lessons we draw from it to be a different flavor from learning theory ideas.

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CMU: principles about learning come from research.
Graham: principles about learning come from the Bible (and supposedly educational research too, but he didn't cite any).

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Both authors talk about applying learning, but I think that looks very different for both of them.   In TR applying means acting on a "heart-level commitment," which feels like a much higher calling than CMU's "apply what they have learned" idea, whatever that means.

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CMU never actually states what learning is, but Graham spends a lot of time on this.

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Both Graham and CMU indicated that teachers should match instruction to their students (though CMU recommended matching instruction to students' developmental stage, and Graham said to match instruction to students' image of God characteristics.

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Many of the similarities people pointed out I saw as differences.  For instance, with Graham there's no mention of child developmental stages, skill practice, motivation, self-monitoring, or prior knowledge.  I'm sure he wouldn't deny the importance of those things, and he brings up some of these things in later chapters, but he doesn't mention them in his basic ideas about learning.

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I did not see many similarities between these two readings, but the one that stuck out to me most was how both authors claimed environmental factors can influence learning.  CMU talked about course "climate," and  Graham called it "environment," but they both say it has implications, though it's not the only thing that impacts learning.

(DAVE) I couldn't figure out if they were talking strictly about the teacher, the classroom, the school, or their larger social context. Graham at least seems to say that the environment is whatever the teacher creates and/or uses for the purpose of effective learning.  In this way, Graham's environment seems more like a tool than a CMU's climate factor.

Rachel: I felt like both CMU and Graham stated the same concept in regards environment, but they just used different words like "environment" or "climate." Both stated that the environment we create has different effects on a student. Therefore, I would say that both of them want the classroom to be used as tools.

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(Scott) Differences:

1.     Graham identifies truth whereas the research-based principles speak of knowledge or skills

2.     Graham points out that learning occurs at a level in which the whole being of the person is engaged.  While the researched-based principles acknowledge that the learner is developing socially and emotionally as well, there is little assertion as to the important role that the heart would play in the learning process. There is a nod to creating a learning environment in which the child is engaged at the appropriate social, physical or emotional level. There is no mention of engaging the spirit of a student.

3.     Graham speaks of the ‘heart’ when talking about motivation.

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(Scott) Similarities:

1. Graham points out that it requires the involvement of the person; the researched-based principles point out that the learner is also critically involved:

·        prior knowledge is important,

·        how they organize and  connect pieces of knowledge,

·        student motivation directs and sustains the process,

·        students are practicing and applying,

·        students monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.

These bullets all point to an engaged, involved learner.

2. Graham points out that learning requires the individual to commit to a truth and act upon it. Similarly, the research-based principles speak of retrieving and applying knowldege or practicing and integrating skills.

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TR says that when we accept truth at the heart level, it will change how we act.  The online list focuses on the intellectual level of knowledge and finding ways to activate learning.

(DAVE) ABSOLUTELY!!!

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The online list focuses on the environment the student is in and what the student knows about themselves and how they learn.  Learning seems very much directed by these things.  TR agrees that environment and heredity are important, but Graham emphasizes that students themselves are responsible for what they learn and what they do with it, hopefully letting their redeemed heart lead the way.

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Both lists make points that learners need to apply what they learn. TR says that when they accept new learning, their actions will change. The online list says that students need to learn and then apply that learning.

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Both lists state that students need to incorporate new learning into their beliefs.

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Both conclude that students learn best when they are motivated - T.R. puts that as reaching the students' hearts while the online list states motivation as students finding positive value - I think those two explanations are really the same, just from different reference points. It's the heart of the students that leads a student to act/behave a certain way and be motivated to continue learning.

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Both teachers and students need feedback - communication within the classroom is essential. When feedback is given both ways, adjustments can be made in learning approaches and teaching approaches.

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Both students and teachers learn and teach best when the information is organized. Students organize the knowledge by making connections and teachers organize the knowledge through objectives, activities, and assessments.  When both do their part in organizing, learning will take place more effectively.

(DAVE) While lesson planning is an important part of organization, I wonder if the teacher's role in organizing is more about placing diverse information into the whole: a larger story, theme, or context

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Differences

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Similarities