A propos des Apprentissages Essentiels

Proposition One:
Learning is a Process of Adaptation.
We seek to make meaning from the world around us (including other people within it), in order to take meaningful action to improve “our fit” within it. Learning thus combines ‘making meaning’ with ‘taking action’ as a process of individual and social adaptation.

Proposition Two:
Learning is a Process of Transformation.
The meaningful actions that we take (both as individuals and collectively) can result in transformations to (a) the bio-physical world, (b) the socio-cultural world, (c) ourselves, and/or (d) relationships that exist between all or any of the above. Change is thus our motivation for learning.

Proposition Three:
Learning is a Multi-dimensional Process.
It is useful to think about different (a) ‘pillars of learning’ (Delors), (b) ways or modes of learning (Reason/Bawden/Belenky), (c) motivations for learning (Habermas) (d) levels of learning (Kitchener), and (e) ‘essential learnings’ (SACSA).

Proposition Four:
Learning is a Process that has to be Learned.
As humans we have the remarkable to capacity to be able to ‘meta learn’: that is to learn how to learn. Indeed it might be argued that meta-learning is THE essential learning – the very essence of human-ness.

Proposition Five:
Learning is a 3R Process.
Learning is (a) reflective, (b) recurrent, and (c) recursive.


Pillars of Learning
* Learning to Know
* Learning to Do
* Learning to Live Together
* Learning to Be

Modes of Learning
* Propositional Learning (to know from being told)
* Practical Learning (to know from being shown what to do)
* Experiential Learning (to know through the process of being)
* Inspirational Learning (to know from ‘innate’ insight)

Motivations for Learning
* To manage the natural world
* To deal with social situations
* To emancipate those who are disempowered

Levels of Learning
* Learning 1 = cognition : Processing the ‘matter to hand’
* Learning 2 = meta-cognition : Processing the manner by which the matter to hand is processed
* Level 3 = epistemic-cognition : Processing the epistemological assumptions that influence both meta-cognition and cognition.

Essential Learnings
* Futures
* Identity
* Interdependence
* Thinking
* Communication

en référence à : http://www.learningtolearn.sa.edu.au/Colleagues/files/links/3C2_A1_inc_cog.pdf (afficher sur Google Sidewiki)