Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Norman, D. (1999). Chapter 2: Experiencing the world (p. 21-41). In
_Things that make us smart_. Cambridge: Perseus Books.
After going on a long jag to complain about science museums and praise
video games (!) Norman revisits experiential and reflective cognition.
Most technology design does not properly explore the need for both
reflective and experential cognition in the use of the technology.
Frequently it's too much of one or the other or one when the other is
needed.
The discussion of cognition and the need for more reflective learning
leads to a discussion of learning styles. Here Norman renames familiar
concepts of learning from Piaget, Vygotsky and others to give himself
some credit he doesn't really deserve. His names for three styles of
concept/category adjustment are: accretion (accumulation of
facts/extending the category), tuning (transforming reflective mode
into experiential mode/category optimization), restructuring (concept
acquisition).
Motivated people learn best. A motivated person is engaged by their
activity. Norman says that people in this mode are experiencing
optimal flow. Multimedia designers claim their educational tools will
be able to engage students. Norman is skeptical: flow involves a lack
of distraction and fluff. Multimedia designers, so focussed on keeping
attention create a great deal of fluff.
Personally I think Norman hits the nail on the head when he talks
about motivation. If educators, and students, cannot solve that
problem, all other effort is wasted.
Back to the Index