[From Richard Thurman (950227.0915)]
Bill Powers (950225.1105 MST)
Bill
Thanks for replying to my post to Joel (about what PCT may say about
encodingism). I must say that about an hour after I sent the post I
realized it may be taken wrongly. At the time I composed it I was a bit
taken back and the post may have been worded a bit too strongly.
Really, what I was reacting to was the implication that Joel's
interpretation of PCT may have for how one goes about creating
opportunities for students to "learn." It had never occurred to me that
HPCT may imply that 'memory' may be an artifact of hierarchical control
systems in action (that's what I interpreted Joel's post to be saying --
I may have misinterpreted what he really meant). That idea is as
'disturbing' (in a positive way) and as 'challenging' as the implication
that 'behavior' may be an artifact of hierarchical control systems simply
controlling perception(s).
I hope you will treat what BCP says as proposals concerning memory, not
Gospel.
I guess I did try to cite chapter and verse, didn't I! What I was trying
to imply was that PCT is not incompatible with memory models.
Memory seems (to me) to be external to PCT. As I've tried to integrate
PCT into my way of viewing what students do to learn I guess I have not
been able to let go of a 'computer model' of mind. PCT simply became the
'program' part to the model and 'memory' remained something for control
systems to access, much the same way that a computer program may access
a memory storage device for information.
As far as BCP Chapter 12 goes -- I do not think of it as "gospel" but it
was a good shot. As far as I understand, an RNA model of memory is no
longer considered a contender. But it was a great first try, and it
showed how PCT can be applied to such a phenomenon.
I also do not think that everything we include under the label of
"learning" is one phenomenon. There are several phenomena which seem to
involve entirely different principles: recording and playback,
reorganization, "tuning" of the parameters of an existing system, and
systematically acquiring and organizing information according to some
learned algorithm ("learning to learn"). And maybe others. To classify
these disparate phenomena under one word is a little like using
"financial transaction" to refer to everything from being robbed to
winning the lottery to buying something to counterfeiting ten-dollar
bills.
Understood.
I have for some time tried to get a handle on what PCT can do to help
the learning/teaching situation. I have tried to work it out on my own
but it seems I may need to see what others have said. I need to get a
copy of Petrie's "The Dilemma of Inquiry and Learning" and see how
others have come to grips with this subject.
Still, any other ideas on the subject will be greatly appreciated
(no matter how challenging or disturbing).
Rich