Thanks for pushing it a step further, Tim:
> different approaches to instruction also have this character.
> Traditional lecture-based instruction is inherently a Push
> procedure---assumptions are made by the lecturer about what the
> lecturee knows and needs to know.
Of course, no technology can be inherently pure Pull or pure Push;
the lecturee has to be active in Pulling what she needs out of the
lecture, and the problem-solver has to find occasions to let, say, a
reference book or an expert Push information at her.
> What characterizes the various forms of learner-directed forms of
> instruction, such as Problem-Based Learning, is that in
> identifying for themselves what they need to learn, students get to
> "Pull" the knowledge rather than have it pushed upon them. The
> benefit to the "Pull" approach is that greater respect is afforded
> to the knowledge that the learners bring to the table.
I think a more important benefit is that it helps the learner see
that pulling (exploration, investigation) is fruitful and necessary.
One thing I see my students having trouble with is escaping from
the habits engendered by a lifetime of educational Push . . .
-- Russ
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