As the cognitivism theory would say, we tend to learn something new by relating it to something that we already know. In this case, I relate behaviorism, cognitivism, humanism, etc. to the multiplication tables. We have to memorize names, characteristics, and keywords and then apply them to a particular way of learning or learning situation. But some of the characteristics and key words may show up in more than one -ism, just like 5 x 2 shows up on the 2 and 5 multiplication tables. Yesterday, we had a class activity that was similar to having students memorize the multiplication tables and then asking them to apply them to everyday problems. Instead of, “If Trader Joes sells one papaya for $2.00 and Jimmy buys 5 papayas, how much did he spend on papayas?” we had to work in groups of 4 or 3 and use magazine cut outs, crayons and huge sticky notes--actually, a post-it poster-- to illustrate one -ism.
The activity sequence had several periods: a short discussion on the -ism, a search for images, words and illustrations that would show an aspect of our topic, design and actualization of the poster, and then presentation and discussion with the rest of the class. But in my opinion, the activity had something else going on:
- humanism = in the discussion period everybody was thinking on reaching a high point, a self-actualization point with the poster
- individualism or subjectivism = because everybody chose the images that he or she thought illustrated the subject better
- behaviorism = each time I found a photo or illustration, I showed it to my group and if everybody said, “yes, that’s a good photo” (or a similar reaction), then I put it on the “yes” pile. If they said, “well...,” then that photo went no where.
- dadaism = because the materials made no sense, they were like Duchamp’s found objects
- cognitivism = we had to make sense of all the different photos, words, and even colors that we had chosen. To organize them, we followed patterns like: acts and consequences, before and after, contrasts, etc. In our group we put together a “marriage” sequence, a schema that comes from narrative.
- postmodernism = we knew that what we put on the poster was not scientific and was open to discussion; and that some of the symbols, photos and words were ironic. For example, our group put Dr. Phil at the center of the poster, not because we believe he is the theorist or practitioner to follow, but because to the vast majority of this country Dr. Phil is the only person that will talk to them about changing a behavior and how to change it.
There were perhaps other -isms going on. Therefore I can certainly say that this activity had a lot of value.
During recess, I had the opportunity to talk to one of my classmates who is a nurse. We spoke of the difference in nursing of pain and suffering. In hospitals, pain is measured in numbers from 1 to 10. If the pain is not tolerable for you, you can rate your pain as “10,” for example. To me, a Mexican woman who is used to take pills only when the pain is killing me, pain is only measured in metaphors. But as my classmate explained, at the hospital the 1-10 scale works better because pain is subjective. She added that suffering is more difficult to rate than pain. Pain is a medical concern, a reality that can be cured with pills. Pain is similar to learning facts or behaviors, while suffering is probably the lens with which you examine your pain--or learning.
For the second half of the class, we gathered in small groups again to talk about our learning biographies. One of my classmates had a very strong opinion about the idea that “if you are a silent woman, then you don’t think” form the book Women’s Ways of Knowing. This was a great discussion because I realized that some books provoke controversies even in different contexts and decades of their original publications. I believe that women who are abused and stay quit, do so because: a) this the only context they know, b) the know the consequences of talking to others or the police about their problems and somehow silence equals self-preservation, or c) because they have some form of autism or mental problem.
I enjoyed the class and how so many different ideas and experiences helped me understand better some of the -isms we read about.
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