Words, words, words...

In trying to explain what I mean by Learn to Learn, I have used the following. Think of each pair as a spectrum, from one end to the other. The left column represents the traditional, rather autocratic setting, where the teacher is the expert who transmits information to the student. The right column represents the more involving pattern, with the teacher-student relationship closer to equivalent. Please realize these words are at the ends of each spectra; undoubtedly the most appropriate spot is somewhere in-between.

Those of us who are teachers or parents might take look at each spectrum, determine where we fall in our parental or teaching role, then ask ourselves if any adjustments are in order which could lead to a more Learn to Learn setting.

Autocratic	Democratic
Learn the content	Learn to learn
TAE; Deductive	EAT; Inductive
Comfortable with the supernatural	Very suspicious of the supernatural
I know, you don’t; I’m going to tell you”-	“Let’s learn together…”
Hierarchical	Collegial
Teacher as expert	Teacher as facilitator
Teacher as leader; boss	Teacher as colleague, partner
Convinced	Skeptical
Learn about the sciences	Learn to be a scientist
Learning stops at the present	Learning transcends the present
Naive, ingenuous, unsophisticated	Worldly, artful, sophisticated
A sponge for learning	A discriminating learner
Learning as a noun	Learning as a verb
Compliant	Rebellious
Leader or follower	Team member
Competitive	Cooperative
Student as follower, underling	Student as associate, co-worker
Learning centered on memory	Learning centered on thinking skills
Learning leads to orthodoxy	Learning leads to change