2012
年1
月31
日星期二 05:59-09:08
On the Connections Between Teaching and Learning (论教与学的联系)
On the Connections Between Teaching and Learning
Teaching is fascinating and rewarding because learning is expecting and lasting.
Is the preceding statement logical? I would ask myself.
Maybe or maybe not. It depends. I would answer.
Why then? I would ask further critically.
In seeking the answers to the Why question, I discovered a new connection between creative thinking and critical thinking as follows:
Creative thinking makes something impossible possible by conceiving the connections between the unconnected while critical thinking makes the unconnected connected by establishing the connections between the unconnected.
With this discovery in mind, we can use tautology, analogy, metaphor, association and so on to establish new connections between teaching and learning as follows:
Teaching is teaching and learning is learning.
Teaching is learning while learning is teaching.
Teaching is both learning and teaching while learning is both teaching and learning.
Teaching is using what we have learned while learning is using what we have been taught.
So teaching and learning are using what we have learned and what we have been taught. But in our mental reality, it is both impossible and unnecessary to make clear distinctions between what we have learned and what we have been taught because making such clear distinctions is not only time-consuming but also unrewarding and using is using, no matter whether it is using what we have learned or it is using what we have been taught.
论教与学的联系
教学令人神往且获益无限。这是由于学习充满了期盼且永无止境。
那样说符合逻辑吗?我得问一问自己。
也许符合,也许不符合。这要看具体情况。我的问答只能如此。
那么是为什么呢?我还得进一步问个究竟。
为了寻求这个“为什么?”的答案,我发现了创造性思维与评析性思维之间的一层新联系:
创造性思维使不可能的事情成为可能,而评析性思维则将本无联系的事物联系起来。创造性思维的神奇在于想到了将本无联系的事物联系起来,而评析性思维的奥秘则在于构建了本无联系的事物之间的联系。
有了这一发现,我们可以运用同义反复、类推、隐喻、联想等方式在教与学之间建立许多新的联系。例如:
教就是教,学就是学。
教也是学,学又是教。
教学中既有教又有学,学习中既有学又有教。
教学在于用我所学,而学习在于用你所教。
由此看来,教学的意义在于运用所教、所学之知识。然而,在我们心中却无法将所教与所学清晰地区分开来。再说,不仅没有这种可能,而且也没有那个必要,这是因为那样的分辨既费时间又无实效。或者说,运用就是运用,无论是用所教也好,还是用所学也好。