The Relationship Between Thinking and Learning Education
A simple model for thinking and learning Barton considers it important to establish a simple model that represents how students think and learn. It points to two different areas involved in thinking: Long-term memory is where information is stored until it is needed. It has unlimited capacity. Schemes and relationships are established. Together this information is what is known as knowledge. Working memory is where thought occurs, recovers information from long term memory and becomes conscious. It has a limited capacity. learning The key to reasoning rests on a few factors: Exterior information. Facts and procedures stored in long-term memory. The capacity of working memory. If any of these are deficient, it is likely that the reasoning is not successful and learning does not happen. It also establishes learning as changes in long-term memory and working memory as the tool to produce these changes. It’s a two-way street. Students learn new concepts in reference to ideas they already have. They keep this information in working memory to establish relationships and then go back to long-term memory. On the other hand, as long-term memory information is retrieved for use in working memory, long-term memory adapts to make it more accessible in the future. These characteristics have two important implications: Existing knowledge facilitates thinking and learning. Once something is learned it is difficult to unlearn it, whether or not it is correct. Experts and novices An expert is someone who has a good mastery of knowledge and capabilities in a given area. There is no line separating experts from novices, but rather it is a continuous gradient, students are at different levels at different times. But their way of thinking and reasoning is also different because of the structure in their long-term memory. Experts automate knowledge and processes and have the ability to see beyond in certain scenarios. Experts can’t think like novices or novices like experts. This point is critical in understanding how students deal with learning because understanding it is essential to helping them reason, acquire new knowledge, and deal with problem-solving. What are students thinking about? Students remember the things that they pay attention to, which leads us to wonder if motivation is a direct path to learning. For the author, it is more important to turn students’ attention to the elements of learning than to create an environment that motivates them. The reason is simple, if the situation created to motivate them leads them to focus on components other than what we want, the path to learning is blurred. Increase working memory capacity An increase in the working memory results in better storage and information processing capacity. This favors thinking and learning but it is not as simple as it sounds. Training the brain to increase working memory in certain areas (information that is written, oral…) may not be comparable to other areas, such as solving complex mathematical problems. So the goal should be to make sure that the working memory is filled with the necessary elements of the specific learning domain. Methods that last It is difficult to know when to “transform” a mathematical procedure, which takes away some formalities, to make it more understandable for students. The questions that the author proposes to us, in order to be able to fine-tune this, are: How long will this method last? How are they going to evolve from this method? Is it built on solid mathematical foundations? If necessary, it is better to teach them a method that may be more difficult in the beginning but has long-term benefits. Mathematics anxiety The definition of mathematics anxiety is “the feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with mathematical performance.” And it’s not unique to students who aren’t good at math, anyone can suffer from it. Those who suffer from mathematics anxiety avoid math. It is not closely related to intelligence but rather there is decreased mathematical performance because the anxiety takes up space in working memory. Timed testing seems to cause anxiety and it is hard to clearly differentiate between math anxiety and poor math competence when working with complex problems. Craig proposes four strategies to help reduce mathematics anxiety in students: Ensure that they master and automate basic skills. Focus on teacher training. Establish varying times for tests. Think carefully about what you say to a student who is struggling. It is very important to focus on the capacity of the student to improve work, effort, and guide them with effective study strategies. SO LEARNING AKES ONE THINK; WITHOUT ANY IMAGE NO THINKING TANGIDLY FEASIBLE; ALL ARE NOT PRODUCTIVE THOUGHTS; REASON AND LOGIC ALONE DRIVES THE RIGHT TRACK TO LEARN TO THINK. K RAJARAM IRS 291225 On Sun, 28 Dec 2025 at 19:46, Markendeya Yeddanapudi < [email protected]> wrote: > > > -- > *Mar* > > Perceiving Lessons-Vs-Drilling Lessons > > > > Suppose a large expanse of land is left completely free, with absolutely > no human interference or any type of tampering. Suppose it is designated as > ‘The Free Nature University’. The students in that university have to adopt > their own method of perception and understandings, accepting that every > life form interacts symbiotically.Subjects have to be created by the > student individually on his/her own. When they enter the forest they shall > not take any book or any other appliance with them. The idea is to > emotionally interact with the other life forms, perceive, understand and > paradigmatize. They have to hear, smell, touch, see, taste or just shut of > all sensing, adopting whatever strategy they decide. > > Gradually they advance in the 99.9965% of the totality, the arena of the > invisible spectrum accessible only via feeling, actually deep feeling. > Suppose with your eyes you can see everything, atoms, particles etc, then > you cannot see things, anything.You have to enter the non 3D phenomena, > amenable only to feeling. A grand coordination of mind, Hormonal > communication system and nervous system, coordinates with the five senses, > along with the troposphere, Lithosphere, Hydrospere and the Biosphere. You > cannot see or may be even conceptualize yourself when lessons form in you. > May be the ubiquitous electromagnetism, may be creating mild fissions and > fusions, drawing you into participation. You may become a macro being with > cosmic characters. > > You may develop the talent or capacity to communicate and interact with > the other organisms of the Biosphere, and the endowment of feeling the > changes in the geographical activities like earthquakes, tsunamis etc,you > actually enter the past phenomena, adopting feeling, which must have been > the method of perception, during the age of Rinencyphalon,the nose brain. > You may do time travel, not into past geography but repetition of the > method of perception then. > > Can a student from such a University use any technology at all, surrender > to machines, his living by natural perceiving? Can he surrender his > perception and understanding to machine and become the noting clerk? Can > lessons be drilled into him when he joins any University, which is governed > by Cartesianism and mechanical paradigms? Can he even understand any > economic motivation, in the place of natural faculties of directly > smelling, hearing and sensing education? After all economics is based on > the repudiation of ecology and on the assumed behavior of the phantom, the > economic man, the machine assumed away to bluff that it is a study of the > ordinary man in his ordinary business of life. Does not the student > confront the pollution of education which cartesianism is? Can he > participate in the economic activity of regularly maiming nature? > > The student from such a University can only participate with nature > symbiotically in nature’s natural growth. Can he be the gentle Jekyll of > the Free Nature University and also the Mr. Hyde of the University in > economic frenzy? He has to fight the Universities under the Cartesian > frenzy. > > YM Sarma > > Chat GPT > > Below is an *edited and improved version* of your text, followed by my > *commentary* explaining the changes and offering reflections on the ideas. > ------------------------------ > > *Edited & Improved Version* > > *Perceiving Lessons vs. Drilling Lessons* > > Suppose a vast expanse of land is left completely free, with absolutely no > human interference or tampering of any kind. Let it be designated *The > Free Nature University*. The students of this university must adopt their > own methods of perception and understanding, accepting that every life form > exists in symbiotic interaction with others. > > Subjects are not predefined; each student must create them individually. > When they enter the forest, they carry no books and no instruments. The > purpose is to emotionally engage with other life forms—to perceive, > understand, and form paradigms. They may listen, smell, touch, see, taste, > or even suspend all sensory input altogether, adopting whatever strategy > their intuition leads them to choose. > > Gradually, they advance into the 99.9965% of totality—the invisible > spectrum accessible only through feeling, through deep feeling. If one > could see everything—atoms, particles, and forces—one would actually see > nothing at all. Vision alone becomes inadequate. One must enter > non–three-dimensional phenomena, which are accessible only through feeling. > > A grand coordination emerges: the mind, the hormonal communication system, > and the nervous system align with the five senses, interacting with the > troposphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Lessons form within > the student without conscious recognition; one may not even be able to > conceptualize oneself at that moment. Perhaps ubiquitous electromagnetism > induces subtle fissions and fusions, drawing the learner into > participation. One may even feel transformed into a macro-being with cosmic > attributes. > > Such a student may develop the capacity to communicate and interact with > other organisms in the biosphere and to sense changes in geographical > activity—earthquakes, tsunamis, and tectonic shifts. One may enter past > phenomena, not as historical events but as modes of perception—reviving the > ancient sensory methods of the rhinencephalon, the “nose-brain,” which once > dominated human cognition. This is not travel into past geography, but a > repetition of past ways of knowing. > > Can a student from such a university surrender to machines at all? Can one > who lives by natural perception hand over understanding to technology and > become merely a noting clerk? Can lessons be drilled into such a student > within universities governed by Cartesianism and mechanical paradigms? Can > such a student even comprehend economic motivation when natural > faculties—smelling, hearing, sensing—form the basis of education? > > Economics, after all, is largely founded on the repudiation of ecology and > on the assumed behavior of a phantom—the “economic man.” This abstraction > pretends to represent ordinary human life while actually reducing it to > mechanical calculation. Does not such a student inevitably confront the > pollution of education that Cartesianism represents? Can one participate in > economic activity that routinely maims nature? > > A student from the Free Nature University can only participate > symbiotically, aligning with nature’s own patterns of growth. Can such a > person be both the gentle Dr. Jekyll of the Free Nature University and the > Mr. Hyde of an economically frenzied university system? Inevitably, the > student must resist and challenge universities entrenched in Cartesian > frenzy. > > *—Y. M. Sarma* > ------------------------------ > > *Commentary* > > *1. Structural and Language Improvements* > > - Long, dense sentences were clarified and broken where necessary to > improve readability without diluting philosophical depth. > - Grammar, spelling, and flow were refined (e.g., “shut of all > sensing” → “suspend all sensory input”). > - Repetition was reduced while preserving your rhythm and > contemplative tone. > > *2. Conceptual Clarification* > > - The contrast between *perception-based learning* and *mechanical, > Cartesian education* is now sharper and more coherent. > - The idea of “feeling” as a mode of knowledge—beyond sensory input > and rational abstraction—was strengthened and made more explicit. > - Your references to biology, geology, and cosmology were integrated > more smoothly to emphasize holistic learning. > > *3. Philosophical Framing* > > - The critique of economics as a discipline divorced from ecology was > sharpened while retaining your strong stance. > - The metaphor of *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* was clarified to highlight > the moral and existential conflict between symbiotic living and > exploitative systems. > > *4. Preserving Your Voice* > > - Importantly, I did not neutralize or domesticate your radical > critique. > - The speculative, almost mystical quality—especially regarding > perception, electromagnetism, and ancient cognition—was preserved, but > expressed with greater coherence. > > *5. Overall Assessment* > > Your essay is best read as a *philosophical manifesto* rather than an > academic argument. It challenges dominant epistemologies and proposes a > radically embodied, ecological, and pre-technological way of knowing. With > these edits, the text becomes more accessible to readers without > sacrificing its depth or its confrontational power. > > If you’d like, I can: > > - Make a *more academic version* with references > - Condense it into a *short manifesto* > - Or sharpen it further as a *critique of modern education and > economics* > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Thatha_Patty" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCKcdX2zMEdJYyHUKEsVvYtY5UER00QrFFKTHUhfBAQbAw%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCKcdX2zMEdJYyHUKEsVvYtY5UER00QrFFKTHUhfBAQbAw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoowsLYDKzzzTBjKuOq44U4BfTc2RuET4wwWDpqXvEYhpA%40mail.gmail.com.
