Humans have evolved with a dominance of the brain or hand? The consequences of a child's education is immense based on the learning style: brain focus or hand focus? What happens if one of the two are enhanced or conversely reduced?
I see that our education is more focused on students' gain of knowledge, accumulation of knowledge (focused on brain). But some students will reflect and ponder about the vast knowledge, find it exciting, find it a treasure, and put it to good use to SOLVE PROBLEMS in their particular position now and in the future. Thanks.
http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Rowlands/How_Useful_is_your_Knowledge.shtml
There is not a nation policy for that issue. But I believe that an ideal setting would be focused in a equilibrium.
Dear Peter. Yes your question reminded me of Frank Wilson's book. (I had posted a question on that subject with many interesting contributes...)
https://www.researchgate.net/post/In_terms_of_Hominid_evolution_what_came_first-the_intelectual_capacity_of_the_brain_or_the_thumb_opponency
In the end, I get the impression that both evolve in parallel, as complements. One interesting thing to notice is that our hands keep on evolving and adapting... (probably following our brains' incessant requests...)
In our generation and the previous ones, we would easily use our index (2nd finger) to point or ring bells.
Nowadays, we are starting to talk of a new generation of adaptive hands. We speak of "the thumb generation", as the Japonese call them. Those tiny hands that soon adapted to handling mobile phones, and computer mice from early infant ages will preferably use their thumbs to ring door bells, and even to point...
It makes us wonder.
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2280014/infrastructure-management/schools--businesses-must-adapt-to--thumb-generation---study-says.html
The greatest thrill is on how to adapt our education to these new adaptive strange generations.
It makes us think and retying, and this is why I enjoy this beautiful question and the many interesting contributes I read here.
Thank you Peter !
Your question is very interesting and complex. Since I am not a specialist in this area I will try to give my personal opinion. I think that learning requires steps according to the ecophase of a human. The brain is a powerhouse connected to all members of the body. Given its plasticity I think he can adjust, correct, change and even regress. An interesting magazine I read can bring some answers to your question and also various links along
http://anti-deprime.com/2015/12/08/lexer...lasticite-de-notre-cerveau
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/gardedenfants/ResearchBriefsFr.pdf
http://lecerveau.mcgill.ca/flash/pop/pop...s/pop_pres_ecole_profs.htm
Our actions are governed by our mind/brain regardless of whether handwriting, drawing or computer typing etc but the degree to which one is enhanced against other ( trade-off ) depends on the nature and extent of modern technologies that is brain saving and /or labor saving.
Hands helped to achieve and deepen knowledges in the early humans. This means hands were a part of the tools and "instruments" to develop brains like eyes, ears and other senses.
In schools and universities brain is the main tool to gather informations and knowledge. So my clear statement is, hands are just one of many helpers.
Dear Peter, another great question! Thanks!
Mens sana in corpore sano, was one classical answer. And in medicine they used to have the first examination called philosophicum (you should be able to think profoundly about what you are doing or not because the manual technics you would learn anyhow) decades ago before it was changed to physicum (now better learn to use the hands, and about the body as much as possible) and may be in some years it will be changed to digitum as the finger for the control of the computer and the mobile is the only left over...
We know that pluripotency of the brain must be trained and has best results when this is done in as many domains of life as possible because it is reflected in as many different areas of the brain, which are developped further or remain underdevelopped.
So if our brain does not want to become a globe with underdevelopped countries it would be best to consider this problem carefully like obviously Peter is already suggesting and to enhance our abilities there, especially focusing the youngsters.
And it seems to me as this is a global issue? At least it is very sure that in Germany all the kids who are still interested and willing to do something aim at the "higher" education which gives them the entry to the universities. This reflects the status the society is giving to this. If you instead of this learn to do a special work with your hands this work is not valued as much. Even when in this case you can either earn a lot (as carpenter, plumber, floor tiler,...) or nearly not enough to survive, as a farmer.
Even we used to have a twofold education in East-Germany, where you could do a practical education with final examination besides the high school, which was abandonned with the end of the GDR and later similar efforts are diminishing as well.
So now the education of the hands is more and more restricted to a small area in the school and often depending on your own private activities as playing a music instrument and doing sports as well as practical hobbies...
May be first the society must change its attitude to the body and hand before there will be a sound balance again?
It is definitely brain focus. If both enhances and reduces, then it simultaneously affect the credibility of the knowledge. Now a days, it is utilised by the hand.
Certainly our education system is meant to enhance and empower the brain of our children, in order the jobs we do through our sense organs )including our hands) be enhanced considerably through technological products. A human being with no brain or a diminished brain is not a living person or a person that lives at the mercy of nature as other animals, but there are people who have no hands, eyes, who were and are great thinkers, philosophers and scientists. Stephen Hawking is one such living example.
Germany has had for many years a strong vocational branch for schools, the Volksschule, and it is ahead in this regard of most other countries of the world. Elementary school lasts only for four years, and then a child is either advanved to a Gymnasium (leading to a university education one day) or advanced to a Volksschule (leading to Hochschule one day). All graduates are taken care of. I went to a Gymnasium. My Dad drove a Volkswagen! :)
Iraq tried to mimmick such a concept, and for many years it failed (socially). Fathers would not allow their daughters to get married to a man who graduated from a technical junior college. All wanted university graduates for their daughters. It was a social shunning of "Iraqi Volksschule" graduates.
Eveyone wants to be a physician or an engineer, and the country could not be run well with such an excessive number of physicians and engineers and not having car mechanics, say.
This takes us to Peter's posted question.
"hand" ==> Volksschule
"brain" ==> Gymnasium
Is this really the case?
I say, NO. Students at a Volksschule can have brains too! Students at a Gymnasium may also be handy with many issues.
Dear Sir,
The brain is brain without brain the definition of human changes, the monkey has strong hand but no brain like human; the brain dedicates a lot of “space” to the face and hands. The parts of the body that the brain is most concerned. Absolutely, Brains have to know how to do the work of Hands. Octopuses are highly intelligent and also four hand. The human brain is pretty picky about the things it pays attention to. But the evolution of the hands is equally important to that of the brain for humans. In colleges/ universities brain is the main tool to gather information’s and knowledge.
Regards,
Prem Baboo
Body and mind are two sides of the same coin but the real purpose of life remains unfulfilled without harmoniously integrating the missing link ( the soul) into this coin.
Dear Peter
BRAIN it is. To many, the term “brain-based learning” sounds redundant. Isn’t all learning and teaching brain-based? Advocates of brain-based teaching insist that there is a difference between “brain-compatible” education, and “brain-antagonistic” teaching practices and methods which can actually prevent learning, so teaching without an awareness of how the brain learns is like designing a glove with no sense of what a hand looks like–its shape, how it moves.
hope it helps.
I think we are using the two brain for the cognitive functions and the hand for the skills
Dear Peter,
You must know well that aim of societies has been always the continuity. Thus education at schools and universities had to focus on “careful” (vigilant and suspicious) brain development because thinking may be dangerous. Look at how leaders of institutions even universities are selected. The most important thing has been their reliability. Coming back to your question, human education focused on “careful” brain and extensive "hand" (work force) development. Of course, this is not the way of future. Certainly, there are differences among countries according to their degree of democracy as well as progressive cultural and scientific development.
There we are preparing future teachers at our Faculty of Education. It is a very important act, because the future of humanity depends on the education of new generations.
I realize that the teacher is not "only teacher", but teacher should be also an educator, scientist, psychologist, personality, parent, friend, IT specialist, organizer, manager, comedian, singer, poet, storyteller, .... Education process of future teachers is complex matter, therefore it should be not only about the "brain" but also about the "hands".
And that goes for other professions and disciplines.
Thanks for inviting me in this interesting discussion.
Dear Peter,
Very nice question, I believe that it should be balanced. Some schools focused on brain based learning whereas as other focused on practical based learning (hands on experience). We need to identify what skills the employers are looking for in our graduates. looking at the current job market we need to enhance skills accordingly. Many universities have revamp their curriculum embedded with laboratory exercises based on feedback they get from the stakeholders.
I am a follower of Karl Popper in epistemology. Thus, I'm a critical rationalist. I think the brain should come first, and the hand is controlled by the brain.
I am a follower of Karl Popper in epistemology. Thus, I'm a critical rationalist. I think the brain should come first, and the hand is controlled by the brain.
dear all,
thank you for your answers up to now. Some of you seem to be sure that the development of the hand followed the brain. As an engineer i just can repeat what I red. I think Maria can answer this more competent. Frank Wilson f.e., author of the book The Hand tries to prove that the brain in our evolution followed the hand develeopment. Without doubt we agree that both are extremly important and many of you confirm my opinion that we educate many of our children brain focused. One of my questions is: what will be the consequences?
Six years ago we opened a kind of tool shop for children, teenies and young adults/students coached by experienced children/students, seniors and parents. If you are interested in it look at www.offene-jugendwerkstatt.de . Unfortunately in German, but with some pictures. The initial aim has been to offer a combination of hand and brain focused work. The qualitative result is motivation pure for all participants.
Peter
Yes Peter, most interesting question.
Paulus Gerdes, rector in Mozambique, had found out, children learned the Pythagorean theorem more easily by basket-weaving, and some more mathematics by drawing Lusona into the sand.
{Paulus GERDES & Ahmed DJEBBAR, LES MATHEMATIQUES DANS L'HISTOIRE ET LES CULTURES AFRICAINES, Une bibliographie annotée, Union Mathématique Africaine, 2004
Edition française : Unions Mathématique Africaine
Commission Africaine d’Histoire des Mathématiques (AMUCHMA)
U.F.R. de Mathématiques, Université des Sciences et des Technologies de Lille, 2007.
Schmeikal, Bernd (1998): Compte-rendu du livre de P. Gerdes’ Ethnomathematik dargestellt am Beispiel der Sona Geometrie (GER-97a), Mathematical Reviews Lancaster PA (USA), 6078-6080 [98j:01003].}
[Paulus GERDES
Research Centre for Mathematics, Culture and Education,
C.P. 915, Maputo, Mozambique.
Tel. : +258 1 49 45 04
E-mail : [email protected]
Ahmed DJEBBAR
U.F.R. de Mathématiques, Bt. M2
Université des Sciences et des Technologies de Lille
59655 Villeneuve d’Asq Cedex, France]
The only right ansver is "mix it", of course. The worst method is blunt "dril of memory". And this at all levels of education.
So hand must cooperate with the brain, and vice versa :-))
And I hope that everyone learns in this way.
Liberation of the hand is the most essential. Had been found by Léroi-Gourhan! On this basis the brain developed in homo sapiens sapiensis.
Dear Peter. Yes your question reminded me of Frank Wilson's book. (I had posted a question on that subject with many interesting contributes...)
https://www.researchgate.net/post/In_terms_of_Hominid_evolution_what_came_first-the_intelectual_capacity_of_the_brain_or_the_thumb_opponency
In the end, I get the impression that both evolve in parallel, as complements. One interesting thing to notice is that our hands keep on evolving and adapting... (probably following our brains' incessant requests...)
In our generation and the previous ones, we would easily use our index (2nd finger) to point or ring bells.
Nowadays, we are starting to talk of a new generation of adaptive hands. We speak of "the thumb generation", as the Japonese call them. Those tiny hands that soon adapted to handling mobile phones, and computer mice from early infant ages will preferably use their thumbs to ring door bells, and even to point...
It makes us wonder.
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2280014/infrastructure-management/schools--businesses-must-adapt-to--thumb-generation---study-says.html
It makes us think and retying, and this is why I enjoy this beautiful question and the many interesting contributes I read here.
Thank you Peter !
Dear Colleagua B.Sera,
a teacher in my opinion should be especially an honestly, normal thinking, good coaching person who does not hestitate to say: sorry, I don´t know. How can we find the answer together?
I am quite sure that children learn more how to find solutions than the teacher is an all knowledger, who he never can be.
Can you agree?
Peter
Dear Bernd,
thank you a lot for this excellent and very detailed answer!
Peter
Dear Cesar,
I am also very favorite on Karl Popper! But, as I pointed out in my answer above, the evolution of man gives a not so clear answer.
Thank you for your comment!
Peter
When educational institutions gives their focus on the following, then skills get sharpened.
https://my.vanderbilt.edu/gradcareer/non-academic-careers/identifying-skills-and-gaining-experience/
I believe, first make them( students) to understand the value of humanity, rest they will do by themselves.
Having "Being human and love human beings" in brain is enough to bring any kind of development than only garbage of materialism. Thanks...
Dear Andras,
Thank you again for one of your valuable, partly ironic and very true answers.
Weren´t it more the reigning persons who wanted to keep their people in continuity and at low brain than the societies?
Yes, reliability is too often over estimated especially if it is very close to followship. Or is it fellowship? :)
May be it would be much better if hand and brain education would be much closer and in equilibrium?
A very speculative question!
Peter
Dear Anil,
thank you for your Statement.
Think on art: we do it by hands and it is no materialistic garbage. Or think on love or to help someboby. It is no materialistic garbage.
To show and to understand humanity you need both! Hand and brain.
Best regards
peter
Dear Josef,
I hope so too and thanks for your answer. But reality looks different
Peter
Dear Peter,
Please don't perceive it in wrong way. only materialistic is not enough to bring any kind of development. we need Intellectualism first. Thanks...
Dear Thomas, dear all,
Thank you for your comments. I didn´t expect such a drum fire of answers. I don´t manage to stay in time with my answers to yours.
I wanted to reduce my time engament in RG. But with your answers this is impossible for me.
Thank you
Peter
dear Hanno,
thank you for answering. My experience tells me, that I don´t agree to your statement.
Best regards Peter
Dear Peter.
Thank you for your question as necessary as annoying. I think all teachers should teach more to say the brain, but if we are honest with ourselves, we would respond differently. The system itself evaluates we want we adapt to it, do not innovate, we change the status quo. If this is true in general, how are we going to teach?
Regards!
Dear Montserrat,
I am afraid, excuse me, I do not understand your answer correctly. Would you be as Kind to describe it with more words.
I know my English ist not the best.
Peter
Oh, Peter, accept my apologies. Maybe I was the one who was wrong what you mean. I understood your question from the point of view about if our education teaching to think freely or to follow the provisions. Sorry again.
Dear Peter,
you're right. I completely agree with you.
It is that the teacher should be very well prepared for its future careers. It also means to be able to say: "That I do not know, but I'll find out." or " I have a different opinion, let's talk about it."
Best regards, Bozena
Dear Montserrat, I understood your point immediately. I might agree. Nevertheless, teaching is what students make of it... Students may and should mould our way of teaching, through their reaction and response. We must adapt.
Dear Concha ! As usual, your answer is superb. You say it all, in a simple way. Yes, in architecture, you do have to master the adequate imbalance between hand and brain , to get results. That is beautiful. Aristotle classified the hands as "the instrument of the instruments"...
Yes, Peter posted the perfect question, this evening. Because it is simple, it is intelligent and brings such broad views to explore.
Yes, it is great to share views here, and to read you all. I'm enjoying myself tonight, here. And this is exactly what I usually search in RG Q&A. (Thank you !)
I have a rather pragmatic, or even cynical view of this. There has certainly been a decline in the "hand" side of education and training, and a great increase in the extent to which we subject people to "brain" or "academic" study. Not only has the latter expanded to include more of the population; it has also got longer. Now there is an array of PhDs with no prospects other than those that might have been available to a high school leaver 50 or 60 years ago..At least where I come from (UK) this is at least in part because an academic education had both snob and career appeal, and therefore the left, egalitarian side in politics wanted to extend it as wide as possible.Of course, no one should be denied the chance for fullest possible intellectual development. In the past, although the opportunities were limited, many people turned to the "brain" bit in later life, but had got the "hand" skills they needed
However, there are other factors, one of which is the speed with which the kind of manual skills needed has changed. Hence educators are concerned to teach the skill of acquiring a new skill!
Put another way: the skills and knowledge you need to be professor of literature have changed less than those needed to be a practical engineer. how often do people get told that it is not worth learning a practical skill, because it will become obsolete very quickly?
Dear Peter,
I prefer to pose your question as follows: Is our education at schools and Universities focused on the cognitive or on the volitive?
The reason for this redefinition is that all our knowledge begins with experience (volitional - hand), whose headquarters is not the brain but the olive-cerebellar system (our opperative memory). Then when the volitional is secured, that is, when it has found sense to our motor responses (of any type whatsoever) as proposed by our environment, it's time to cultivate cognition, which does have its place in the brain and helps us to comprehend and to qualify our responses, which completed our education process.
Dear all, thanx for sweet and juicy answers, appreciate those.
In my opinion and experience, the education system per se is geared to give students some ready-made stuff be that hands on jobs, or brain function repetition.
Hardly anyone teaches how to make information and knowledge in to wisdom, innovation and creativity. They tend to teach people what has been done till today, to maintain a status quo, rather than teach students to question and find answers for themselves. Facts generally, but hard to swallow.
I guess the reason for the above predominance is learning to earn, and maximise profit. It revolves around money, profit, competition revolving around finances, marketing to make people zombies and live in an aura of "my choice," "my will" and "i" while they are just puppets in the hands of marketing brains. I hope we start education that equips people to respect all and yet tune their brains to create than to run after money.
Regards and with love
Suresh
dear Hanno,
an experience is difficult to put into figuers and facts.
your statement:
"In schools and universities brain is the main tool to gather informations and knowledge. So my clear statement is, hands are just one of many helpers.
Is our education at schools and Universities focused on the brain or hand? What happens if one of the two are enhanced or conversely reduced? - ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_our_education_at_schools_and_Universities_focused_on_the_brain_or_hand_What_happens_if_one_of_the_two_are_enhanced_or_conversely_reduced/1 [accessed Jan 6, 2016]"
your theses contents also no arguments and facts.
Let me try some answers and arguments:
-I agree to the first sentence, that in schools and universities the education is brain focused
-I do not agree to yout conclusion that therefore the hands are one helper out of many others.
My point of view is neurobiology: brain scientists observed that the combination of working with Hand in combination with brain stimutlates the learning process a lot.
Artists, architects, even outstanding engineers and designer, medical doctors, musiciens, painters, farmers, a.s.o. give examples to my view.
Peter
Eduart and edutainment with the junior.For ex,rules of reading+singing+painting+acting.
Any school or university education for that matter is always be influenced by the functions of the human brain. We can never act on something if our brain is not functioning. Thinking is a major function of the cerebrum, feeling is generated by the limbic system more especially by the hypothalamus, and education by the hands are controlled by the reptilian brain or the brain stem.
Most university education focuses on the brain. The intent is to convey knowledge and employ that knowledge in a useful, practical way. Useful and practical are the intention, but all graduates learn quickly that the real-world is different from the academic world. Use of the hands is vital in some fields of study, you cannot learn music or art without practice. You cannot learn analytical chemistry without practice. You can learn the theory of music and all the theory and requirements of analytical chemistry, but the performance of music and chemistry requires practical application to hone skills.
The use of the hands may not be obvious in other fields of study, but performance in the real-world requires practice. Applying economic theory may seem devoid of the use of the hands, but hands-on economics teaches what is not in the books. An new-minted engineer may be able to design a machine that perfectly matches the specifications. An engineer who has built parts in a machine shop, and then constructed and used the final product, will design a more practical machine from start to finish.
Teaching strives to cram a lot in the brain in order to pass a written test. This is the most efficient course for a teaching institution. Hands-on is left to the employer. Some people will never learn under this system.
These days brain-based teaching and learning seem more common. However, to foster scientific curiosity and interest in experimental studies, hands-on learning is important. More general style of hands-on learning is "experiential learning," in which educators purposefully engage with students in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, and clarify values. Here is a good reference for this style of learning:
http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/strategies/experiential_learning.pdf
Of course it is better to balance the brain and the hand, but on the other hand it also depends on the courses being taught. Some courses demand more on the brain, such as humanties; while others more on the hand, such as medicine and biological sciences.
Schools and universities can no longer claim a monopoly as seats of learning or of knowledge. Such learning and knowledge now resides in distributed networks. Learning can take place in the home, in work or in the community as easily as within schools.
http://www.pontydysgu.org/2010/06/the-future-of-learning-environments-short-version/
Every part of body are important but to me Brain & Hands remain twins with us all the time .Brain & Hands & thir activties
correlates with each other .Our brainis a pillar of our existance & our hand join to gethers ( as '' shake Hands '').
Fortunately our hands greats reflected in all planetary influnces & it shows a tune of head line,showing our nature ,
intelligence,our sentiments ,our feelings ,our temperanment,as it has an powerful influence of our THUMB ,which is the basic
symbolic existence as a human beings.
In the line of above our school & our universities education both have to remain as a guideline for the brain & our hand .
This is my person opinion
I don't have a definitive answer for this interested question, because the education at schools is varies from time to time and it differs between countries. However, I think that we didn't reach to the level of integration in education at schools.Even, the focus on the brain and hand in education is not consistent and some time is not regulated, organized and measured. In my opinion the focus in the brain and hand should be studied and measured in the way that enable students to be creative and able to innovate and achieve. Also, it should be individualized according to the qualifications and interests of students and some times according to market needs. Focusing in both brain and hand is really important, but in some situations favoring one of them on the other could be beneficial.
Purpose of education is to holistic. Education system must be made dynamic to suit the progressive development of the society as a whole. It should groom the brain to analyze the existing situation so as to address limitations and problems. Knowledge becomes useful, if it is translated into useful work. Therefore, education system must be comprehensively evolved both for development of brain and brawn. Hand skills are an expression of brain development. So, education must be modified to learn in the forenoon and do it in the afternoon to accomplish the purpose.
Dear all, Thanks for your convenient answers, I appreciate those.
In my country -Iran- most of our educations at schools and Universities have focused on brain. In my opinion, if it has been a balance between brain instruction and hand education, it would be more effective to improve our work-ability.
Regards,
S. Mehdi Mohammadizadeh
Much have been said in this thread with very little left for me to elaborate.:) Anyway, putting some ideas into words:
While on one hand brain is important for cognitive processing and analysis, storage or retrieval of information, on the other hand, "hand" is as important in putting those learned knowledge into practice. It is by coordination of hand and the brain knowledge is reproduced into useful format for storage and retrieval. It is possible to gain knowledge without hands (in handicapped persons), again, it is also possible to generate new knowledge without hands, as Prof. Bernd noted above, but for effective contribution towards research (transforming ideas into words), hand-brain coordination is essential. We have few glaring examples wherein there are people who are handicapped and autistic, but excelled in education.
Children are taught the most basic skills at the beginning of their education/school life when they go to Kindergarten or nursery school. The teacher actually "nurses" the babies in imparting the most basic norms of education; i.e. skill development through playful acts to prepare the kids for primary schools where they will be taught the most basic skills of writing, reading, and comprehension.
Now, as for writing, hand is essential while for learning, brain is important. Children are extensively taught about the effective coordination between the brain and the hand. As for the case in universities, more emphasis should be given towards cognitive development since the students must have mastered the skills of the hands (writing) before they could have gone that far. However, exams and class-based assessments are some of the essential tools that school/university instructors employ to test the hand-brain coordination of the students in task performance and decision making.
Best Regards, Sidharta
It may be surprising to say that, in many places, education at schools & at universities neither focuses on the brain nor on the hands. I taught at schools & at universities and observed many "unhealthy" practices summed up as considering the lesson at school or the lecture at university as a burden which one has to get rid of by going into the class & pouring the knowledge in a fast one-way pass of sender-receiver style.
The few motivated sincere honest teachers at schools or at universities are the ones who design carefully the teaching-learning process. I think that the brain & the hands complement each other during sciences education because a subject such as chemistry includes theoretical part (which targets the brain) & practical part in the laboratory (which targets both the brain & the hands). In my opinion, the practical sessions are the best in knowledge transfer; that is why I don't mind if I am given 3 labs/week as was done last semester.
Dear colleagues, thank you for the fruitful discussion, initiated by Peter Eyerer.
In education system of former Soviet Union, the good balance of theory and practice (other words, "brain" and "hands" ) was achieved and cultivated during long time period. Now, in Russia and Belarus we attempt to restore this balance, at a least, by two reasons: 1) many branches of activity requres the all round prepared specialists ("universal soldiers" having as intellectual as well as more practical working abilities), 2) in phylosophic sense, "hand creates brains" .
All the best, Serge
At the first instance, we need hands to materialize ideas and concepts incubated and conceive in one's brain, and no matter who enhances or reduces expertise of either, otherwise millions of hands dirigible by one brain ( wars and mammoth ancient work e.g. construction of pyramids etc.). However, education at school and universities should focus on making hands more beautiful to make this world real livable.
Dear Peter,
Thanks for your answer. Regarding the development and training of brain and hand, these must be started in early childhood and also the family education and conditions may play an important role. I remember when my children were young I bought them in the German Cultural Centre (Kulturzentrum der DDR) in Budapest sensationally fine, exactly for children developed books, journals, toys, record disks. Until the time when this Centre was closed in 1987 or 1988 I was a regular client there from 1979. I bought over thousand books. The children books were prepared to develop children knowledge as well as their aesthetic and do-it yourself or manual abilities. We prepared very good parlour games, children toys representing all kinds of animals, birds, clowns according to the ideas published in these books. I remember a children journal called Bummi (little bear-cub) what I presented for my children for years. Of course every evening I read from the books and tried to follow the suggestions of “Bummi”. All my children are manually adroit and learned field and medicinal plants as well as wild animals with the help of hedgehog stories. I mention that among the Hungarian costumers there were a lot of German and Austrian tourists. I remember still a German song I sang with my children: “Fuchs du hast die Gans gestohlen…”
Dear Peter,
thanks for your answer. You may be right in elementary education, but I don´t believe that academic studies in universities still depend on using hands. And to repeat my argument, the learning process may be stimulated by use of hands, but learning is a brain related process. So hands for me are still "helpers", which may give signals and stimulations. All what you have learned is stored in you neuronal conjunctions, and these are located in your brain.
dear Andras,
thank you for your answer and the situation in Eastern Germany which I did not know very well because educated in West Germany. So it is important for me to be remembered.
Peter
Dear Hanno,
thank you also. I believe that we are not far away in our thinking. And if so, also no problem! :)
We get problems of understanding by useing general words and do generalisation.
F.ex. the engineering education in principle and for mechanical engineer in detail my experience is that hand skills are a large helper for the application of theory. The same may be true for architects and so on. F.Ex a soft ware engineer doesn´t need hand skills very much.
The right didactic combination of hand useage and theory learning is stimulating and creates motivation for theory learning. This is my main point in combination with many University studies.
Exactly as you wright for the develeopment of children it is very important, presumable mandatory.
I suppose, we agree?
Best regards
Peter
Indeed dear Peter,
we are not so far away. You can assume, that I know the concept of learning by doing. It´s a very well working method and we all started learning this way. And of course practica in education (school or university) are off immense importance. So we are really not of different meanings, it´s just a matter of terminology.
Regards
Brains are like fingerprints — although there are commonalities, there are differences that make each brain unique.
Regards
Hi Peter,
Interesting observation and question!
Before being able to contribute to the complex issue of both the dominance of the brain or hand and its consequence on education and learning, we need to disentangle the relationship between cognition and behavior/actiion. ,
There are, at least from my experience, two important entries to discuss the balance between brain and hand.
A first one is found in cognitive psychological studies on skilfulness. During the 1960s I was highly impressed by Miller, Galanter & Pribram (1960). Plans and the structure of behavior. New York, Holt . Their seminal work in the midst of the dominant behavioristic paradigm revealed to me the importance of cogntive processes in behavior and it deeply influenced my own research on teacher thinking later on.
References I used were:
Bartlett, F. (1964). Thinking. An experimental and social study. London, Unwin Universtity books
Fitts, P.M. (1965). Factors in complex skill training. In R. Glaser (Ed.). Training research and education (pp. 177-197). New York: Wiley. 1965;
Schriffin, R.M. & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84, 127-190.
Welford, A.T. (1968). Fundamentals of skill. London: Methuen.
Whiting, H.T.A. (1975). Concepts in skill learning. London: Lepus Books.
Though these studies seem outdated, they nevertheless remain interesting basics to conceptualize the link between cognition and behavior/action.
A second entry is brain research (neurobiology, neuropsychology,,...). Though I am not very familiar with this line of research that gained importance some years before my retirement, I remember the article of Ungeleider, L.G., Doyon, J. & Karni A. (2002). Brain plasticity during motor skill leanring. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 78, 553-564.
An observation aside is that learning styles can be questioned if it is operationalized into dichotomous categories (brain-hand?). See the work of a.o. Vermunt).
Dear Hanno, dear Peter,
...sorry to come back a little late for the discussion...
As I read Peter's question, the very first time, I imediately read (in pure terminology terms) that he would be queering on the imballance between theory and practice in Higher education.
I'm afraid I only know how to teach Anatomy to Medical students.
In terms of Medical teaching and training, we often find that precise difficulty towards our students. Should we rely on their pure intelligent skills, as we teach and examin, or should we take into account their dextricity in approaching human bodies with their hands? On my dissection (practical) classes, I usually also teach the right way to use hands either for physical examination, or for handling surgical instruments, team work, and basic hygienic measures.
These practical notions, which are highly «hand-dependent», might be as important in the near future of their profession, as their intellectual skills.
I wouldn't know how to choose between both. as I find that both are fundamental in Medical Practice, and above all, both can be trained,
(I will never forgat, one of the brightest, highly intelligent students that I had the chance to teach. He was the clumbsiest person I ever met. He could hardly hold surgical instruments -to the point that all of us considered him dangerous and his colleagues fled from him, whenever he held surgical blades...-).
But he was highly skilled in intellectual terms and always got top marks in theoretical exams. So I invited him to collaborate in my research works, and classes, with the hidden purpose of training his hands a little further. As soon as he lost his own fear of finger motion, he soon found the healthy imballance between Hands and Brains. Soon he prepared, on his own, some of the finest anatomical preparations.
Today, I'm proud to say that this boy has become one of our finest surgeons, working hard on the main surgical transplants units, and saving many lives per month, through his perfected ability to correctly link Brain and Hands.
Dear Joost,
very important advises.
I am also retired but not realy. So I collect all the valuable hints and proposals and will work on them being a tue retired Person.
Thank you a lot
Peter
Dear Maria,
a wonderful example for learning by doing. I know similar cases from physics. Students who understand all theory, often faster than the collegues, but were unable to switch an electric circuit or to do elemental mechanical jobs..The related training, like your surgeon example shows, allows to acquire nearly all skills. But please don´t forget, skills in the hands are steerings caused by neuronal signals out of the brain.
Supplementary education for young people and children is designed to develop the personality,to cultivate creative abilities,and to meet individual intellectual,moral or physical needs.As a rule,they are organizations of academic excellence for theory and practice.It was amazing experience when I managed to be trained in 17 kinds of massage in the medical training courses.We were trained theoretically and practically.We should work on the technique and moves in the classroom and at home.It was very important to be skilled in hands and knowledge so that we could feel every problem zone of the ill personality.The same methodology is applied in playing an instrument,in dancing,in sports,in cooking,in gardening,in painting.
Dear Hanno, dear Irina.
The secret rest upon discovering the intricate (neurologic) link between motion and the brain activity, and self control of the link, through introspective self analysis.
You made me think of the strange link, that we must enhance, through music therapy in Asperger syndrome patients. The auttistic ability for finger motion and highly introspective intellectual skills, grants them unique musical «gift». These abilities and skills work both ways, in a interactive link that we should and must explore, for their better integration.
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1PRFA_pt-PTPT459PT502&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=asperger%20syndrome
Dear Peter. Yours is a crucial question. To use metaphors, I believe that human thought and action involve Head (intelligence), Heart (compassion) and Hands (practical competence). These metaphors must not, however, be pushed too far. They represent singular implications of a complex, holistic reality. Best wishes, Paul
Education works with hand, Learning process works through brain.
There is a huge distance between Education and Learning.
Learning is a process, shared with all species.
Education is an artificial process that human beings invented to control what people should and shouldn't know
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