How We Learn

Traditional teaching focuses on remembering and understanding new knowledge and skills.  Cognitive psychologists maintain that learners must apply what they can recall and understand in order for this knowledge to become embedded in long term memory. Think about riding a bike. One never forgets how if you actually do it.  Like the old adage says,  "If you don't use it, you lose it."  CTE students' knowledge and skills get "hard wired" because they apply what they learn through a problem and project-based approach. Once proficient in application, CTE students learn to analyze, evaluate, and create - deconstructing, judging, and reassembling knowledge in new ways. Doing this in familiar and unfamiliar environments leads to adaptation. See the slides for an illustration....