What goes up must come down. Literally! This is a fundamental law of physics. Board a plane and take flight. Inexorably, at some point, planned or otherwise, you are coming down. Scientists have harnessed nature’s physical forces for our betterment. We are grateful for the multitude of successes of applied physics: your smartphone, his notebook computer, my eyeglasses and their gadgets.
When it comes to the principles of learning, particularly for adults, scientific principles seem lacking and unapplied. Surely, there are physical rules that are adaptable to pedagogical phenomenon. Perhaps education is just too complacent. Perhaps educators are not scouting for the forces of physics that fuel instruction and learning. Perhaps we are mired in a social science straight jacket.
An abundance of educational theories, intuitively applied, does not cut it. For maximum value, the elements of learning must align with physics, the natural science. It’s time to exceed talent (whatever that means) and art (subjectively defined) and unravel the universal truths. What are they when it comes to learning?
The very design of our next education model is at stake. The success of the individual participants is governed by the physics of learning applied and, sadly, not applied.
Why are we content with educational astrology?
Ozzie Logozzo is executive director of OREA Real Estate College. He has a master’s degree in education from the University of Toronto and has managed a number of commercial and residential real estate brokerage offices over the years, including his own operation. He was the 1993 recipient of OREA’s Education Merit Award and 1987 recipient of Real Estate Educators Association’s prestigious Educator of the Year Award.
