Development Occurs In Context, In Interaction With The Environment

By Author: Jack
Total Articles: 54
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As John Dewey astutely noted, "We never educate directly, but indirectly by means of the environment. Whether we permit chance environments to does the work or whether we design environments for the purpose makes a great difference". Experience is a key driver of development, and experience occurs in environments that may or may not be designed with developmental purposes in mind.

As Brandenberg observed, higher education is a particularly good environment to promote character, and there are many challenges to doing so successfully. However, just as not all experiences promote Replica Tag Heuer development, institutions are not equally effective in promoting student success or moral development. Further, the pervasive finding noted above that even college seniors rely on simplistic or egocentric assumptions about knowledge and values rather than those that are indicative of complex understanding associated with higher order learning outcomes and civic preparation should be a warning flag for educators. This suggests that most college graduates lack the kinds ...
... of complex reasoning skills that colleges claim to teach students and that are sought by employers, consumers who use professional services and organizations that hire college graduates to provide leadership in solving broader social issues.

Preparing students for future roles obviously requires more than good intentions; how educators structure learning makes a difference. In the foreword to Perry's book, White (1970) commented, "So important is this pattern of Fake Watches change that the teacher who hopes to nurture it must practice his art with responsive versatility. What is a freshman's meat may be a senior's poison" (p. v). In light of this suggestion of the consequences of not taking developmental level into account, it is all the more important to be able to identify the kinds of experiences and environments that enhance and suppress development. Colby addressed this point in regard to research on promoting moral development:

A large body of research makes it clear that the experience of grappling with challenging moral issues in classroom discussions or in activities that require the resolution of conflicting opinions contributes significantly to the increasing maturity of individuals' moral judgment. This is especially true when the teacher draws attention to important distinctions, assumptions, and contradictions. What does an educator need to know about the nature of development to design experiences and learning environments that help students grapple with challenging issues, to serve them meat (and other nutritious food for thought) and not poison In addition to the principles and assumptions discussed above, educators also need to understand basic elements of the process of development. I address two such elements here.