The Science of Learning: Principles of Educational Thinking Based on the Teaching Practice

241 Pages·2022·3.662 MB·English

by  Hanjiang Wen

Hanjiang Wen
The Science
of Learning
Principles of Educational Thinking Based
on the Teaching Practice
The Science of Learning
Hanjiang Wen
The Science of Learning
Principles of Educational Thinking Based
on the Teaching Practice
Volume I of the Learning and Thinking Instruction Guide
Series for Teachers
Hanjiang Wen
Beijing Institute of Education
Beijing, China
ISBN 978-981-19-5105-3 ISBN 978-981-19-5106-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5106-0
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Name List of the Editorial Board Members
of the Learning and Thinking Instruction Guide
Series for Teachers
Honourary Editor-in-Chief
Hanjiang Wen
Editors in Chief
Yunzhu Xiao
Fenglin Tang
Editorial Board Members
Yanmei Wang
Zhenxian Wang
Xiaowei Wang
Yongran Bai
Yongxiao Bai
Limin Lyu
Fenglin Tang
Li Sun
Meihong Sun
Wei Li
Jun Li
Wanfeng Li
Hong Yang
Jianwei Yang
Yunzhu Xiao
v
vi NameListoftheEditorialBoardMembersoftheLearningandThinking…
Chong He
Caixia Shen
Min Zhang
Fengzhou Zhang
Wei Chen
Xiaojin Pang
Weiqing Zheng
Bojing Zhao
Yuwei Hao
Yani Zhong
Fang Ni
Jun Xu
Yingying Cui
Hanjiang Wen
Haiming Xie
Lijun Teng
English Translators
Zhenxian Wang
Bing Han
Xiaochuan Li
Yan Meng
Translation Reviewers
Prof. Neta Simpkins Cahill
Dr. Hong Cai
Foreword: A Strategic Study
The comprehensive implementation of quality education aims to meet the needs of
human beings and their self-development in modern society. The proposal to improve
the overall quality of people is, of course, aimed at the ignored areas in the original
education model. Such ignorance mainly refers to insufficient attention given to the
cultivation of people’s innovative spirit and practical ability. Therefore, reforming the
educational mode and strengthening the cultivation of people’s innovative spirit and
practical ability have become important tasks to accomplish comprehensive quality
education.
The key to cultivating the spirit of innovation is to develop people’s innovative
thinking, which is the process of developing human potential, especially the process
of developing human brain potential. Modern brain science research has been more
and more valued by governments and scientists of all countries because, in a sense,
the comprehensive national strength of a country depends on its economic strength,
which depends on scientific and technological strengths. The scientific and techno-
logical strength of a country rests on its innovation strength, which is determined
by its talent strength, and the talent strength depends on the development level of
human brain function. Therefore, strengthening research in brain science to serve
the full development of human brain potential has become a strategically important
focus for comprehensive national strength competition.
Professor Wen Hanjiang is a well-known educator in China. For many years he
has been leading brain science research on imagery thinking and educational reform
experiments by virtue of his impressive accomplishments in educational theory and
rich experiences in educational practice and has made significant progress. In recent
years, he has been engaged in brain science theory development and practice of
cultivating innovative spirit in basic education and has achieved gratifying results.
As a good demonstration of this achievement, this series of books embodies the
hard work and wisdom of many excellent educators in their theoretical and practical
explorations, which will have an important impact on the overall education reform
and the development of teaching theories across disciplines.
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viii Foreword:AStrategicStudy
I sincerely hope that the research cultivating the spirit of innovation will contribute
to the innovation of education, and will help understand and put the profound
connotation of a comprehensive quality education into practice at a more advanced
level.
March 2010 Tao Xingping
Preface
I. Educational Confusion
In the past 60 years since the founding of New China, China’s education has made
great progress and achievements. However, there are some common problems in
current classroom teaching in primary and secondary schools: tedious and abstract
lecturing that are difficult to understand, rote learning, and earning high scores with
low application ability. Students can get high scores and yet cannot apply their knowl-
edge to real problem-solving. China’s education has not yet been able to adapt to the
situation of its economic and social development, nor can it meet the requirements of
the country for talents cultivation. What is the crux of the problem? Is it because of
the lack of educational theories? Where is the way out of this educational confusion?
II. Enlightenment from Brain Science
The period from the late 1970s to the 1980s was an era of ideological emancipation.
Regarding education, several things have a profound impact on us. First of all, after
the publication of A Letter from Chairman Mao to Comrade Chen Yi on Poetry,
inspired by Chairman Mao’s affirmation of imagery thinking, the literary and art
circles began the third major discussion on imagery thinking since the founding of
New China. Literary and artistic circles had relatively reached a consensus on the
role of imagery thinking in literature and art. Secondly, Qian Xuesen, a well-known
scientist in China, strongly advocated imagery thinking and regarded it as one of the
basic ways of human thinking. He suggests that imagery thinking should be used as
a breakthrough in the scientific research of thinking. Finally, American psychologist
R. Sperry’s experimental research on split-brainers revealed the asymmetry of the
function of the two brain hemispheres and many advanced functions of the right
hemisphere. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1981.
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x Preface
The results of the split-brain experiment show that people can think with language
(concepts) and non-verbal representation, thus breaking through the forbidden zone
of behaviorist psychology in studying behavior without studying consciousness
(thinking), and also break Stalin’s mythical remarks of “only an idealist ... can speak
of thinking without language”, which has greatly liberated people’s minds.
Sperry’s split-brain experiment and Qian Xuesen’s advocacy have made us think
about teaching reform, focusing on the combination of brain science, thinking, and
education. Based on the new achievements of brain science, we have been exploring
a new way of teaching reform.
Brain science and educational science are two disciplines in different fields. We
need to find an angle or starting point to apply brain science achievements in educa-
tion. The starting point we choose is “thinking”, because thinking is not only the key
research content of brain science, but also the core of learning science. Thinking is
the greatest common ground between the two disciplines. In this way, our project
directly links the important research results of brain science on thinking, appearance,
memory, and language learning with the teaching of various subjects in primary and
secondary schools and the all-round development of students.
Our research project is one of the key projects under the Eighth Five-Year Plan,
Ninth Five-Year Plan, Tenth Five-Year Plan, and Eleventh Five-Year Plan of Beijing
Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning. The topic of our project under the Eighth
Five-Year Plan is “teaching experiment and research on developing right brain
and developing imagery thinking”, the topic under the Ninth Five-Year Plan and
Tenth Five-Year Plan is “theoretical research and teaching experiment on developing
imagery thinking”, and the topic under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan is “research on
comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable development of thinking in learning”.
The above-mentioned research topics are collectively referred to as “learning and
thinking”. In the spring of 1998, we had the honor to report to Vice Premier Li
Lanqing on the progress and findings of the research. Vice Premier Li Lanqing’s full
affirmation and attention to the research greatly encouraged all the researchers.
III. The Research Questions and Objectives
1. The Research Questions
Marx said: The problem is an open and fearless voice of the times that dominates all
individuals.
We are in an era of building a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, and
harmonious socialist modern country and realizing the great rejuvenation of the
Chinese nation. We are in an era of profound changes in human thinking and social
media.