What is a Lesson?

[Robert Heiny]

Here's a try to answer the question, "What is a lesson?" It continues the previous discussion of What is Education? and Education Fights Ignorance.

a. A lesson consists of observable actions that fit aspects of a describable design consistent with rules people use to learn, such as earning a classic education.

b. A lesson changes a behavior pattern of a person. It may be taught by another person; it can be the label given to a change of behavior patterns that occur after a "natural" or contrived event (a dog bites a person, then the person avoids dogs; a flood destroys a valuable painting, so the art collector decides to move from a flood plain: "I learned my lesson about living on a flood plain").

And yes, arguably these descriptions fit lessons in accounts of Socrates teaching on a bench, 21st century classrooms, online curricula, field teaching, open classrooms, Direct Instruction, Direct Learning, etc.

How would you describe a lesson differently?

 

[LPH]

It may be taught by another person;

A lesson is an event in which measurable changes occur for the learner. A lesson is a trigger (or catalyst) for the learner to reflect and modify behavior. During the time of the event, the learner uses self-realization (actualization?) to modify behavior based on observations of past results and possible future outcomes.

 

[Robert Heiny]

You may be right. I find these words seductive and have used them with all seriousness. But, respectfully, I can't document those inferred phenomena empirically except as an ideal theoretical type at best. In short, the are unnecessary to consider them in order to increase learning. That's the good news, yes?