Can a technology be true?
Jon Dron,
Mar 17, 2023
Jon Dron comments on a recent post from Dave Cormier on learning styles, and between the two of them we are offered a novel response to learning styles scepticism. Beginning with the idea that 'learning styles are a myth', which Cormier discusses, we have the insight that a myth need not be 'true' to be useful. Indeed (and this is my contribution) the eliminative materialist would argue that much of what the cognitive psychologist talks about - beliefs, desires, hopes, knowledge - is a myth. No. The whole concept of learning styles, says Dron, can be thought of as a technology - not a statement of fact about the world, but a tool. It doesn't really make sense to talk of a tool being 'true', but at the same time, tools have varying degrees of precision (which may or may not matter), have risks and can create harm, but also have uses and affordances. Learning styles sceptics say that this tool should not be applied for a very specific purpose (specifically, to design direct instruction strategies). Maybe not. But as Cormier says, "we are trying to 'truthify' something that often doesn't respond to true and false statements."
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