Driving Instructions - Essay Example

LEARNING ACTIVITY Learning to Drive 1. Introduction Not all people can drive a motor vehicle and most people who already drive went through some sort of learning. Learning to ride a bicycle for example requires some effort on the part of learner and a little help from a friend. Similarly, learning to drive a complicated motor vehicle such as a car requires effort on the part of the aspiring driver and detailed instructions from the driving instructor. Learning the task involves knowledge of different car and road related matters and acquisition of these knowledge through a learning process. The following sections discuss the knowledge required in performing the task such as propositional, procedural, and dispositional knowledge. It also includes discussion on the method that can be use in acquiring this knowledge together with its strength and limitations. The last section will provide the summary and inference of the topic. 2. Learning and Performing the Task 2.1 Knowledge Required to Perform the Task If one would view learning as an active and interpretative process that is often based on a person’s existing knowledge (Boud & Garrick 1999, p.154) then we must also recognise the connection between them (McCormick & Paechter 1999, p.11). According to Boud & Garrick (1999), acquiring knowledge varies depending on knowledge constructing experience of the person – constructivism- while ability to learn through brain functioning in cognitive approaches. For instance, knowledge developed at work is different from knowledge developed inside the classroom as the former is more of a practical knowledge development than a formal education experience. Similarly, knowledge itself has propositional, procedural, and dispositional dimensions that complement each other. For instance, a person’s propositional knowledge is influenced by facts and assertions while his procedural knowledge is affected by the way the person think and act. Similarly, his dispositional knowledge will be affected by his values, attitudes, and interests (Boud & Garrick 1999, p.155). Learning to drive particularly a motor vehicle requires knowledge and this knowledge will be a combination of propositional, procedural, and dispositional components. Considering that propositional knowledge is often acquired through facts, statements, and assertions, learning to drive requires knowledge of the vehicle functioning. These may include recognising the different parts of the vehicle and its functions such as ignition, steering, shifting gear, side mirrors, rear view mirrors, and so on. The learner may also need to know some basic troubleshooting such as changing tires or replacing spark plugs. Generally, the learner needs to learn and familiarise himself with the rudiments of driving such moving forward, backing, parking, and driving at the right speed. More importantly, the aspiring driver should also recognise the different gauges and be able to interpret its value. These are essential knowledge that a learning driver must have in order to drive effectively and responsibly. However, propositional knowledge should not be confused with acquiring detailed knowledge such as being able to tell the inner workings of the different car components. Acquiring propositional knowledge at this level is only to be able to tell that something is so (Waters 2004, p.19). It is a type of knowledge that can be directly acquired through statements and propositions rather than formal and exhaustive instructions. Another knowledge that is required in order to successfully drive a motor vehicle is one that would enable the aspiring driver to actually use the vehicle components. For instance, the learning driver must understand how to shift the gear or to steer the wheel properly. In addition, he or she must also understand how to use the rear and side mirrors while driving and apply the brakes whenever required. There actually a number of ‘procedural’ knowledge that must be acquired before anyone can drive properly and safely. In contrast to learning that something is so as in propositional knowledge, procedural knowledge generally means knowing how to do things in a given situation (Akerkar & Sajja 2009, p.72). For instance, a driver must know ‘how to’ apply the brakes in a given situation since not all situation requires full stop. In other words, he must learn to balance his actions against the situation. Another is ‘how to’ shift the gear since shifting requires applying the clutch and calculating the present speed of the car. A learning driver should have this procedural knowledge to successfully manoeuvre and drive the car to his or her destination otherwise car failure will occur. Procedural knowledge should not be confused with declarative knowledge as the latter is generally about “knowing that something is the case” (Hampson et al. 1996, p.130) while the former as mentioned earlier is knowing how to do things. According to Hampson (et al. 1996, p.130), describing to a learner what is required to ride a bicycle declaratively will have no beneficial effect since it cannot give them the required procedural knowledge to actually ride one. Similarly, giving declarative instructions to the aspiring car driver will give no benefits since what is required is procedural knowledge on how he or she can actually drive. Apparently, in addition to propositional knowledge of the different essential components, learning to drive requires procedural knowledge on how to actually do drive and reach your destination successfully. However, as mentioned earlier, these types of knowledge must be complemented with another one – dispositional knowledge. Acquiring dispositional knowledge according to Moser (1991, p.20), only requires someone to believe and as mentioned earlier, it is often affected by his personal characteristics such as interest in what an individual like to do and his attitude toward the task. According to Smith (2000, p.262), dispositional knowledge is very important particularly in critical situations where a person should act appropriate. For instance, it is not enough for a driver to have the ability to act in certain circumstances such as stopping at red light or activating the wiper when it is raining. It is also not enough for the driver to recognise road signs and follow directions as there a lot of unexpected incidents that may require his immediate disposition. For instance, he may have to make some urgent but right decision when an accident suddenly occurs in front of him while driving at high speed on a freeway. In practice, an effective driver should have the ability to recognise different circumstances and acts accordingly when they occur. Take for example a car driver about to cross a railway crossing noticed a train a hundred metres away coming from the left should come up with a decision to cross or not. The driver at this point must have the ability to deal with this real time situation and his dispositional knowledge can help him decide correctly. A learning driver therefore should be equipped not only with propositional and procedural knowledge but dispositional knowledge that he can use in different circumstances to avoid accidents and other mishaps. In addition, experience would tell us that many unexpected situations happens on the road thus knowing how to drive is not enough because aside from controlling the vehicle, the driver must have the ability to recognise and act accordingly to any situation. 2.2 Acquiring the Knowledge Knowing the knowledge required to perform the task is only the beginning of learning how to drive. This is because acquiring that knowledge is a different story and requires another set of strategies. In acquiring knowledge, one might think that wandering around and observing things can bring the same effect. However, although it may be partly true, getting knowledge this way is not always reliable as people may sometimes come into conclusions that are not supported by facts (Nunn 1998, p.5). In the science of intelligence and learning, there is a process of acquiring knowledge and skill known as cognition (Wang & Franklin 2008, p.409). Acquisition of knowledge through the cognitive process is founded on the hypothesis that people even in their infancy is already acquiring knowledge (Reese 1989, p.288). For instance, a newborn baby is acquiring knowledge on how to hold, vocalise, how to use their hands, and so on. In general, aside from knowing and thinking, cognition includes storing and manipulating information that is acquired through the human senses. The awareness, memory judgement, recognition of emotions, learning, and everything people do in their daily lives (Ashman & Conway 1997, p.41). Considering the application of cognitive approach in acquiring the three knowledge requirement of the learning task at hand, this would mean allowing the learner to learn by his cognitive ability to gain propositional knowledge. In other words, the learner must store, analysed, manipulate, and learn the instructions being given by the driving instructor. Similarly, he or she would need to observe and memorise the components of the car and their functions. This would also mean that on his cognitive ability remember the procedural knowledge such as shifting the right gear at the right time or being familiar with the level of pressure that he must apply to the brake in a certain situation. However, acquiring dispositional knowledge using cognitive approach may be different since it requires changing an individual belief. For instance, feeding the learner the information he needs to learn the rudiments of driving does not necessarily mean he would acquire dispositional knowledge instantly. Apparently, he must initially accept that the information is true and applicable to his own personal belief. Similarly, he must be interested in pursuing the idea and satisfy his values. In learning to drive, the two types of knowledge involve can be acquired through cognitive processes. For instance, propositional knowledge can be acquired through storing and analysing details of the car components in our brain and learn from that details. As mentioned earlier acquiring propositional knowledge requires facts and assumptions and from the cognitive theory, this may involve memorising facts and analysing assumptions. Information processing is central to cognitive theory and like computers that can process information; humans can receive information and act according to the result of the cognitive process (Mc Gilly 1996, p.4). In cognitive science, people can acquire knowledge of his own skills and abilities and become aware of his proficiency of a certain skill or regulate his own learning (McGilly1996, p.4). Considering that acquisition of propositional knowledge can be done through natural human cognitive ability, learning to drive can be a matter of personal ability to learn new the information. Similarly, the aspiring driver may or may not absorb all the facts as he can regulate his learning. Acquiring knowledge through cognitive process as discussed above can be also applied to procedural knowledge acquisition. For instance, learning ‘how to’ actually operate car components and drive requires processing the instructions given by the driving instructor. If the instruction is to floor the clutch and shift the gear, then the mind will process the information and the corresponding action will be taken according to the result of the process. Similarly, the actions that would be taken in order to stop the car abruptly or gradually will be determined by the result of the information processing. Acquiring knowledge and learning how to drive through cognition appears dependent on the cognitive ability of the person aspiring to drive. The process seems to involve significant brain functioning in relation to the physical ability of a person to actually execute the instruction. Out of three knowledge dimension mentioned earlier, acquiring dispositional knowledge is the most complicated. Dispositional knowledge involves values, interest, and attitude toward the task and therefore depends on the characteristic of the person who wants to drive. Particularly when the cognitive process is applied, acquisition of dispositional knowledge may require more analysis than the other two knowledge dimension. For instance, cognition enables learners to learn by accepting and processing the information in their brain while dispositional knowledge entirely depends on the interest and attitude of the person towards the task –learning to drive. Apparently, acquisition of knowledge and learning in this situation depends on the willingness of the person and therefore may not be affected by cognition. An enthusiastic driving student’s rate of knowledge acquisition may be higher than those students that are not so interested in driving because as mentioned earlier, dispositional knowledge requires someone to believe. Although a person may eventually change some of his views through cognitive information processing, it will probably take more effort than normal. Provided that an ideal learner will acquire dispositional knowledge through cognitive processing, the learner should have the ability to absorb and process the information. As a result of the processing, the learner will now have the knowledge he needs to recognise and act accordingly whenever an unexpected situation arise. This is because the information is memorised and embedded in his mind and can be process immediately whenever required. 2.3 Strength and Limitations of using Cognitive Approach In contrast to cognitive approach to learning, behaviourism leans on the premise that people learn effectively when there is a system of rewards and punishment in place rather than recognising the functioning of the mind (Federal Aviation Administration 2009, p.2-3). Similarly, humanism found the behavioural theory dehumanising and animalistic as humanist believes that humans possess qualities unique to animals such as free will and potential for personal growth (Weiten et al. 2008, p.50). Although, both cognitive and humanist learning takes pride of the human nature, it appears that the cognitive approach is more centred on the human mind while the humanist emphasises the capability of humans as a whole. Considering that that purpose of adopting a learning theory is to enable the aspiring car driver to acquire the knowledge required to perform the task, a behaviourist approach to learning may too much for the application. For example, learning to drive is acquiring a skill through non-formal education thus applying a behaviourist approach with rewards and punishment may not be necessary. In fact, it may even discourage the learner to proceed as driving is not a compulsory undertaking unless the learner intends to drive professionally. In contrast, a humanist approach to learning is desirable as it considers people as learners capable of personal growth. The humanist approach particularly in acquiring procedural and dispositional knowledge may in a way applicable as these knowledge appears centred on human’s natural capability to learn and pursue their objectives. As mentioned earlier, a cognitive approach applied to propositional and procedural knowledge acquisition may be effective but there are some doubts on whether it can do the same on dispositional knowledge. The problem with cognitive approach when it comes to acquiring knowledge based on human characteristics is the fact that it is entirely centred on the brain functioning of an individual. Emotions and other natural human characteristics that can significantly affect their decision are not considered. In contrast, the humanist approach takes the human potential for learning as a whole that may include brain functioning, values, emotions, interest, and other personal characteristics that may positively or negatively affect the rate and extent of their knowledge acquisition. According to Berry et al.(1997, p.336), learning programs based on cognitive approach often severely strain learners memories as it normally contains so much information. Another is the fact that any diversion or non-compliant behaviour in cognitive approach is considered false and a product of faulty beliefs and assumptions (Engle & Arkowitz 2006, p.24). Assuming that this statement is true, applying cognitive approach in acquiring knowledge dispositional knowledge for the aspiring driver may not yield a beneficial result because of behavioural conflict. In studying the influence of positive and negative emotions on cognitive functioning, Lee (1998, p.90) suggest that emotions affects judgement and regardless whether these emotions are positive or negative, the judgement will still be wrong. One suggestion given by Abraham et al., (2002, p.376) is to weight the application of cognitive approach. Although the approach is undoubtedly enhancing a person’s ability to learn, selecting the right application is important to avoid over fitting. Similarly, it may be still possible to use cognitive approach when conveying basic information that the learner driver can use later during the actual driving (Berry et al,. 1997, p.336) or when there is no behavioural conflict involve. Cognitive approach to learning appears suitable in the first two knowledge requirements while it needs some adjustment on the third. Learning to drive however needs acquisition of all the knowledge mentioned earlier otherwise performing the task required is not possible. In general, acquiring knowledge through cognitive approach depends on the type of knowledge to be acquired. It will not fit in acquiring knowledge requiring human intrinsic qualities such as those that involve personal judgement, preferences, interest, values, and attitudes. 3. Conclusion Most people who want to drive a car must go through some training and learning since unlike a bicycle that you can probably learn on your own, motorised vehicle needs some more effort. Learning to perform the task requires knowledge thus a method of knowledge acquisition is required. Learning to drive involves acquisition of propositional, procedural, and dispositional knowledge. It also needs a method of knowledge of acquisition such as the cognitive approach to learning and others. Propositional knowledge can help the learner master car components and its functions while procedural knowledge can provide the learner essentials on how to actually drive. Similarly, dispositional knowledge can give the learner an idea of appropriate actions that can be taken while on the road. Acquiring this knowledge through a cognitive approach is in part effective particularly when the requirement is to enable the learner to learn the facts and details of driving. However, cognitive approach may need some adjustment when acquiring dispositional knowledge since it involves behavioural conflict. Unlike the humanist approach that values the human potential for learning and growth, the cognitive approach is limited by its focus on the human brain functioning. Consequently, on its own and without any modification, it is not capable of acquiring all knowledge effectively. 4. References Abraham A., Del-Solar J., & Koppen M., 2002, Soft computing systems: design, management and applications, IOS Press, Netherlands Akerkar R. & Sajja P., 2009. 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