Running head: TRACING OF THE TERM LEARNING

Tracing the Term Learning Through History

ENGL 7785

Spring 2016

For this assignment, I was tasked to draft a newsletter article based on a topic covered in class
and discuss how it has impacted technical and professional communication in education and the
workplace. I chose to view what learning meant across the time periods discussed in this
course.

A strength of this assignment was my flow and organization of topics. The topic of learning is
very broad, so I narrowed the focus to what was discussed in our text instead of fully covering
learning throughout history. For having a limited scope, I did well in covering the topic and
discussing how learning is used today. I could have improved upon brining in technical and
professional communication more throughout the paper as it gets lost at some points. If I had
kept the focus of the article on the field, then this assignment would have been more successful.

My sources are good representations of the subjects covered in this article and support the
information I provided. The text for this course, Longo, was helpful for the early history, so I
found two articles which give a modern view of learning in technical and professional
communication. I could have used more sources for the modern section or analyzed the works
used so that technical and professional communication was more prominent.

Highly Dissatisfied Highly Satisfied

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TRACING OF THE TERM LEARNING 1

Learning is a term which has held different meaning throughout history. As time passes, what is
valued in education changes and criticisms are made of past values, thus evolving how one
learns. Todays definition of learning, the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by
studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something is comprehensive of many past
methods (Merriam-Webster, 2015). This definition shows that one method of learning is not
preeminent as it was in the past with educators developing and marketing their own learning
process. Rather, todays learning is focused on the individual, his or her unique learning style,
and the use of technology.

The Greek tradition of learning is arguably the earliest recorded mention of the term and held
true until the early 17th century when Sir Francis Bacon contended against Aristotles teachings
(Longo, 2000, p. 38). To Aristotle, learning meant unlocking what was held in ones mind.
Bacon was critical of this definition because it neglected what he saw as the most important
aspect of learning, observation. Bacon was no longer concerned with words like Aristotle was,
but rather he focused on what could be observed. He proposed this new concept of learning to be
called public science. This idea was built upon later by Comenius in the 17th century with a plan
for a universal college with institutionalized teaching (Longo, 2000, p. 46). With institutionalized
teaching, large numbers of students would be trained in public science unlike the smaller number
seen previously.

Our modern day understanding of what learning means develops around this time with many
students all learning the same material through the standardized ways of a textbook. Ensuring
that students would all be taught the same ideas, textbooks revolutionized learning.
Institutionalized teaching saw the textbook as the authority of knowledge, but non-
institutionalized teaching sought to have students learn primarily from a teacher (Longo, 2000, p.
46-7). Todays learning involves a mixture of the abovementioned definitions. Learning can be
done on ones own, through a teacher or text, and may have some methods of observation
included. Educators are concerned with how their students learn, no matter the method being
used and technical and professional communication helps to trace what works best to todays
educators.

Tracing what learning has meant throughout history is essential to educators in the field of
technical and professional communication as well as academics who are interested in the history
or terminology of learning. As long as technical and professional communication has been
taught, there has been a focus on how one learns and what approaches best facilitate a students
learning. Learning from the past is pertinent in this field as communicators seek to create the
most efficient methods of learning possible. Seeing what has and has not worked in the past,
along with an observation of students present needs, helps to choose what best fits our
understanding of modern learning. Todays technical and professional communicators place an
emphasis on the word technical in how a student learns. Classes and even full degrees are
currently being offered online, so creating students who can best adapt to the growing need of a
familiarity with the newest technology is important in this field.

Currently, online learning and a focus on accessibility are up-and-coming topics in todays view
of learning. Accessibility is used in terms of how a disabled individual is able to access the same
learning resources as someone who does not have a disability. With more courses being offered
TRACING OF THE TERM LEARNING 2

online, various levels of education can reach a variety of students and with that variety comes
individual differences. A 2014 study by Oswal and Meloncon surveyed technical and
professional communication instructors regarding the accessibility of their online classes. Over
half of the instructors surveyed claimed that their online classes were not accessible and less than
half reported they had never taught an individual with a disability. These results were shocking
to Oswal and Meloncon who are striving to inform educators about how to make their online
courses accessible to all students. Formal online courses taught through an institution were the
center of this study, but informal methods of learning through start-up companies are now
rising and as argued by Nathan R. Johnson, (2014) are lauded as usurpers to the throne of
education (p. 381).

Johnsons article, Protocological Rhetoric: Intervening in Institutions uses protocological

rhetorican analytical tool synthesized from research in information infrastructure studies to
change institutions so start-up companies are no longer a threat to institutionalized learning
(2014, p. 382). Johnson recognizes that large-scale changes across the board in institutions is
near impossible because, as seen in Bacons and Comenius era, getting institutions to agree with
and implement his method of protocological rhetoric is not realistic. Like Comenius before
him, Johnson seeks to transform institutions, but through a theory of information infrastructure
which consists of any of the techniques that provide dependable access to information (2014,
p. 385). Institutions are key to Johnsons theory as they have a larger historical legacy which
help information infrastructure. Without a background or history, learning may cease to evolve
with the changing times. With knowledge of learnings history, educators can help trace the
development of learning and apply what has worked in the past to the present while executing
new ideas to further what is known as learning. These new ideas include a focus on the
individual, online learning, and changing rhetoric in institutions. How these ideas hold and
develop in time is yet to be seen, but they may certainly add to the definition of learning in the
future.
TRACING OF THE TERM LEARNING 3

References

Johnson, N. R. (2014). Protocological rhetoric: Intervening in institutions. Journal of Technical

Writing and Communication, 44(4), 381-399. doi: 10.2190/TW.44.4c

Learning. (2015). In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam

webster.com/dictionary/learning

Longo, B. (2000). Spurious coin: A history of science, management, and technical writing.

Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Oswal S.K., & Meloncon, L. (2014). Paying attention to accessibility when designing online

courses in technical and professional communication. Journal of Business and

Technical Communication, 28(3), 271-300. doi:10.1177/1050651914524780