Patterns That Connect : Rethinking Our Approach to Learning and Thinking / Jeffrey W. Bloom.

This paper addresses contemporary (i.e., postmodern) concerns with the disintegration of meaning and fragmentation of knowledge. As society continues to move towards increased specialization and separation of disciplines, people are becoming increasingly disconnected from the broad connecting conceptions within the disciplines, i.e., the patterns that bridge the disciplines, to the natural world, and to each other. A potential remedy, based on the work of Gregory Bateson and Mary Catherine Bateson, for providing a way to develop such connections is explored. Such as remedy is founded on the framework of "patterns that connect" (G. Bateson, 1979). In this paper, the discussion of such patterns is situated in the context of a view of learning that is based on nonlinearity of thought processes and on variation both as a source and outcome of thinking (J. Bloom, 1998; F. Capra, 1996). This view of learning leads to: (1) more cohesive and elaborate understandings; (2) an emphasis on meaning rather than decontextualized content; (3) emphasis on creativity; (4) a greater sense of connection to the learner's world; and (5) the development of a sense of ownership over what is learned. (Contains 5 figures and 19 references.) (SLD)

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