The Seven Principles of Learning (or the Seven Principles of Learning (or the Seven Principles of Learning))

It is a familiar form of discourse to orient thinking around a number--two for yes and no and black and white and on or off and good and evil and yin and yang; three for trinity; four for nice little spacial boxes built on an x axis and a y axis; etc. One of the classic numbers is, for course, seven: seven days of the week, seven deadly sins, seven sages, and--as none of you knew before now--the seven principles of learning!

The Google winner (Number One, Top of the Charts) on the Seven Principles of Learning comes from the National Research Council and are supposedly based on the "Cognitive Science of How People Learn." As presented on a Utah Valley University website, they are:

1. Learning with understanding is facilitated when new and existing knowledge is structured around the major concepts and principles of the discipline.

2.Learners use what they already know to construct new understandings.

3. Learning is facilitated through the use of metacognitive strategies that identify, monitor, and regulate cognitive processes.

4. Learners have different strategies, approaches, patterns of abilities, and learning styles that are a function of the interaction between their heredity and their prior experiences.

5. Learners’ motivation to learn and sense of self affects what is learned, how much is learned, and how much effort will be put into the learning process.

6. The practices and activities in which people engage while learning shape what is learned.

7. Learning is enhanced through socially supported interactions.

But, wait, I have faked you out, because these are not the seven principles of learning I was trying to source on the Internet. But, then, neither are these, the next set that we find on Google. This time from ASAE, the Center for Association Leadership:

1. Learning involves both support and challenge.

2. Learning involves changing both thinking and action.

3. Learning is an ongoing process of self-discovery.

4. Participants need to feel that the learning experience is both relevant to their situation and authentic to them as a person.

5. Learners and faculty should be involved as equal contributors in the learning process.

6. Learning is a social activity and happens best in the context of a trusting community.

7. Learning experiences should surprise and delight participants.

Whew, that must be the right one, correct? .. Not.