VIEWS OF KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION AND REPRESENTATION - A CONTINUUM FROM EXPERIENCE CENTERED TO MIND CENTERED

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for discussing fiv e approaches to understanding knowledge acquisition and representation . These approaches are behaviorism, schema theory, social perspective theories, connectionism, and situated cognition. We describe these app roaches as lying on a continuum running from an experience-centered vi ew of knowledge acquisition to a mind-centered view, with a more inter active view at the center. All five approaches are explicated in light of this continuum. Specifically, assumptions about knowledge acquisit ion and representation, the strengths and weaknesses of the approach, and the potential or actual impact on schooling are highlighted for ea ch theory. We suggest that although each of these theories has merit i n explaining certain aspects of knowledge acquisition, no approach ade quately addresses the issues of consciousness, self-awareness, and sel f-reflection. Also, we argue that viewing cognitive functioning throug h the lenses of machine metaphors is never likely to lead to an unders tanding of these issues. Thus, what is required is a conception that e mbodies the sophistication of the computer metaphor with the added abi lity to evolve, feel, and adapt--in short, a biological metaphor.