The perception/action cycle
Simply put, in the real world all human beings (and every living organism) have to do two basic things in order to survive:
- They have to gather information about their environment and themselves (perception) and
- based on this information, they have to manipulate their environment, and themselves, in a way that is advantageous to them (action).
This is why the central underlying dynamic that drives the natural learning process is what biologists call the perception/action cycle (Fuster, Cortex and Mind, 2003). In very general terms, this means that everyone is constantly making sense of experience and acquiring new ways or consolidating old ways to act in the world.
Feedback matters
As a result of acting, the organism gets feedback - new information from the world and from itself. That feedback provides the guidance about how the organism needs to act next time. This may cause a change in the organism and in its capacity to perceive or way of perceiving. This can also lead to changes in the capacity of the organism to act and/or to perform different types of action. In short and it learns.
In human beings the process is more complex and we therefore call it the natural perception-action dynamic. At its most basic, people observe, act and get feedback. The key is to learn from the feedback.
Levels of operation
The perception/action dynamic operates at different levels. For instance:
- There is the natural, spontaneous engagement and interaction of perception, decision and action in every moment of life. So the dynamic is partly automatic and instant and occurs in the moment in every moment;
- There are also the more complex, long term projects and activities that call for goal setting and planning and skill development. So the dynamic occurs n in any activity over time.
What ever you do does something to you
When a person comes to see things in new ways or begins to act in new ways, the person changes. For example, every newborn infant is born with a capacity to master the over 6000 languages on earth, but after as short a time as 6 months being exposed to one's native language, most infants have begun to lose some of their ability to master other languages. The reason is that the brain is plastic, and is changed by experience. (Schwarz and Begley, The Mind and the Brain, 2003). So as people learn, they are shaped by their experiences, and begin to form a way of being in the world. Fortunately the brain remains plastic to some extent throughout life.
In Practice
An infant learns through this natural process. It observes and focuses in on an object, reaches for it, gets feedback, learns. Adolescents interact with their video games similarly, as do all people when they play. They get involved, observe, make decisions, act on the basis of their current skills and knowledge, get feedback, reflect on what they need to change - and thereby improve. Moral and ethical values become internalized on the basis of action and feedback. The same process is at the heart of all creative work and the arts. It is the foundation for sports of all kinds and the essence of scientific research and essential to all innovations. People on the job learn this way. People with expertise in any field gain mastery by taking charge of their capacities for natural learning. This process is the biological foundation for making sense of things - what psychologists call the construction of meaning or constructivism.
What schooling lacks
The art of effective coaching, mentoring, guiding, parenting, supervising and more, all engage and capitalize on this natural perception/action dynamic. Unfortunately, this natural way of learning has largely been discarded at the classroom door. In most schools there is almost no opportunity to try things out, test perceptions in real world settings, make authentic decisions in any subject area from history to science, get in-the-moment feedback, experience real world consequences and adapt as a living human being to what is needed.
