The Elements of Learning by James M. Banner JR., Professor Harold C. Cannon [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

The Elements of Learning

The Elements of Learning James M. Banner, Jr.

■ Harold C. Cannon

Yale University Press ■ New Haven and London

Published with assistance from the Kingsley Trust Association Publication Fund established by the Scroll and Key Society of Yale College. Copyright © 1999 by Yale University. All rights reserved. "The Emperor of Ice Cream" reprinted from Collected Poems by Wallace Stevens. Copyright © 1923 and renewed 1951 by Wallace Stevens. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and Faber and Faber Ltd. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Designed by Sonia Scanlon Set in Syntax with Tekton display type by Tseng Information Systems, Durham, N.C. Printed in the United States of America by Vail-Ballou Press, Binghamton, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Banner, James M., 1935The elements of learning / James M. Banner, Jr., and Harold C. Cannon. p. cm. ISBN 0-300-07836-6 (alk. paper) I. Learning. 2. Study skills. 3. Learning, Psychology of. 4. College student orientation. I. Cannon, Harold C, 1930II. Title. LB1060.B36

1999

378.170281-dc21

98-50161

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for perma­ nence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Freface ix ■

How t o Read This l3ook

xi

1. The Adventure of Learning 1

^

Part One: The Elements of Learning

2. Industry 9 ■ Working on Your Weaknesses

10

■ Why Teachers Work You 5o Hard 3. Enthusiasm 23 ■ Learning in Spite of a I3ad Teacher 4 . Pleasure 3 4 ■ Delayed Gratification

36

5. Curiosity 46 ■ What Is Knowledge?

48

6 . Aspiration 57 ■ Don't Sell Yourself S h o r t

5&

7. Imagination 69 ■ Using Your Imagination &. Self-Discipline 31 ■ Going for t h e Gold 9 . Civility

91

■ Competition 92

62

10

16

24

vi

contents

10. Cooperation 102 ■ Studying Together 11. Honesty 114 ■ Plagiarism

104

116

12. Initiative 126 ■ Obstacles t o Initiative

125

%> Part Two: The Circumstances of Learning 13. Who Teaches You ■

137

How Should Teachers Help You?

■ Teachers Are Human, Too

142

■ Knowledge and Moral Good 14. What You Learn 146 ■ The A r t s and Sciences

150

■ Choosing Your Courses

154

15. How You Learn

159

■ Grades \