Learning: It’s All About the Connections

I’ve written about connections before in It’s All About Connection.

Today, though, I was thinking about all of the connections important for learning. Connection has a lot of meanings and connotations:

Here are some of the connections I thought of that can/should be part of both formal and informal education:

• Connecting of Neural Networks in the Brain – New brain connections form in clusters during learning
• Connecting of Concepts – Deep Conceptual Learning: Creating Connections That Last
• Connecting with the Internet and Computer Networks -Technology Integration for the New 21st Century Learner
• Connecting of Human Networks (as in PLNs – Personal Learning Networks) – Personal Learning Networks: Knowledge Sharing as Democracy
• Connecting with Oneself (as with One’s Esteem, Culture, Self-Knowledge) – Cultivating the Habits of Self-Knowledge and Reflection
• Social Connections: Humans Connecting Deeply and Authentically with Another – It’s All About Relationships
  
• Connecting Objects to One Another (as in Making) – Making (in School): A Letter of Recommendation
• Connecting with the Past, Present, and Future – All people are living histories

In fact, I have come to believe that connection and all of its implications is one of the most important concepts in understanding, engaging in, and facilitating powerful learning experiences.