Feeling Learning in Geneva

        Here, learning is not merely a concept or a term, it has been integrated into the actions of citizen. It has become a way of life. What they are thinking are not why they should learn. What they are concerning about is how to learn well, so that they can be clear about how to live well.

         Could you imagine that who are they—learners who participate in the training Programm of “Develop Learning Capacities” ? They come from different professional areas, many of them are specialists in their own fields, including some aged persons. Here, they are learners, learner is their common identitiy. They are learning Piaget, Constructivism, Allosteric Learning…. all of which are normally looked upon as properties which belong to specially academic researchers! But they are learning them and have learnt effectively, meaningfully, and fruitfully, since they are immerging in the context of dialogues with these great persons who produce these great thoughts. Why they can easily touch these extraordinary minds? Because they are learning the mechanism of how to learn just by use of the way in which the theoretical thinking works. Teaching is now an affording environment for learning.

        Thanks to the lively, friendly, freely dialogic patterns of learning and teaching, each learner is motivated to participate in the interaction. I am impressed by this kind of dialogue even though I can only catch a few French words. Understanding can cross the language boundary!

        I posed a little stupid question, “why you learn? Why do you attend this program? Is there any qualification demands? It needs to spend so much money and time!” An aged madam gave me a satisfying answer:

       “ I want to know how to learn in the information age. It’s very useful for me and for my children. Money and time are limited, but learning is not finishing”.

         Here, any space, whether it is big or small, can be used to learn. Being seen from exterior, Uni Mail is a gigantic house, it has gates, windows and roof. The roof is transparent, the gate is running and open. Functionally, the house shelters from wind and rain. But when you get into it, it is actually a university, an open learning community. Everyone, no matter who he/she is, no matter where he/she is from, no matter how he/she is old, can share all learning resources in it. One can solve problems by using learning resources so long as he/she learns intentionally.

       Thanks to the internet, the delimited real learning city is stretched to the boundlessly virtual learning community. The globe is becoming flat.

       My visiting-research unit, LDES at University of Geneva, is responsible for the science exhibitions in Geneva. The most beautiful and finest places of Geneva are dedicated to libraries and museums. Charge Free! Computers and internets are accessible everywhere. Those knobby small villas situated in the green land are actually museums accompanied with the charming dimple of Lake. I have made many feelings after visiting them. Any one is allowed to participate in these historical sciences experiments if he/she wants to try. The psychological experiments, pathological experiments, natural sciences experiments and technological inventions, every visitor can choose various activities to participate in. Oh, there is a model of dragon ship of China over there!

         What is Science Education?  Let science  surrond each human bing, like the air.