What does it mean to learn?  Did Adam learn how to multiply when he was less than two years old?  Humans have an amazing ability to mimic, to replicate, but that does not necessarily lead to understanding or a sustained and substantial change in the way people think, act, or feel.  It doesn’t necessarily mean they will be able to solve problem, to apply their “knowledge” to new situations, to analyze, synthesize, or evaluate.

 

Students in college can learn to “plug and chug,” to plug the right number in the right formula and get right answers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they understand the concepts involved.  Deep learning--as opposed to surface learning--requires a special kind of learning environment.