A New Culture of Learning

Author: Douglas Thomas, John Seely Brown

Three-Sentence Summary

• "A New Culture of Learning" by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown centers on the evolution of learning in today's rapidly changing, digital-centric world.
• The authors argue that traditional education systems are not enough to keep up with the pace of change and innovation, and thus advocate for a new culture of learning that embraces curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.
• They propose an educational model where learners take an active role in their own education, leveraging technology and social interactions to construct their own knowledge.

Extended Summary

"A New Culture of Learning" is a thought-provoking exploration of how learning should evolve to keep pace with the rapid changes brought about by the digital age. Authors Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown challenge traditional educational models that emphasize rote memorization and standardized testing. Instead, they advocate for a new culture of learning that embraces creativity, curiosity, and collaboration.

The authors argue that this new culture is characterized by a shift from knowing to learning — from accumulating facts to continuously adapting to change. It acknowledges that in a world where information is constantly changing and readily available, what matters more is one's ability to learn rather than what one already knows.

Thomas and Brown propose a model where learners play an active role in their own education. They encourage learners to use technology as tools for exploration and expression, participate in online communities for collaborative learning, engage in play as a form of experimentation, and create meaningful projects that reflect their understanding.

The authors highlight real-world examples of this new culture at work. These include students using video games to understand complex concepts or virtual communities like Wikipedia that exemplify collective intelligence.

"A New Culture of Learning" asserts that this new approach not only makes learning more engaging but also equips learners with the skills needed to thrive in the 21st-century workplace. These skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration.

Key Points

1. Traditional education models are insufficient for the rapidly changing digital world.
2. A new culture of learning that emphasizes curiosity, creativity, and collaboration is needed to keep pace with innovation.
3. Technology can be a powerful tool for exploration and knowledge construction in this new learning culture.

Who Should Read

Educators, policymakers, parents, and anyone interested in how learning can be reimagined for the digital age would find "A New Culture of Learning" valuable. It provides insightful ideas and practical strategies for creating more engaging and effective learning experiences.

About the Author

Douglas Thomas is a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. His research interests include technology's impact on society and culture.

John Seely Brown is a visiting scholar at USC and independent co-chairman of Deloitte's Center for Edge Innovation. He has written extensively on innovation, organizational change, and digital culture.

Further Reading

• Douglas Thomas's USC Profile
• Books by Douglas Thomas:
  • "Hacker Culture"
• Books by John Seely Brown:
  • "The Social Life of Information"
• Related Books:
  • "The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity"
  • "Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns"

Highlights

• The first is a massive information network that provides almost unlimited access and resources to learn about anything. The second is a bounded and structured environment that allows for unlimited agency to build and experiment with things within those boundaries. The reason we have failed to embrace these notions is that neither one alone makes Location 78

• for effective learning. It is the combination of the two, and the interplay between them, that makes the new culture of learning so powerful. Location 80

• One of the metaphors we adopt to describe this process is cultivation. A farmer, for example, takes the nearly unlimited resources of sunlight, wind, water, earth, and biology and consolidates them into the bounded and structured environment of a garden or farm. We see the new culture of learning as a similar kind of process—but cultivating minds instead of plants. Location 83

• The first is a massive information network that provides almost unlimited access and resources to learn about anything. The second is a bounded and structured environment that allows for unlimited agency to build and experiment with things within those boundaries. The reason we have failed to embrace these notions is that neither one alone makes Location 78

• for effective learning. It is the combination of the two, and the interplay between them, that makes the new culture of learning so powerful. Location 80

• One of the metaphors we adopt to describe this process is cultivation. A farmer, for example, takes the nearly unlimited resources of sunlight, wind, water, earth, and biology and consolidates them into the bounded and structured environment of a garden or farm. We see the new culture of learning as a similar kind of process—but cultivating minds instead of plants. Location 83