"Experience is the result, the sign, and the reward of that interaction of organism and environment which, when it is carried to the full, is a transformation of interaction into participation and communication. Since sense organs with their connected motor apparatus are the means of this participation, any and every derogation of them, whether practical or theoretical, is at once effect and cause of a narrowed and dulled life-experience" (22-23).
Knowing the importance of relating new experiences to those that have come before, Dewey takes this notion a step further by underscoring the power of these types of experiences between learner and environment to spark a physical response from the former. Not only is there an interaction that takes place between the learner and the surrounding environment within these experiences but there also is an element of participation and communication that stands as the pinnacle of achievement in this scenario. Here, the learner finds a motivation to contribute to his experience by communicating as necessary (I'm sure this comes in many forms).
Dewey continues by claiming that "as an organism increases in complexity, the rhythms of struggle and consummation in its relation to its environment are varied and prolonged, and they come to include within themselves an endless variety of sub-rhythms. The designs of living are widened and enriched. Fulfillment is more massive and more subtly shaded" (23). In other words, as an individual interacts in a more personal, participatory fashion--one in which there is a physical, mental, and emotional contribution to the experience--with its surrounding environment, opportunities for exploration are significantly increased. As a result of this widening of opportunity, the potential for learning finds no boundaries; it functions within an endless spectrum of possibility.
So, what does this all have to do with art? Dewey claims the following: "The existence of art is the concrete proof of what has just been stated abstractly. It is proof that man uses the materials and energies of nature with intent to expand his own life, and that he does so in accord with the structure of his organism--brain, sense, organs, and muscular system. Art is the living and concrete proof of meaning, the union of sense, need, impulse and action characteristic of the live creature. The intervention of consciousness adds regulation, power of selection, and re-disposition" (26). Breaking this down once again, the point of interaction between the learner and their environment forms the catalyst for the full maturation of living and learning.
Ending this section, Dewey acknowledges that "wherever conditions are such as to prevent the act of production from being an experience in which the whole creature is alive and in which he possesses his living through enjoyment, the product will lack something of being esthetic. No matter how useful it is for special and limited ends, it will not be useful in the ultimate degree--that of continuing directly and liberally to an expanding and enriched life" (27). I love this idea of the continually expanding life of the learner--a life that not only heightens the quality of living but one in which personal progress is paramount.
So, what can all of this dense, confusing, sporadic theory teach us about how we can learn in museums? The one thing that truly stands out to me is the concept that we cannot simply be within a learning environment to learn. Reaching the fullness of potential when it comes to educational endeavors requires us to input something into the process; they is a requirement of contribution. Once this contribution is given, the horizon of learning expands for the learner. New opportunities arise; stumbling blocks can pass away. Drawing upon personal experience, it is only when I give of myself to the process of learning--of which I mean that I fully invest my time and mind to this cause--that I see new doors of exploration open to my senses. My learning process then becomes one of gaining new perspectives that eventually leads to my inevitable contribution to the learning process once again. Very cyclical, as many of the theories studied here have been.
I think it is interesting that the idea of consciousness as Dewey has described it focuses on the idea of a maturation of living and learning. Key to this is the ability to make meaning--which he suggests is made through aesthetic encounters. I wonder if this is what you mean by the contribution that is needed? Certainly the learning comes through contribution, but ideally it comes more through the making of meaning.
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