Transforming What is There Into What is Here: The Feel of Knowledge in a University Setting

Abstract

In this paper I take the position that an understanding of Alfred North Whitehead's theory of the rhythmic cycles of mental growth are significant for a process pedagogy and that searching for analogues of these cycles in our own concrete learning experiences may help to reveal basic pedagogical principles for educators. Evidence for this position is presented in the form of an overview of my attempts to determine if students in a university setting could identify Whitehead's cycles of romance-freedom, precision-discipline, and generalization-freedom in their own learning experiences. During this analytical phase of our experience the students and I were able to transform Whitehead's abstract description of the learning process into a concrete personal understanding of his theory of mental growth. We also began to explore the practical application of this theory in the classroom. In other words, we were able to transform what was there in the abstract into what is here in our concrete experience.