Summary

This fully revised and updated edition of Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge recognizes that the future of economic well being in today's knowledge and information society rests upon the effectiveness of schools and corporations to empower their people to be more effective learners and knowledge creators. Novak's pioneering theory of education presented in the first edition remains viable and useful. This new edition updates his theory for meaningful learning and autonomous knowledge building along with tools to make it operational ─ that is, concept maps, created with the use of CMapTools and the V diagram.

The theory is easy to put into practice, since it includes resources to facilitate the process, especially concept maps, now optimised by CMapTools software. CMapTools software is highly intuitive and easy to use. People who have until now been reluctant to use the new technologies in their professional lives are will find this book particularly helpful. Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge is essential reading for educators at all levels and corporate managers who seek to enhance worker productivity.

Choice Review

Thirty-five years ago, David Ausubel (The Psychology of Meaningful Verbal Learning, 1963) outlined his theory of rote versus meaningful learning. Novak has found a way to apply that theory to contemporary learning problems; and he attributes many of the current educational difficulties to the fact that what ought to be approached as meaningful is too often taught as rote. Likewise, he asserts, what is assessed is largely meaningless, because in teaching and assessment there is little opportunity for the individual to construct individual meaning. (However, the indictment of testing is based on research published in 1962 and 1963.) Ausubel championed the use of "advance organizers" to bridge the gap between rote and meaningful learning, while Novak uses a "concept map." Novak's emphasis on individuality, however, is not so evident in Ausubel's work: "It is part of the genetic capacity of every normal human being to construct their own idiosyncratic concept meanings from regularities observed in events or objects." The good teacher, he suggests, "helps to move the learner beyond rote learning by negotiating meanings with the learner (reviewer's italics). Recommended for all student levels, faculty, researchers, professionals, and practitioners. D. E. Tanner; California State University, Fresno