A
technique for handling
information better during
learning. It works on the
principle of dividing all information or
knowledge into series of 'objects'. An object has a name and a small description, and is related to a varying number of other objects. The object '
Momentum' could thus carry the description 'energy contained within an item causing it to move'. Objects related to 'Momentum' would include '
Energy', '
Impact', '
Speed' etc. A common practice, especially with new users of the technique, is to create
learning cards containing this information, and this information only.
An object may refer to nearly anything, including but not limited to items,
concepts,
components, actions, states, etc.
The reasoning behind object-based learning is a view of the human
brain. The brain is in this view thought to operate naturally with small bits of information, rather than long explanations. The brain is built to put simple environmental
inputs together to create an
output, and splitting
knowledge or
skills into these objects make it easier for the brain to work with them.
Key Objects
Once knowledge is seen as merely a web of inter-related objects, the notion of finding '
central' objects becomes interesting. These key objects are A) easy to describe and understand, even for people with no prior
experience with the
topic in question, and B) good starting points to use in learning other objects of the topic. Finding key objects thus allows new learners to rapidly understand important parts of the topic, and to quickly understand the roles of other objects.
In some cases, an object can be created to serve a
teaching or learning purpose. This is especially true for key objects, which can be so important for a learners speed. A classic example is the 'key
sentence', a sentence in a
foreign language, which is constructed specifically to contain a handful of important
grammar examples. By learning just this one sentence, a student of the language grows familiar with several aspects of that language's grammar.
Other fields of
study may have other artificial objects, whether they be key objects or not.
Creativity is often as important a
tool in learning as
analysis.
An extension of object-based learning, these objects can, in fact, be just about any other object. The
idea is, that any object can be 'opened' to reveal inner workings, consisting of a whole new set of objects. The classical example is a
computer, which can be considered a single object in many respects. However, while one can easily define a computer seen from its users angle (for example as 'a tool for storing and handling information'), 'opening' it (physically as well as
philosophically) reveals a lot of new objects, like
harddisks and
CPUs, all inter-connected.
The application of black box objects tends to vary highly between topics and even individual
teachers or students.