Situational Awareness!

There are other ways of knowing beyond knowledge and skills

I have mentioned John Vervaeke and his outstanding  50-hour series (Awakening From The Meaning Crisis)* in an earlier post. John talks about four types of knowing.  The first two are:

• Propositional Knowing – knowing facts and figures, etc. – “knowledge”

• Procedural Knowing – fluently able to perform a task – “skills”

Which correspond to the traditional focus of schools via curriculum and pedagogy.  The third in John’s list is:

• Perspectival Knowing – in the military this is known as “situational awareness” and corresponds to our ability to create a ‘salience landscape’ i.e. be aware of what is in our environment and what is important and what is not, given our purpose.

This capacity develops with our capacity for autonomy.  To use our time and attention in meaningful ways we need to be aware of the options that are open to us and which ones will give us most meaningful experiences, again in the context of our purpose.

Susanne Clark - Whos the fool - 2009

Historically, autonomy was curbed in schools and therefore our ability to acquire “situational awareness” was limited.  Without this form of knowing we can be foolish, using our time and attention in ways that are not meaningful to us, do not contribute to our thriving.  I think we can probably agree there is much foolishness in the world today.

I would argue that this form of knowing is an integral part of twenty-first-century skills, underpinning several key elements and allowing us to minimise self-deception.

To develop this form of knowing, supporting the development of students’ autonomy becomes important.  It is adults who themselves feel empowered who can do this, yet, as I show in my latest book Why We Teach, only about 40% of educators are currently in that position.

Changing behaviour thus becomes an integral part of developing practice.

You can download a pdf version of Why We Teach here.  Click here to see a replay of a recent webinar that explores the Step Back to Empower program.

*the series can be found here.

John Corrigan is an expert in helping individuals to bring their whole of mind to their daily life and increase their effectiveness and the effectiveness of those around them. This expertise scales from the individual to the team to the organisation. At the core of this work is the practice of encounter.  Earlier blogs can be found here.

• To purchase a copy of Red Brain Blue Brain, Student Feedback or Why We Teach go here