Overview
In Education, Mindfulness and Educology (2017), it is argued that the means by which cognition is extended is through learning (the process of coming to know). Learning can be accidental (it can result from misadventure and happenstance). It can be coerced (it can result from socialization, enculturation, indoctrination and other forms of coercion). It can be discovered (it results from independent deliberate unguided inquiry). And learning can be conduced (intentional guided learning that results from teaching and intentional guided studying of some content).
Intentional Guided Learning from Education
Education is a field of phenomena in which its elements function as a system. The essential elements are teacher, student, content and context, all standing in relation to each other. They have mutual effects. Changes in one element affect all other elements, and the changes in the other elements have effects on the initiating element. In education, someone takes on the role of teacher and teaches some content (some fund of knowledge and/or range of knowing) to someone who assumes the role of student and studies intentionally under guidance the content in some context (physical, social, cultural) with the purpose in mind that those doing the studying are to learn intentionally under guidance some prescribed range of knowing as specified by some intended learning outcome.
Learning from Other Than Education
Education is one among at least four geneses of learning.
Compelled ranges of knowing are coercively learned (unintentionally, but with guidance) from initial social conditioning, enculturation and indoctrination in childhood and through the adolescent years.
Accidental ranges of knowing are accidentally learned (unintentionally and unguided) from happenstance and serendipities.
Discovered ranges of knowing are discovery learned (intentionally, but without guidance) from both systematic inquiry and trial and error.
Prescribed ranges of knowing are conducively learned (intentionally and with guidance) from education (teaching and intentional guided study of some content).
Cognition
Cognition includes the functions of
(1) conceiving connotative and denotative meaning with symbols,
(2) reasoning in all its forms, including intuition, deduction, reduction, retroduction, induction, abduction, evaluation, prescription, justification,
(3) inquiring (asking, answering, adducing necessary and sufficient evidence for verifying answers),
(4) understanding (the psychical state that results from the mutual effects of knowing, awareness and judgment),
(5) knowing (the psychical state of being able to perform in some form — linguistically, emotionally, imaginally, homeostatically, physically — with intentionality, competence, consistency and justified confidence in relation to some state of affairs, some criteria and some desired outcome).
Range of Knowing
Knowing always consists of some combination of kind, level and form.
Kind — Knowing can be of at least four kinds: knowing-that-one, knowing-that, knowing-how and knowing-to.
(1) Knowing-that-one is a psychical state of being able to recognize, being acquainted with and having appreciation for unique states of affairs.
(2) Knowing-that is a psychical state of having theoretical adequacy to classify, describe, explain, predict and justify states of affairs as categories.
(3) Knowing-how is a psychical state of having competency to take effective action to achieve desired states of affairs.
(4) Knowing-to is a psychical state of being able to self-resolve to make authentic, well-informed and rational choices and decisions according to norms (rules and standards) that have been carefully evaluated and justified.
Levels — Levels of knowing are degrees of competency, ranging from preconventional through postconventional:
(1) Preconventional level
(2) Conventional level — (2.1) Beginner conventional, (2.2) Intermediate conventional, (2.3) Expert conventional
(3) Postconventional level
Forms — Forms of knowing are the means by which knowing can be expressed. At least five forms of knowing can be distinguished:
(1) Linguistic form
(2) Emotional form
(3) Imaginal form
(4) Homeostatic form
(5) Physical form
Of the five forms, only the linguistic form and the physical form are observable by a third party (e.g. an assessor or evaluator) who is observing knowers (e.g. students, competitors) who are manifesting their range of knowing.
Levels of Knowing and Geneses of Learning
Coerced learning of compelled ranges of knowing from socialization, enculturation, indoctrination and any other form of coercion results in conventional level knowing up to expert conventional level knowing.
Conduced learning of prescribed ranges of knowing from education (teaching and intentional guided studying) results in conventional level knowing up to expert conventional level knowing.
Accidental learning of accidental ranges of knowing from happenstance and serendipities results in knowing up to postconventional level knowing.
Discovery learning of discovered ranges of knowing from trial and error and/or systematic, careful, disciplined inquiry results in knowing up to postconventional level knowing.