THINK
Cognitive Evaluation and Communication
Perception
I know what I saw
Many a heated argument has ensued between people who claimed to see ‘the same thing,’ and cannot agree on the particulars. We stress to the student that we see things from different perspectives, as well as we employ different data bases to which we compare what we see.
Look at an object, and then close one eye. Look at the object again. Do you notice some small differences? Now open the first eye and close the other. Then look for additional differences. Can you even agree with yourself about exactly what you saw?
But what did you see?
Author Bruce Kodish tells of taking a walk at dusk. As he turned the corner and looked up the street he saw a very large dog sitting at the end of a driveway. Not wishing to encounter a large canine, Bruce debated his next move. While debating, a car’s headlight illuminated the ‘dog.’ Bruce’s canine turned out to be a vine covered mail box.
However, prior to the illumination, Bruce’s semantic reactions were the same as if a real dog stood there. His concern, his fear, his sweaty palms, reacted to what he thought he saw. (He never told us about the sweaty palms, we made an assumption)
In Cognitive Evaluation and Communication we do several classroom exercises about perception with the hope that students realize what they describe can only result from what they apparently thought they saw. We suggest statements such as, “From my point of view….” We try to encourage discussion rather than arguments.
Where I come from we call it….
What do we mean by different data bases? Consider a Vermont maple syrup farmer. His data base of trees consists primarily of large leafy maples while an individual living in Alaska has grown up surrounded by hills covered by spruce. The word ‘tree’ conjures up an entirely different image for each of them.
Data bases change from culture to culture, and even from neighborhood to neighborhood. We don’t try to change data bases, we try to encourage students to realize that they exist, deal with them, and again, hopefully reduce senseless arguments.
What can I, as a teacher, do?
You can utilize the perception exercises in Cognitive Evaluation and Communication. Simply download these exercises by going to our FREE Curriculum Offer. Your students should enjoy the activity and come away with the knowledge that before we argue we should try to see if the other person is seeing the same object or event from a different perspective.
Look at an object, and then close one eye. Look at the object again. Do you notice some small differences? Now open the first eye and close the other. Then look for additional differences. Can you even agree with yourself about exactly what you saw?
But what did you see?
Author Bruce Kodish tells of taking a walk at dusk. As he turned the corner and looked up the street he saw a very large dog sitting at the end of a driveway. Not wishing to encounter a large canine, Bruce debated his next move. While debating, a car’s headlight illuminated the ‘dog.’ Bruce’s canine turned out to be a vine covered mail box.
However, prior to the illumination, Bruce’s semantic reactions were the same as if a real dog stood there. His concern, his fear, his sweaty palms, reacted to what he thought he saw. (He never told us about the sweaty palms, we made an assumption)
In Cognitive Evaluation and Communication we do several classroom exercises about perception with the hope that students realize what they describe can only result from what they apparently thought they saw. We suggest statements such as, “From my point of view….” We try to encourage discussion rather than arguments.
Where I come from we call it….
What do we mean by different data bases? Consider a Vermont maple syrup farmer. His data base of trees consists primarily of large leafy maples while an individual living in Alaska has grown up surrounded by hills covered by spruce. The word ‘tree’ conjures up an entirely different image for each of them.
Data bases change from culture to culture, and even from neighborhood to neighborhood. We don’t try to change data bases, we try to encourage students to realize that they exist, deal with them, and again, hopefully reduce senseless arguments.
What can I, as a teacher, do?
You can utilize the perception exercises in Cognitive Evaluation and Communication. Simply download these exercises by going to our FREE Curriculum Offer. Your students should enjoy the activity and come away with the knowledge that before we argue we should try to see if the other person is seeing the same object or event from a different perspective.
