The book you are now reading aims to bring together research and theory
on "new learning, "which is te term used to refer to the new learning
outcomes, new kinds of learning processes, and new instructional methods
both wanted by society and currently stressed in psychological and
educational theory. Many people keep asking about "new learning." Is it
really a new way of learning? Are there really new learning outcomes? Is
this current fad really different from the other kinds of learning
propagated by such traditional school innovators as Montessori, Dewey,
Steiner, or Freinet? Of course, there are some similarities between the
attention now being paid to new ways of learning and new learning
outcomes and previous efforts. We believe, however, that at least three
important differences exist. First, there is much more attention to the
role of active, independent, and self-directed learning than before.
Many more schools and teachers are involved in such efforts than in the
twenties or the sixties, for example. Many governments are stimulating
active ways to learn. Employers and employee organizations are -- for
various reasons -- now in favor of active learning in school and on the
job. This is clearly related to increased recognition of the importance
of and need for life-long learning and what are now called "learning
organizations" as a result of rapidly changing societies and economies.