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Mental models


            Mental models


Teaching has the potential of making us think a lot about identity. What makes me,me? To my mind, our beliefs and values  make us what we are. At times, they make us proud, at others they disappoint us. Be that as it may, everything we think,say and do respond largely to them. But where do these ideas come from? They are not immanent. Some of them we choose in the course of our lives but we are actually born into them and the roots of these pre-existing  "frames" go deep . It sounds pretty gloomy and pessimistic but it is not. Fortunately, sooner or later these frames are challenged. Someone says or does something that clashes head-on with our neatly-shaped world and the security net is gone. We are left speechless and disoriented. Times like these are crucial for deep learning. Being critical of oneself is of the essence if we want to shift our default thinking models. Being critical means for instance stepping out of ourselves and using our imagination to walk a mile in someone else´s shoes.

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