Can communities
learn? Our experience as community developers has convinced
us that communities do indeed learn, change and grow as do
all living organisms. Research
from the Caledon Institute confirms this. Communities CAN learn. The key to learning
is active engagement with the information through a mediating
process that entails the exploration, discussion and implementation
of the material.
Principles behind Learning - Findings from
the Caledon report
- There is a significant difference between information
and knowledge. Knowledge occurs once information is applied
or used.
- The learning process must take into account the needs,
concerns and interests of the learners or potential users
of information in order for it to be applied effectively.
- Learning takes place through two-way interaction in
which the users of information are engaged with the information
in a meaningful way.
 Sherri
Torjman, Vice President of the Caledon Institute, and co-author
of Caledon's report on learning spoke about community learning
at a gathering for the Vibrant Communities initiative in Guelph,
Ontario in 2001. Hear what Sherri has to say about how communities
learn by checking out our video clip.
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Sherri Torjman on community learning.