Collective Learning
Driving Question: How did early humans share and improve upon knowledge?
Can you imagine trying to tell someone how to play a sport without the use of words or gestures? The ability to create stories and improve on ideas sets humans apart from other species. The key to our success has a lot to do with our use of symbolic language, which allows us to participate in collective learning.
Learning Objectives:
- Define collective learning.
- Describe early evidence of collective learning.
Vocab Terms:
- collective learning
- innovation
- petroglyph
- symbolic langauge
- tool
Humans are exceptional in their ability to learn collectively, building on each other’s innovations over time. You can even see it in some of our species’ earliest art.
Want to start a spirited classroom debate? Before students read the article, ask students if they think animals who use tools (crows), or those that can learn sign language (gorillas and chimps), or those that can use buttons to communicate (dogs), have this ability. Then, return to this question after they read to see if their thinking has changed.
You began life with an incredible advantage over any nonhuman animal on Earth: you’re part of a species with the power to pass knowledge through time.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why can’t a lioness or chimp improve upon their knowledge?
- How is symbolic language the key to collective learning?
- Why is toolmaking alone not an example of collective learning?
- What is hafting?
After you read
Respond to the following question: Do you agree with the author that collective learning is an ability that only humans have? Why or why not?
As students watch the petroglyphs video, help them engage critically with the material by providing a note-taking strategy or a graphic organizer, or have them answer the While You Watch questions. Providing students with something to do while watching helps them activate their thinking and make connections to prior knowledge. Want more video tips? Check out the OER Project Video Guide.
Many Indigenous cultures offer living links to some of humanity’s most ancient knowledge. Watch this video on “reading” petroglyphs, and then put your skills to the test.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- How are petroglyphs made?
- What does Dr. Martinez mean when he says, “these are our libraries”?
- What are some common types of petroglyphs and their meanings?
- Why was astronomical knowledge important to Pueblo society?
After you watch
Respond to this question: Dr. Martinez makes the claim that petroglyphs are a kind of writing and are part of a larger oral tradition through which Pueblo people pass on their knowledge. Can you think of any other types of historical evidence you’ve seen in this course that come from nonwritten sources?
Ancestral Puebloans left behind hundreds of thousands of petroglyphs. These rock carvings communicate ceremonial, practical, and astronomical knowledge.
Help students respond to the driving question by providing sentence starters. You can even post these around the classroom to help students throughout the year. Some examples are:
- This article / lesson / video discusses …
- In this lesson …
- For instance …
- In contrast to …
- As a result of …
Humans are a learning species—after all, you’re doing it right now. Let’s put it all together and see what you’ve picked up about collective learning.
Find out how early humans created simple but effective stone tools.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What are flakes?
- What did early humans use flakes to do?
- When did early humans start improving on their tools by using hand axes?
- Why did early humans use large hand axes?
- What did early humans use to haft materials together?
After you watch
Respond to this question: What are some pros and cons of humans having larger brains?