John Berger's Ways of Seeing

"The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe"- John Berger. The book is one of the greats for understanding art and how perception makes all the difference in our lives. In any painting there are the perceptions of the painter and the perceptions of the audience. Each person sees something a little different from the painting based upon how they perceive the world around them. The concepts in his book have broader implications.

We know this through this experience but his book helps highlight this for the artistic crowd. Most of us have experienced two people seeing the same thing but interpreting what they are seeing differently. This can lead to all types of arguments and discussions on whose interpretation of the version is real.

To us our perceptions are real. What we see is real and what we feel is real. Despite this belief it is not necessarily true. Most of us have a single way of seeing the world and simply can't comprehend the ways others view the world. Entire cultures are in the delusion of their perception which leads to conflict.

In the book he looks at a number of different paintings and shows how the artists perception is built within the painting. Each painting has a hint to the nature of the author much like each of our actions gives a hint to us. Paying close attention to the objects, styles and colors in the painting will help you see a glimpse of who the author really is and how he/she views the world.

This is why we must sometimes close our eyes and see the world beyond the obvious. Take a look at the pieces, parts, and manners of a people and you will start to see how they view the world. Berger's specifically uses the concept that "men act-women appear". Men seek to gain and possess and women simply exist in relation to themselves. One is projecting outward and the other projecting inward.

The book has implications beyond art and sexual relations. The gazes he talks about can also be seen as the way we engage in selective attention. We see what we want to see in the world around us. We have been programmed in our lives to pay attention to certain cues from our environment and we are blind to the other cues and interpretations of the world. The scariest part of human nature is that we often misinterpret and try and force that misinterpretation on others.

Learning About Perception, Creativity, and Science Through Poetry

Few things strike as true as poetry from great artists who pondered the nature of man and the universe. Some poetry is long and some is short but each brings a different perspective about this thing we call existence. The poetry below is about our imaginations and the power of seeing and perceiving the world. Those who feel and see the world do so through their mental faculties built upon the information gathered through their senses.

This knowledge is not reliant only on physical sensation but the interpretation of that sensation. Those with higher cognitive functions adapt, innovate and perceive at a higher level than those who don’t.  They make more connections, understand in greater depth, and can see the impact of decisions from the power of their imaginations.

Consider asking a person with no knowledge on a particular subject to formulate a relevant opinion. Without doubt the far majority will rehash the opinions of other notable people in society.  They may draw from famous thinkers, politicians, or leading figures in an effort to appear knowledgeable.  However, those who use their imagination create something new and truer than simple blind copy.

Imagination is most useful when matched with analytical thinking. We must first make a connection to a concept and then logically and sequentially analyze the truth or falsehood of that new concept. When we do this well we create something called “truth”.  It is a truth based upon new understandings that are supported by fact that create innovative breakthroughs in science and life.

Consider a poem by the British Poet William Wordsworth:

''Imagination, which in truth
Is but another name for absolute power
And clearest insight, amplitude of mind,
And reason, in her most exalted mood.''

The poem discusses perception and the power that comes from understanding. Perception, or “awareness”, mixed with the ability to create a model of an event is based in truth to the perceiver. That model is then tested through thought, experimentation, or experience to develop clear insight for others. Knowledge, perception, imagination, and scientific analysis create ways to innovate. Truth in society is built from generations of people who push forward new truths.

Constructing Knowledge Through Experience-A Teaching Method

Constructivism is a concept that entails all learning as a building process that creates knowledge through mental processes derived from the social and communicative process. When students are reflective they are able to learn from their experience and apply new information to these concepts. A paper by Abdulla Al Mahmud moves into the concept of learning through a constructivist perspective by fostering knowledge building through experience to create better student learning (2013). 

In a constructionists perspective all learning comes from experiencing the world and reflecting on those experiences.  The concept was mention by John Dewey in his 1910 book How We Think, “Only by wrestling with the conditions of the problem at hand, seeking and finding his own solution [not in isolation but in correspondence with the teacher and other pupils] does one learn.” People live within a social environment and use their experiences and the knowledge of others to learn.

To understand a person you must understand what they know and how they know it. Jean Piaget (1985) believed that knowledge is the result of accurate internalization of information and reconstructing that information into cognitive meaning. People must take in information, reflect on it, and build better models of the world to engage in the process of learning. Teachers must find ways of relaying information to fit within existing student models.

Social constructivism occurs when people learn from each other to create sociably acceptable models of understanding. They use language and their social networks to construct the meaning of their environment. Most individuals experience and negotiate that experience with others to create an understanding that is shared among a group of individuals. That does not mean that the experience or its socially constructed definition is accurate but only that it is shared.

The best learning occurs when reflection is part of the process. Critical thinking requires reflection of past and current situations to develop stronger ways of viewing the world. This can take the effective of reflection-in-action or reflection-on-action. Both methods offer some advantages to the development of knowledge.

Reflection-in-action occurs during a situation when an individual adjusts and moves to events as they occur.  “The competent practitioner learns to think on his/her feet and is able to improvise as

s/he takes in new information and/or encounters the unexpected .”(Pickett, 1996,p. 1). They use past knowledge and current information to build stronger models as the events unfold.

Reflection-on-action occurs when a person looks back at past performance or situations and learns new knowledge. Students may take case scenarios and match then to their models to expand those understandings. They may review and reflect on their actions to determine if these actions were successful or unsuccessful. Reflection creates opportunities to do things better in the future.

Eight factors can be derived from constructionist pedagogy (Brooks & Brooks, 1993):

1. Learning should take place in real-world situations.

2. Learning should involve social negotiation.

3. Content and skills should be relevant to the student

4. Content and skills should fit within the student’s previous knowledge

5. Assessments should be formative

6. Students should be self-regulatory, self-mediated, and self-aware

7. Teachers are guides

8. Teachers should encourage multiple perspectives and representations of issues.

The author leaves the reader with three concepts learned in his analysis. Each of these concepts can be applied within the constructionist learning method. Students should come with Open-mindedness, Sincerity, and Responsibility. Open-mindedness analyzes multiple perspectives and possibilities. Sincerity allows for self-reflection on themselves, their work, and structures. Responsibility will lead to greater concerns of seeking out the truth in order to solve problems and extract information to create new learning for others.

Al Mahmud, A. (2013). Constructivism and reflectivism as the logical counterparts in TESOL: learning theory versus teaching methodology. TEFLIN Journal: A Publication on the Teaching & Learning of English, 24 (2).

Brooks, J. & Brooks, M. (1993). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Piaget, J. (1985). The equilibration of cognitive structures: The central problem of intellectual development. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Pickett, A. (1996). Reflective teaching practices and academic skills instruction. Retrieved from http://www.indiana.edu/1506/mod02/pickett.html