Teachers and trainers: an essential link in the learning process

In the age of AI, some people consider the transfer of knowledge via technological tools. Yes, but not entirely!

This overlooks the role of emotions in learning. It overlooks the importance of personality in learning. It overlooks the fundamentally human nature of learning, which responds to the cognitive functions mobilised in learning.

Philippe Malrieu's work has not aged a bit. He highlighted the role of the educator or instructor as a model, on whom -and against whom- the learner relies. The learner experiences emotions that shape their path to autonomy through reflection, the identification of potential contradictions, and the ability to make reasoned choices for the future. A numerical example does not allow for interpersonal dialogue, and internal dialogic activity alone does not allow for effective learning that is useful for a future positioning.

Malrieu (1977) writes in La notion d’interstructuration du sujet et des institutions (The concept of interstructuring of the subject and institutions): "Thus, the direct reaction to people, while enabling the assimilation of the cultural powers they represent, allows the individual to construct a domain of their own, where they divide themselves into multiple personalities according to the various identifications they make, establishes an unconscious dialogue between them, opposes itself, and thus lays the foundations for a subsequent search for unification." Therefore, what really matters is to become an autonomous human being who takes their rightful place in society with the help of their critical analysis, which emerges from the contradictions they encounter.

AI, yes, but used sensibly. Are we capable of making that distinction? Are we prepared to think thoroughly about its limitations, constraints, and capabilities? Are we able to understand our own capabilities, and to use them?