I am sitting here, bleary-eyed, after reading dozens and dozens of studies for a systematic review, and I come across this learning approach: atomistic. Now, it makes sense. It means "the learner focuses on specific comparisons in content, on the sequence, but not on the main parts, details are memorised and the learner shows no insight."

I have not seen that term used before. Have I just missed it? Is it a term used in other countries? This particular journal is the "Health Sa Gesondheid."

Also, would you call that quoted sentence a run-on sentence?

That sentences isn't just a run-on - it's terrifying!

I don't know where this is, but the people are all from the University of the Free State.

The research they did was nicely designed. They obviously knew what they were doing. But the report! I have spent so much time trying to figure out their results that it is mind-boggling. They talk about 6 measuring instruments, but I can only find 5. They don't describe what their control group did; their experimental group had a computer-based program. They don't mention how the students were assigned to the control group or the experimental group...quite important! I have studied this report for so long and still can't figure out their key findings.

Perhaps that's the way they write research reports at the Free University, but is surely isn't the way we do, thankfully!

Gesondheid seems like Dutch or Afrikaans. Isn't there (or wasn't there) a Free State in South Africa? The sentence seems like a simple comma splice, i.e., two sentences separated by a comma.

[T]he learner focuses on specific comparisons in content, on the sequence, but not on the main parts. Details are memorised and the learner shows no insight.

Maybe my eye has been ruined by too many years of looking at poorly written texts, but it doesn't seem that outlandish.

Quote "...Gesondheid seems like Dutch or Afrikaans..."

Doesn't it mean "health" - rather like the German "Gesundheit"?

Doesn't it mean "health"

It is indeed cognate with the German word Gesundheit which means 'soundness, health'. The Dutch word for health (just looked online) is gezondheid, and the Afrikaans word is gesondheid. The (s|z)ond in all three is related to our sound, and the -heid is related to our -hood and the German -heit.

Maybe my eye has been ruined by too many years of looking at poorly written texts, but it doesn't seem that outlandish.

I tried to keep an open mind, jheem, since the original obviously was in a foreign language. The translation probably wasn't perfect. The problem I saw with it was that in the U.S. most scientific studies have specific categories, such as sample, research design, analysis, etc., with specific points included under each category. This study was written with much less organization than I am used to, so it was very hard to critique. While my final critique shows several weaknesses of the study, I do worry that perhaps I had missed something along the way.

As for the country, would the e-mail address help? gnvkaj@med.uovs.ac.za.

Yep. nThe domain name parses to:

uovs == university of the Free State
ac == academic computing
za == South Africa

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
... the learner focuses on specific comparisons in content, on the sequence, but not on the main parts, details are memorised and the learner shows no insight.

Also, would you call that quoted sentence a run-on sentence?

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Yes, that is a run-on sentence. I see three ways of correcting it:

1. Change the comma to a semi-colon.
2. Add "and" after the comma.
3. Replace the comma with a period (full stop) and begin a new sentence with "Details."

The University of the Free State is in South Africa.

Health SA Gesondheid can be found here, or by going through African Journals OnLine (AJOL)

Here are some definitions of atomistic. The quote by Coleridge is the earliest citation in the OED Online:

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1809 COLERIDGE Friend I. 121 It is the object of the mechanical atomistic philosophy to confound synthesis with synartesis.

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Don't ask me what it means.

The OED Online also mentions (under atomism) logical atomism

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b. In modern philosophy: the theory that all statements, propositions, situations, etc., are composed of mutually independent, simple, primary, and irreducible elements; the elucidation and study of these elements; spec. logical atomism.

1914 B. RUSSELL Sci. Method in Philos. 16 The philosophy which I wish to advocate may be called logical atomism or absolute pluralism, because while maintaining that there are many things, it denies that there is a whole composed of those things. 1918 in Monist 497 The reason that I call my doctrine logical atomism is because the atoms that I wish to arrive at as the..last residue in analysis are logical atoms and not physical atoms. 1956 D. F. PEARS in Ayer et al. Revol. Philos. 49 You see how the theory of logical atomism develops. You begin with statements, subject them to analysis and find that they are built up out of parts.

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and psychological atomism:

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3. Psychol. (See quot. 1934.)

[1883 F. H. BRADLEY Logic II. II. i. 276 The philosophy of Experience is psychological Atomism. 1934 H. C. WARREN Dict. Psychol. 23/1 Psychological atomism, the theory of mind which assumes that experiences are composed of elementary psychic units or atoms.

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And here's a Wikipedia article on atomism.

Here are some articles on atomistic learning:

Some Findings from the Learning of Assembly Work in Sweden

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Marton's research, based on studies of how students approach learning material, clearly shows that a distinction must be made between two forms of learning.

Atomistic learning can, for example, mean that the focus is primarily on the text of the learning material, in order to be able to reproduce the words of the text. This is related to an atomistic approach; the individual does not see the parts as having any clear interrelation.

In holistic learning , on the other hand, the individual focusses on the message or idea being communicated. Such an individual is said to have a holistic approach, i.e. he regards the learning material as a whole in which the parts are seen in relation to this whole.

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Teaching Undergraduates > Teaching to Student Diversity

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Researchers Entwistle & Ramsden (1983) have identified two extreme types of learning styles that have been called the "deep" or global approach and the "surface" or atomistic approach. The global approach is a holistic style of learning in which the student integrates the main points of the lesson into a structural whole. On the opposite end of the continuum is the atomistic approach in which students concentrate on parts of the lesson, often without interrelating or integrating the information. Although both styles are important in learning, the predominant use of one style over another can be detrimental to the learning process.
In terms of study habits, students who tend to use the global approach spend a longer time studying, find the material more interesting, and feel that studying is gratifying Students who use the atomistic approach spend a great deal of time on rote memorization of facts and may find studying tedious and unrewarding.

Successful learning depends on the student's ability to combine the best of both learning styles. The global approach learner must learn to pay attention to details and the atomistic approach learner needs to view the details in relation to the larger picture.

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I'd never heard the term atomistic learning before.

Tinman

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,

So far as I can tell, an atomistic approach means that one is unable to see the wood for the trees. Would that be a fair definition?

one is unable to see the wood for the trees.

arnie, that's how I see it. Interesting, though, I'd probably say one can't see the forest for the trees.

Tinman, thanks for all that information. I surely should have thought to put the University of the Free State into Google.