What is a "Dependent" learner? Is the contention that real scientists learn
in the traditional way?
Teachers teach. They mediate a subject for the learners in their class.
"Traditionally, especially in a college setting, they mediate through
lecture, through problems, recitations, and through labs. The ones who
thrive in this setting, often become teachers themselves. For them, the
system worked. For the rest of us, it was impentetrable and intimidating.
Reading and understanding a textbook is not the only way to learn fudamental
physical concepts. New pedagogical techniques, including whiteboards,
socratic questioning in the classroom and the lab, cooperative and
collaborative learning do not in themselves make learners dependent, any more
than problems that seem obscure until the student sees them done on the board
for the nth time. How the teacher or professor structures the class should
determine the opportunities for students to move to independence.