from Five Easy Lessons

"All individuals must construct their own concepts, and the knowledge they already have (or think they have) significantly affects what they can learn. The student is viewed not as a passive recipient of knowledge but rather as an active participant in its creation. Meaningful learning, which connotes the ability to interpret and use knowledge in situations not identical to those in which it was initially acquired, requires deep mental engagement by the learner. The student mind is not a blank slate on which new information can be written without regard to what is already there. If the instructor does not make a conscious effort to guide the student into making modifications needed to incorporate new information correctly, the student may do the rearranging. In that case, the message on the slate may not be the one the instructor intended to deliver."
                                                        Lillian McDermott