Learning through variation in chemical engineering

In this paper, the authors explore some recent ideas that have been put forward about learning and the essential role that variation plays in it The type of variation that the learner is exposed to can either limit or widen the learning spare, and hence the possibility of learning. Repetition may be helpful if it is done with purposeful variation. When learners encounter variation, their response depends on what is brought into focal awareness and what is brought together in their consciousness. There is a difference between the object of learning as intended by the teacher and as experienced by the learner. The authors will illustrate these concepts by relating them to everyday experience, as well as an example from the teaching of chemical engineering.