Discernment and the Question, “What Can Be Learned?”

In chapter 2, the primary focus was on variation. In this chapter, the focus is mainly on discernment. In accordance with the theory put forward in chapter 1, we argue that a certain way of learning, of understanding or “seeing” a particular phenomenon, means that certain critical features must be discerned and held in our awareness simultaneously. Hence, the possibility for the learner to discern or focus on these features is a necessary condition for learning something in a certain way. We illustrate this theory using different examples from mathematics lessons.