SIO Workshop: How people learn

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Presented at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California on October 31, 2014. Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development, UC San Diego ctd.ucsd.edu

Transcript of SIO Workshop: How people learn

How People Learn

Unless otherwise noted, content is

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Non Commercial 3.0 License.

Peter Newbury, Ph.D.

Center for Teaching Development,

University of California, San Diego

pnewbury@ucsd.edu

@polarisdotca #ctducsd

ctd.ucsd.edu

Scripps Institute of Oceanography October 31, 2014

Why are we here?

How (you can help) People Learn 2

What do you think students are doing in a typical

university class?

A) listening

B) absorbing

C) learning

D) note-taking

E) not paying attention

The traditional lecture is based on the

transmissionist model of learning

How (you can help) People Learn 3 image by um.dentistry on flickr CC

Important new number system

How (you can help) People Learn 4

Learn it.

1 = 4 = 7 =

2 = 5 = 8 =

3 = 6 = 9 =

Test: What is this number?

How (you can help) People Learn 5

Scientifically outdated, a known failure

How (you can help) People Learn 6

We must abandon the

tabula rasa (blank slate) and

“students as empty vessels”

models of teaching and learning.

New Number System = tic-tac-toe code

How (you can help) People Learn 7

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

Test

How (you can help) People Learn 8

What number is this?

Constructivist Theory of Learning

How (you can help) People Learn 9

New learning is based on knowledge you already have.

You store things in long term memory through a set of connections that are made with your existing memories.

(Image by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)

learning is done

by individuals

10 How (you can help) People Learn

How People Learn

How (you can help) People Learn 11

3 Key Findings

3 Implications for Teaching

3 Designs for Classroom Environment

Key Finding 1

How (you can help) People Learn 12

Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom.

(How People Learn, p 14.)

Key Finding 2

How (you can help) People Learn 13

To develop competence in an area, students must:

a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge,

b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and

c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

(How People Learn, p 16.)

Key Finding 3

How (you can help) People Learn 14

A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.

(How People Learn, p 18.)

Aside: metacognition

How (you can help) People Learn 15

Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own

cognitive processes or anything related to them. For example, I am

engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble

learning A than B.

([2], [3])

cognition meta

Key Finding 3

How (you can help) People Learn 16

A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.

(How People Learn, p 18.)

In groups of 3 – 4...

How (you can help) People Learn 17

Sort your cards into 3 sets of 3:

Key Finding

2

Implication

for Teaching

Implication

for Teaching

Implication

for Teaching

Designing

Classroom

Environments

18 How (you can help) People Learn

Key Finding 1

How (you can help) People Learn 19

Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom.

(How People Learn, p 14.)

Implications for Teaching 1

How (you can help) People Learn 20

Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.

(How People Learn, p 19.)

How (you can help) People Learn 21

1 = 4 = 7 =

2 = 5 = 8 =

3 = 6 = 9 =

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

unsupported, unfamiliar content built on pre-existing

knowledge

(tic-tac-toe board)

Transmissionist Constructivist

What do students bring

to your class?

How (you can help) People Learn 22

Work with the person next to you.

Partner 1 (whose first name comes earlier in alphabet):

Think of a concept in a freshman-level course in your

discipline. What knowledge, experience, or skill do your

students already have that you can use to teach that

concept?

Partner 2:

Help your partner align pre-existing knowledge,

experience, or skill and the concept.

“In a moment but

not yet…” [4]

Classroom Environments 1

How (you can help) People Learn 23

Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.

(How People Learn, p. 23)

Students need to encounter safe yet challenging conditions in

which they can try, fail, receive feedback, and try again without

facing summative evaluation.

(What the best college teachers do, p.108)

Learning requires interaction [6]

How (you can help) People Learn 24

Learning requires interaction [6]

How (you can help) People Learn 25

% of class time

NOT lecturing

Learning gain:

pre-test 0

100%

post-test

0.50

Learning requires interaction [6]

How (you can help) People Learn 26

52 classes of sizes 25 to 100+ students, at 2-

and 4-yr colleges and research universities

across US. Every student wrote an astronomy

test (twice). Points shows a class’ learning gain.

Learning requires interaction [6]

How (you can help) People Learn 27

1 2

3 4

Key Finding 2

How (you can help) People Learn 28

To develop competence in an area, students must:

a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge,

b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and

c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

(How People Learn, p 16.)

How (you can help) People Learn 29

Implications for Teaching 2

How (you can help) People Learn 30

Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge.

Classroom Environments 2

To provide a knowledge-centered environment, attention must be given to what is taught (information, subject matter), why it is taught (understanding), and what competence or mastery looks like.

(How People Learn, p 20.)

(How People Learn, p 24.)

How (you can help) People Learn 31

knowledge

framework

retrieval

How (you can help) People Learn 32

knowledge

framework

retrieval

33

knowledge

framework

retrieval

How (you can help) People Learn

Key Finding 3

How (you can help) People Learn 34

A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.

(How People Learn, p 18.)

Implications for Teaching 3

How (you can help) People Learn 35

The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.

Classroom Environments 3 Formative assessments — ongoing assessments designed to make students’ thinking visible to both teachers and students — are essential.

(How People Learn, p 21.)

(How People Learn, p 24.)

Supporting metacognition

How (you can help) People Learn 36

Why do you think instructors ask, “Any questions?”

A) to signal they’re at the end of a section or concept

B) so the instructor can check if s/he can continue

C) so the instructor can check if the students understand

D) so the students can check if they’re ready to continue

E) not sure but it’s something instructors should do

“What questions do you have for me?”

…and give them enough time

to ask a useful question

37 How (you can help) People Learn

Scholarly approach to teaching:

Learning Outcomes 38 Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative cwsei.ubc.ca

What should

students

learn? learning

outcomes

(Nov 7)

assessment

(Nov 21)

alt to lecture

(Nov 14)

What should

students

learn?

What are

students

learning?

What instructional

approaches

help students

learn? peer instruction

(Nov 19 & 26 at CTD)

How People Learn

Unless otherwise noted, content is

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Non Commercial 3.0 License.

Peter Newbury, Ph.D.

Center for Teaching Development,

University of California, San Diego

pnewbury@ucsd.edu

@polarisdotca #ctducsd

ctd.ucsd.edu

Scripps Institute of Oceanography October 31, 2014

References

How (you can help) People Learn 40

1. National Research Council (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School:

Expanded Edition. J.D. Bransford, A.L Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.),Washington, DC: The

National Academies Press.

2. Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), The

nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

3. Brame, C. (2013). Thinking about metacognition. [blog] January, 2013, Available at:

http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2013/01/thinking-about-metacognition/ [Accessed: 14 Jan

2013].

4. Williams, L. “In a Moment, But Not Yet. ” store.training-wheels.com/inmobutnotye.html

5. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

6. Prather, E.E, Rudolph, A.L., Brissenden, G., & Schlingman, W.M. (2009). A national study

assessing the teaching and learning of introductory astronomy. Part I. The effect of interactive instruction.

Am. J. Phys. 77, 4, 320-330.