Design ChallengeHUMAN FACTORS & MY IDEAL LEARNING SPACE

edX user: FelRom

Content

Theory of learning

Design of the ideal learning environment

Physical

Cognitive

Social

Cultural

Emotional

Conclusion

2

Theory of learning

People learn best when they are legitimately interested in what they

are learning: the more important the content is to the learner, the

more meaningful the whole learning experience will be.

From a general learning perspective, most people will not absorb

much knowledge when they are unable to relate the subject to their

daily lives. Although disciplined people are able to stay focused and learn even when they are not legitimately interested in the

subject, this is rather the exception and not the rule.

There is, however, a way to change this pattern: if teachers can

increase their audience's interest in their subject, then the whole learning experience will be much better, both for the audience and

for the instructor.

3

Content

Theory of learning

Design of the ideal learning environment

Physical

Cognitive

Social

Cultural

Emotional

Conclusion

4

Design of the ideal learning

environment

According to my previous school, college and work experiences,

the ideal learning environment relies heavily on turning a passive,

uninterested audience into an active, captivated one.

Good teaching occurs when the barriers that hinder students’

interest in a subject, such as past negative experiences, are

completely removed. These barriers should be replaced by an

environment that fosters the relevance of each subject.

This design philosophy crosses the boundaries of the quadrants,

being applicable to all four quadrants, despite their particularities.

To me, the ideal learning environment is an

INTEREST-FOSTERING ENVIRONMENT

5

How to build an interest-fostering

environment

6

Physical

Cognitive

SocialCultural

Emotional

• Display pictures of

applications of the

subject around

the classroom

• Show videos

during classes

• Help students

visualize and

materialize their

disciplines

How to build an interest-fostering

environment

7

Physical

Cognitive

SocialCultural

Emotional

• Emotion

determines for

how long we will

keep our

memories

• Teachers should

focus on creating

emotional

experiences in

their students

How to build an interest-fostering

environment

8

Physical

Cognitive

SocialCultural

Emotional

• Norms, habits and

values in this

system should

center around

sharing ideas in a

non-normative

way, so that

students feel like

they are part of

what they learn

How to build an interest-fostering

environment

9

Physical

Cognitive

SocialCultural

Emotional

• By visualizing and

discussing the

meaningful

applications of

each subject,

students start

associating their

curriculum to the

real world – and

start enjoying it

How to build an interest-fostering

environment

10

Physical

Cognitive

SocialCultural

Emotional

• Students are

stimulated to form

discussion groups

and interact with

each other

• Different points of

view help build

their body of

knowledge about

the subject

Content

Theory of learning

Design of the ideal learning environment

Physical

Cognitive

Social

Cultural

Emotional

Conclusion

11

Conclusion

From my point of view, meaningful and emotional experiences are

essential to build interest in a subject

Since interest is precisely what I value the most in the learning environments in which I participate, the ideal environment to me is

centered around building interest in the subjects being taught

In order to build interest, the five human factors play a major role in

determining how to organize the environment, according to the

ideas that I presented in the previous section

The four quadrants should be used to adapt these ideas and suit

them to each leader’s needs and goals

12