How We Learn: A Discussion on the levels of Knowing

Kelly McMichael, Ed.D.

Developing a Personal Philosophy of Learning

What do I believe about how people learn?

What am I learning about the way students learn in particular?

What am I discovering about the way I learn?

What is my research showing me about the learning experience?

What changes have I made in my instruction relative to my learning experience?

What more do I want/need to change in my learning perspective and practice?

Three Types of KnowledgeKurfiss (1988)

Declarative Knowledge

What facts and concepts do students really need to learn?

Procedural Knowledge How should students learn to better reason, inquire and present

knowledge?

Metacognitive Knowledge What new strategies, knowledge, and implications must students learn about in their approaches to life and work?

Three Types of ReflectionMezirow (1991)

o Content Reflection

Thinking about the actual experience

o Process Reflection Thinking about strategies to deal with experience

o Premise Reflection Examining long-held assumptions, beliefs, and values

Four Levels of KnowingWilliam Perry and Blythe McVickerClinchy (1990)

(in Bain, pp.42-44)

“Received Knowers.” Truth is external, deposited and memorized. Reflects Freire’s “banking model.”

“Procedural Knowers.” Sharp students who play the game; using standards in writing. “Give ‘em what

they want.” No influence beyond the classroom.

“Separate Knowers.” Independent, critical, creative. High level of objectivity and skepticism.

“Connected Knowers.” Independent, critical, creative. Sees merits of others’ ideas. Passionate and biased observers who embrace a project and its ethos.

Discussion

Have you had similar experiences as those of Halloun and Hestenes? (pp.22-23) How did you discover it? Why do you believe it was there?

How do you encourage writing and thinking conceptually? ( p. 24)

What kind of reflection have you done, as an educator, to address how students ought to think and learn in your field? (p.25)

What new insight was gained in seeing knowledge as ‘constructed’? (pp. 26-27)

What pre-conceived “mental models” do students in your program usually hold and why?

In what ways has Bain challenged your thinking on ‘crafting’ assignments that might change the way you help students “construct” ideas in your discipline? (pp.28-30)

Resources Angelo, T. and Cross, P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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

Huba, M.E. and Freed, J.E. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon

Nilson, L. (2003). Teaching at its best. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.

Resources

http://myeclassonline.com Login, then to: AITA Faculty Development Resource Center http://www.lirn.net/auth/

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http://www.flelibrary.org/ login with your public library card