Combining Science of Learning Principles and Electronic Portfolio Technology to Foster Durable Learning

Milt Hakel, Bowling Green State University MHakel@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Ali Jafari, Indiana Univ. Purdue Univ. at IndianapolisJafari@iupui.edu

Overview The Challenge: Creating Durable

Learning Focus on Own Course, Project, or

Activity Four Science of Learning Principles E-portfolio Technology Group Interaction Reporting the Headlines

The Challenge

How can we better foster durable learning ?

Durable learning lasts beyond:– The end of the course– The end of the week– The end of this session

Initial Discussion

Introduce yourself to the others at your table– Name and job title– A course, project, or activity on which you

are currently working

Science of Learning An emerging field Dependable findings Key publication: How People Learn:

Brain, Mind, Experience and School Fragmented literatures Scattered applications, little replication

A great beginning….

Learner-centered Knowledge-

centered Assessment-

centered Community-

centered

The Goal: Better Learning How can we apply and extend new

knowledge of how people learn, think, and remember?

How can we promote engagement in learning?

How can we foster durable learning and effective academic performance?

Teach for long-term retention and transfer

Useful Hints for Better Learning

The first and only instructional goal:

Principles of Transfer

Effort and Practice Desirable Difficulties Multiple Representations Mental Models

Useful Hints for Better Learning

Learning from Feedback

Kluger & DeNisi’s (1996) meta-analysis– Experimental vs. control, studies back to

1917– Feedback yields poorer performance in 1/3

of cases Keep the focus on the task to be learned

and motivation to perform it

Effort and Practice

Practice at Retrieval

Generate responses, with minimal cues, repeatedly, over time, with varied applications.

Recall becomes more fluent, more likely to occur across contexts and knowledge domains.

Effort and Practice

Varied Conditions at Learning

Makes learning more effortful (and often less enjoyable).

Also results in better learning (long-term retrieval).

Desirable Difficulties

Re-Representing

Learners take information presented in one format (e.g., words)

Translate it to another format (e.g., a schematic diagram)

Multiple Representations

Past Learning

What and how much gets learned in any situation depends heavily on prior knowledge and experience.

Mental Models

Mental Models

Present at the Creation

It is clear that knowledge and learning are constructed by learners.

Our task as teachers is to be present at the creation of learning by the learner.

Mental Models

Connecting the Principles

John Bransford, www.pt3.org/VQ/html/bransford.html

FFalcon.with.BGSU.edu

MHakel.with.BGSU.edu

Principles Encourage Effort and Practice Introduce Desirable Difficulties Request Multiple Representations Build upon Mental Models

Learning goes beyond knowing to being able to do what one knows

How will you transfer these principles of learning to your own course, project, or activity?

Group Interaction

Talk about your assigned principle Pick one of the courses, projects, or

activities described in the initial discussion at your table

Discuss how to apply that principle to the course, project, or activity

Formulate brief headlines

Learning goes beyond knowing to being able to do what one knows

Wrapping Up Brief report of headlines from each group General discussion