How People Learn Learning and Teaching In Practice

1. How People LearnLearning and Teaching In Practice Dr Jaki Lilly

2. Structuring the Lesson Learning Outcomes: By the end of this session you should be able to: • Demonstrate an awareness of different approaches to learning • Evaluate how theory of learning underpins good teaching • Select, evaluate and justify the choice of a variety of approaches to learning and teaching.

3. Exercise 1 Memorise this list of words (no writing them down!): Table Paper Summarise Stream Love Sheep Blue Radio Assess Knife Zulu Classify Pencil Truth Meaning Grass Song Demonstrate Bag Wave

4. Who Said . . . ‘Effective teaching may be the hardest job there is.’ William Glasser, b 1925, American Psychiatrist. Now complete the exercise sheet with the list of words, in the correct order, without discussion.

5. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning Humanism Summary: Humanism is a paradigm/philosophy/pedagogical approach that believes learning is viewed as a personal act to fulfil one’s potential. Key proponents: Abraham Maslow (1940s), Carl Rogers (1960s), Malcolm Knowles (1970s) Key terms: self-actualization, teacher as facilitator, affect, andragogy • Whole person learning. • Emotional/affective climate central to learning. • Personal development of human potential. • Development of self-acceptance and esteem. • Awareness of and acceptance by others. • (Rogers, 1983.) Source: http://www.learning-theories.com/category/perspectives

6. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning Behaviourism Summary: Behaviourism is a worldview that operates on a principle of “stimulus-response.” All behaviour caused by external stimuli (operant conditioning). All behaviour can be explained without the need to consider internal mental states or consciousness. Originators and important contributors: Ivan Pavlov (1890s), E. L. Thorndike (1900s - Connectionism), John B. Watson (1910s), B.F. Skinner (1940s), Tolman (1930s) and Bandura (1960s) (moving toward Cognitivism) Keywords: Classical conditioning (Pavlov), Operant conditioning (Skinner), Modelling (Bandura), Stimulus-response (S-R). Source: http://www.learning-theories.com/category/perspectives

7. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning Behaviourism • Learning is defined as a change in the form or frequency of observable behaviour. • Learning is demonstrated following the presentation of a specific environmental stimulus. • The primary concern of a behavioural model of learning is making, maintaining and strengthening the association between the stimulus and the response. • Responses followed by reinforcement are more likely to occur in the future. • (Ertmer & Newby, 1993.)

8. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning Cognitivism Summary: The cognitivist paradigm essentially argues that the “black box” of the mind should be opened and understood. The learner is viewed as an information processor (like a computer). Originators and important contributors:Schank (1970s [scripts]), Scandura (1970s [structural learning]), Gagne, Briggs & Wager(1970s), Reigeluth (1980s [Elaboration Theory]), Merrill (1980s [Component Display Theory [CDT]]) Keywords: Schema, schemata, information processing, symbol manipulation, information mapping, mental models. Source: http://www.learning-theories.com/category/perspectives

9. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning Cognitivism • Cognition is usually taken to refer to mental activity such as thinking, remembering, learning and using language. • Learning is seen as discrete changes between states of knowledge rather than the probability of a specific response. • Knowledge acquisition is a mental activity that entails internal coding and structuring by the learner. • Cognitivists tend to focus on what learner knows and how they came to acquire that knowledge. • Cognitivism addresses issues of how information is received, organized, stored and retrieved by the mind. • (Ertmer & Newby, 1993.)

10. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning Constructivism Summary: Constructivism as a paradigm or worldview posits that learning is an active, constructive process. The learner is an information constructor. People actively construct or create their own subjective representations of objective reality. New information is linked to prior knowledge, thus mental representations are subjective. Originators and important contributors: Dewey (1900s), Vygotsky (1920s), Piaget (1930s), Bruner (1960s). Keywords: Learning as experience, activity and dialogical process; Problem Based Learning (PBL); Anchored instruction; Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD); cognitive apprenticeship (scaffolding); inquiry and discovery learning. Source: http://www.learning-theories.com/category/perspectives

11. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning Constructivism • Learning is creating meaning from experience. • The mind filters input from the world to produce its own reality. • Learners build personal interpretations of the world based on individual experiences and interactions. • (Ertmer & Newby, 1993.)

12. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning A combined approach: Experiential Learning Summary: A four-stage cyclical theory of learning, Kolb’s experiential learning theory is a holistic perspective that combines experience, perception, cognition, and behavior. Originator: David A. Kolb (1939-) Key Terms: Learning cycles, learning styles, concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, active experimentation

13. Experiential Learning Source: http://www.brainboxx.co.uk/a3_aspects/pages/kolbcycle.htm See: http://www.whitewater-rescue.com/support/pagepics/lsitechmanual.pdf for details of Kolbs Learning Styles Inventory

14. Paradigms and Perspectives of Learning A combined approach: Experiential Learning • Learning by doing/action learning. • Work-based and placement learning. • Understanding is not fixed but formed and reformed through experience. • Cycle of experience, reflection, theorising and experimentation. • (Kolb, 1984.)

15. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

16. Exercise 2 Memorise this list of words (no writing them down!): Distinguish Deduce Predict Construct Investigate Extract Justify Discuss Apply Identify Compare Synthesise Outline Propose Extrapolate Examine Appreciate Define Recall Calculate

17. Who Said . . . ‘I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.’ Albert Einstein Now complete the exercise sheet with the list of words, in the correct order, without discussion.

18. The 7 Principles of Learning • Readiness • Exercise • Effect • Primacy • Recency • Intensity • Freedom

19. Some key points in enabling effective learning • Enabling learning encompasses more than vocal delivery. • The interest of the teacher helps to engage learners. • The relevance of the material. • The importance of using and responding to feedback. • Activity potentially helps to engage participants with the material. • The motivation of the learner is an important feature of learning. • Personality can be a major factor in encouraging/ discouraging learning.

20. References and further reading: Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bruner, J. (1996). The Culture of Education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Gagne, R., Briggs, L. & Wager, W. (1992). Principles of Instructional Design (4th Ed.). Fort Worth, TX: HBJ College Publishers. Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall/Cambridge. Pavlov, I.P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes: An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex (translated by G.V. Anrep). London: Oxford University Press. Piaget, J. (1952). The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: International University Press. (Original work published 1936.) Reigeluth, C.M. (1999). The elaboration theory: Guidance for scope and sequence decisions. In C.M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-Design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory. (Volume II). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.

21. Sources: www.brainboxx.co.uk/a3_aspects/pages/kolbcycle.htm www.learning-theories.com/category/perspectives www.tip.psychology.org www.whitewater-rescue.com/support/pagepics/lsitechmanual.pdf Rogers, Carl. (1969). Freedom to Learn: A View of What Education Might Become. (1st ed.) Columbus, Ohio: Charles Merill Scandura, J.M. (1977). Problem Solving: A Structural/Process Approach with Instructional Applications. NY: Academic Press. Schank, R.C. & Abelson, R. (1977). Scripts, Plans, Goals, and Understanding. Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum Assoc. Skinner, B.F. (1968). The Technology of Teaching. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Thorndike, E. (1932). The Fundamentals of Learning. New York: Teachers College Press. Tolman, E C; Ritchie, B F; Kalish, D (1992), "Studies in spatial learning. I. Orientation and the short-cut. 1946.", Journal of experimental psychology. General 121 (4): 429–34 Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.