What are your personal views on learning?

1. What are your personal views on learning? • Necessary to become more “whole” - integrated • Natural human process – with right conditions • Gaining confidence in the area – from self or others • Reflecting on personal experiences in order to make meaning – new or different perspective – change in behaviour/knowledge/belief • Relevance – to learner – motivates • Relatedness/connection – previous experiences/knowledge • Creative leap/abstract thinking

2. The Student Understanding of Learning • Categories of learning : • Marton Dall’Alba & Beaty 1990 • 1 increasing own knowledge • 2 memorising and reproducing • 3 applying • 4 understanding • 5 getting perspectives on things • 6 changing as a person

3. Approaches to Learning • Surface - Reproducing • to learn without reflecting on the purpose or a strategy • Strategic - Organising • putting effort and time into learning, working in an organised fashion • Deep - Transforming • relating ideas, looking for patterns/underlying ideas, gaining an understanding

4. What is the role of a “teacher”? • Contextualise/frame/offer perspective • Structure • Trust/safety in the learning environment • Awareness – internal & external elements – impact on individuals • Information transmission – share ideas/knowledge • Drawing out – previous knowledge/experience • Encouraging reflection & participation • Pastoral role • Mediation – authority & learner • Offering opportunities/possibility – open up possibilities • Inspirational/motivational • Setting a learning culture • Role model • Relating to students • Organised – preparation • Flexible/adaptable • Signposting – identifying where and what • Knowledge! • A learner

5. Model of Awareness Perceived Competence Competent Unconscious Competent Conscious Incompetent Unconscious Incompetent Conscious Time

6. What elements can you recognise as good practice from your own practice? • What areas do you believe you would like to develop in your own practice?

7. Williams & Burden (1997) “Teachers beliefs about what learning is will affect everything they do in the classroom, whether these beliefs are implicit or explicit. Even if a teacher acts spontaneously, or from habit without thinking about the action, such actions are nevertheless prompted by a deep-rooted belief that may never have been articulated or made explicit”. (p.56).

8. Empirical relationship between teachers’ views of teaching and students approach to learning (Kember & Gow, 1994; Prosser & Trigwell, 1999; Prosser, Trigwell & Waterhouse, 1999) • How teachers approach their teaching influences the students’ learning outcome (Kember, 1997; Trigwell et al. 1999)

9. Create a flying object using the piece of paper provided

10. Four Conditions of Learning Bransford, 2000 • Student focussed • learning is enhanced when the teacher acknowledges and incorporates the knowledge and beliefs that the learner brings to the given situation

11. Student Focused Trigwell et al (1999) • Teachers’ approaches to teaching impact on students’ approaches to learning: student focused (conceptual change) teachers students adopting a deep approach teacher focus (information transmission) teachers students adopting surface approaches to learning.

12. Students adopting a deeper approach demonstrated superior learning.

13. Four Conditions of Learning Bransford, 2000 • Knowledge Rich • “usable/transferable knowledge” rather than a list of disconnected facts – threshold concepts • Community Valued • an importance is given to the learning by the individual and their peers

14. Create a flying object using the piece of paper provided • The flying object will be assessed on distance travelled and accuracy

15. Four Conditions of LearningBransford, 2000 • Knowledge Rich • “usable/transferrable knowledge” rather than a list of disconnected facts • Community Valued • an importance is given to the learning by the individual and their peers • Student focussed • learning is enhanced when the teacher acknowledges and incorporates the knowledge and beliefs that the learner brings to the given situation • Assessment driven

16. Biggs 2000 DeepSurfaceStrategic UnderstandingReplicationAchievement UnderstandingReplicationAchievement

17. Assessment “Students can escape bad teaching: they can’t avoid bad assessment” “Assessment methods and requirements probably have a greater influence on how and what students learn than any other single factor”

18. Constructive Alignment • If students are to learn desired outcomes in a reasonably effective manner, then the teachers fundamental task is to get students to engage in learning activities that are likely to result in achieving those outcomes (Shuell, 1986).

19. 3P Model Presage Process Product Student Factors Learning Focused Activity Learning Outcomes Teaching Context

20. Teaching Context • A balanced system including: • curriculum • teaching methods • assessment procedures • teacher student climate • institutional climate

21. MO I n t e n t I o n Assessment Outcome APL PC Teaching Methodology Learning Outcomes

22. MO I n t e n t I o n Assessment Outcome APL PC Initial Model

23. What elements can you recognise as good practice from your own practice? • What areas do you believe you would like to develop in your own practice?

24. Key Questions • Why • What are we assessing • What methods • Who • When

25. Conditions under which Assessment Supports Student Learning • Gibbs & Simpson, 2004 • 11 conditions

26. Quantity & Distribution of Student Effort • Assessed tasks capture sufficient study time and effort • These tasks distribute student effort evenly across outcomes and weeks

27. Quality & Level of Student Effort • These tasks engage students in productive learning activity • Assessment communicates clear and high expectations to students

28. How do you encourage a deep approach to learning? • Don’t tell – ask • High participation, feedback, processes for discussion, peer review • Pbl v problem solving • The “layers” – integrates (relating/application) • ASSESSMENT – control, ownership, negotiated • Assessment criteria – early, explain why/rationale – link to competency, teaching, lo • Relevance • Prior knowledge level – acknowledge • Intention/motivation – link to national/international devlopments

29. Encouraging a Deep Approach • Get response from students by questioning and posing problems • Build on what students know • Let students take risks/make mistakes • Encourage depth/understanding rather than breadth of a topic

30. Learning Outcomes/Content • Decide what kind/level of knowledge is involved • Select topics - be aware of the enemy … coverage • Put the objectives together and relate them to the assessment

31. What skills do critical thinkers show? • To see the big picture but also appreciate the detail • Confidence/motivation/determination (passion?) – attitude • Openness, scepticism • Transfer knowledge • Outside the box – creative/lateral – creative leaps • Right & left brain – logical & creative – relaxed spaciousness • Marriage of intuition & knowledge • Originality • Building on a base • Curiosity • Focus & discrimination • Self-care

32. Thinking – inclination, capability & sensitivity • Intellectually careful – thorough/organized • Plan & strategic – set goals/plan • Broad & adventurous – open minded • Seeking & evaluating reasons - questioning • Clarifying understanding – ideas into context • Sustained intellectual curiosity – zest for inquiry • Metacognitive – to think about how you think

33. How can/do you encourage each of these elements in your students?

34. Variation & Practice • Opportunities should be given for ‘quality practice’ • Variety of practice aids performance • Assessment should reflect strongly that which the students are intended to learn

35. Low variation (repeating one task) High Variation Practice ‘scores’ New Repeat of Task Practice Task Observed as adaptive expertise

36. How much deliberate practice will there be ?How much variation will there be?

37. How much practice & variation do you include in your teaching?