cirtl class meeting 1: how people learn
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The College Classroom – Spring 2015
Class Meeting 1: How People Learn
Dave Gross dgross@ biochem.umass.edu
Thursday, January 29, 2015
1:00-2:30p ET, 12:00-1:30p CT, 11:00a-12:30p MT, 10:00-11:30a PT
Peter Newbury
pnewbury@ucsd.edu
@polarisdotca
Who are we?
Dave Gross Professor,
Department of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology
UMass, Amherst
Peter Newbury Associate Director,
Center for Teaching Development
University of California, San Diego
Assoc. Director, CTD
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 2
Who are you?
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 4
I’m sending you into
“break out rooms”
Toggle on your audio and video.
Introduce yourself and where you are.
Briefly tell your neighbor about the class you remember
most from your undergraduate experience.
Why that class? Was it something the instructor did?
What was it?
Why are we here?
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 5
What do you think students are doing in a typical
university class?
A) listening
B) absorbing
C) learning
D) note-taking
E) distracted
The traditional lecture is based on the
transmissionist model of learning
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 6 image by um.dentistry on flickr CC
The traditional lecture is based on the
transmissionist model of learning
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 7 image by um.dentistry on flickr CC
Important new number system
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 8
Learn it.
1 = 4 = 7 =
2 = 5 = 8 =
3 = 6 = 9 =
Scientifically outdated, a known failure
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We must abandon the
tabula rasa (blank slate) and
“students as empty vessels”
models of teaching and
learning.
New Number System = tic-tac-toe code
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1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Constructivist Theory of Learning
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New learning is based on knowledge you already have.
You store things in long term memory through a set of connections that are made with your existing memories.
(Image by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)
Constructivist Theory of Learning
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New learning is based on knowledge you already have.
You store things in long term memory through a set of connections that are made with your existing memories.
(Image by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)
learning is done
by individuals
How People Learn
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3 Key Findings
3 Implications for Teaching
3 Designs for Classroom Environment
Key Finding 1
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Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom. (How People Learn, p 14.)
Implications for Teaching 1
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Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.
(How People Learn, p 19.)
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 20
1 = 4 = 7 =
2 = 5 = 8 =
3 = 6 = 9 =
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
unsupported, unfamiliar content built on pre-existing
knowledge
(tic-tac-toe board)
Transmissionist Constructivist
Implications for Teaching 1
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 21
Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.
(How People Learn, p 19.)
Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.
(How People Learn, p. 23)
Classroom Environments 1
Learning requires interaction [3]
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 23
% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning requires interaction [3]
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 24
% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning gain:
pre-test 0
100%
Learning requires interaction [3]
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 25
% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning gain:
pre-test 0
100%
post-test
Learning requires interaction [3]
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 26
% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning gain:
pre-test 0
100%
post-test
0.50
Learning requires interaction [3]
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 27
52 classes of sizes 25 to 100+ students, at 2-
and 4-yr colleges and research universities
across US. Every student wrote an astronomy
test (twice). Each points shows average
learning gain in one class.
Learning requires interaction [3]
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1 2
3 4
In a moment but not yet, you’ll meet with
3-4 others in a break out room. You’ll have
5 minutes to
1. select the person who will speak for your
room: the person whose first name comes
earliest in the alphabet
2. interpret the data – what story do they
tell? Be prepared to share your ideas with
the rest of the class.
Key Finding 2
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To develop competence in an area, students must:
a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge,
b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and
c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.
(How People Learn, p 16.)
Why Your Students Don’t Understand You
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 37
Expert brains differ from novice brains because
novices lack rich, networked connections, cannot make
inferences, cannot reliably retrieve information
notices have preconceptions that distract, confuse,
hinder
novices lack automization (“muscle memory”) resulting
in cognitive overload
Implications for Teaching 2
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 38
Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge. (How People Learn, p 20.)
Implications for Teaching 2
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 39
Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge.
Classroom Environments 2
To provide a knowledge-centered environment, attention must be given to what is taught (information, subject matter), why it is taught (understanding), and what competence or mastery looks like.
(How People Learn, p 20.)
(How People Learn, p 24.)
Key Finding 3
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 40
A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.
(How People Learn, p 18.)
Aside: metacognition
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Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s
own cognitive processes or anything related to them. For
example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am
having more trouble learning A than B.
([4], [5])
cognition meta
Key Finding 3
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 42
A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.
(How People Learn, p 18.)
Implications for Teaching 3
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 43
The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.
(How People Learn, p 21.)
Implications for Teaching 3
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 44
The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.
Classroom Environments 3 Formative assessments — ongoing assessments designed to make students’ thinking visible to both teachers and students — are essential.
(How People Learn, p 21.)
(How People Learn, p 24.)
Supporting metacognition
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Why do you think instructors ask, “Any questions?”
A) to signal they’re at the end of a section or concept
B) so the instructor can check if s/he can continue
C) so the instructor can check if the students understand
D) so the students can check if they’re ready to continue
E) not sure but it’s something instructors should do
Supporting metacognition
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 46
Why do you think instructors ask, “Any questions?”
A) to signal they’re at the end of a section or concept
B) so the instructor can check if s/he can continue
C) so the instructor can check if the students understand
D) so the students can check if they’re ready to continue
E) not sure but it’s something instructors should do
“What questions do you have for me?”
Supporting metacognition
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 47
Why do you think instructors ask, “Any questions?”
A) to signal they’re at the end of a section or concept
B) so the instructor can check if s/he can continue
C) so the instructor can check if the students understand
D) so the students can check if they’re ready to continue
E) not sure but it’s something instructors should do
“What questions do you have for me?”
…and give them enough time
to ask a useful question
Traditional classroom
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first exposure to material is in class, content is
transmitted from instructor to student
learning occurs later when student struggles alone to
complete homework, essay, project
learn easy stuff
together
learn hard
stuff alone
transfer assimilate
Flipped classroom
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student learns easy content at home: definitions, basic
skills, simple examples. Frees up class time for...
students are prepared to tackle challenging concepts in
class, with immediate feedback from peers, instructor
learn hard
stuff together
learn easy stuff
alone
transfer assimilate
collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 51
All course information,
presentations, links to
readings, discussions, etc.
will be on the class blog.
Look for posts tagged CIRTL
(Image by kitsu on flickr CC)
Course blog is public so
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 52
I can only provide links to copyrighted articles, not the
articles (PDF) themselves
you may need to be on-campus so you can use your
institution’s credentials to access subscriptions
Your posts and comments will be visible to the public.
Be aware of what and how you write: your posts
become part of your digital footprint.
If you include pictures in your posts, they must not be
protected by copyright (use Creative Commons pix?)
How you will be assessed
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 53
To receive a completion certificate, you must
attend all sessions
thoughtfully complete all assigned work.
contribute during class in a professional, collegial
manner.
Some of you are taking the course for credit. We will track
and assess your participation and your work.
Class Meeting 2:
Supporting expert-like thinking
Watch for communication with a description of tasks to complete
before next class.
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 54
References
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 55
1. National Research Council (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience,
and School: Expanded Edition. J.D. Bransford, A.L Brown & R.R. Cocking
(Eds.),Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
2. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
3. Prather, E.E, Rudolph, A.L., Brissenden, G., & Schlingman, W.M. (2009). A
national study assessing the teaching and learning of introductory astronomy. Part I.
The effect of interactive instruction. Am. J. Phys. 77, 4, 320-330.
4. Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B.
Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
5. Brame, C. (2013). Thinking about metacognition. [blog] January, 2013,
Available at: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2013/01/thinking-about-
metacognition/ [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013].
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