HOW STUDENTS LEARNPatrice Ludwig, James Madison University

Carol Hurney, James Madison UniversityJanet Branchaw, University of Wisconsin – Madison

Kristina Obom, Johns Hopkins University

POWERFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

?

Work with your BAT

Team

Think

Think about a moment in your

own college experience when

you had a powerful learning

experience. What factors made this

possible?

Share

Share your story with your team.

Describe the class you will be

working on during this institute.

COMMON EXPERIENCES

! Summarize the different factors and

characteristics of your groups’

powerful learning experiences

WHAT IS LEARNING?

Experiences

Skills

CONTEXT

MENTAL MODELS

CHANGE

STUDENTS & LEARNING Teaching Teaching & Understanding

Understanding

STUDENTS & LEARNINGDeep

LearnerMakes

relationships to prior

knowledge

Relates theory to everyday

experiences

Organizes content

Internal Motivation

Strategic Learner

Well organized surface learner

Acquires performance techniques

Plays the academic

game

Motivation for grades

SurfaceLearner

Memorizes information

No association to

everyday experiences

Facts and concepts are not related to

theories

External motivation

LEARNING THEORIESDualistic Thinking • knowledge is certain and unambiguous • questions have answers• authorities possess valuable wisdom that contains eternal truths

Multiplicity • certainty yields to uncertainty and ambiguity• knowledge and truth are essentially subjective and personal• opinion is insufficient because specific criteria help evaluate the

usefulness and validity of knowledge claims

Contextual-Relativism • in a world of uncertainty, they must make choices (whether

about ideas, hypotheses, theories, or policies) • choices require methods of critical thinking

Commitment within Contextual Relativism• acknowledgement that choices require analysis and values • knowledge, theories, and methods are imperfect and uncertain• personal choices require acknowledging personal responsibility

that follows from personal values.

Thoma, George A. (1993) "The Perry Framework and Tactics for Teaching Critical Thinking in Economics". Journal of Economic Education Spring:128-136.

LEARNING THEORIES1. Students’ prior knowledge can help or

hinder learning2. How students organize knowledge

influences how they learn and apply what they know

3. Students’ motivation determines, directs, and sustains what they do learn

4. To develop mastery, students must acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have learned

5. Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback are critical to learning

6. Students’ current level of development interacts with the social, emotional, and intellectual climate of the course to impact learning

7. To become self-directed learners, students must learn to monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.

1. Students’ prior knowledge can help or hinder learning

2. How students organize knowledge influences how they learn and apply what they know

3. Students’ motivation determines, directs, and sustains what they do learn

4. To develop mastery, students must acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have learned

5. Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback are critical to learning

6. Students’ current level of development interacts with the social, emotional, and intellectual climate of the course to impact learning

7. To become self-directed learners, students must learn to monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.

ASSESSMENT INSTITUTE

Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback are critical to learning