the college classroom fa15 meeting 1: how people learn

The College Classroom

Meeting 1: How People Learn

Peter Newbury

[email protected]

@polarisdotca Unless otherwise noted, content is

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Non Commercial 3.0 License.

Who am I?

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 2

Peter Newbury Ph.D. Applied Math (Astronomy)

Math, Astronomy instructor

Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative

University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Assoc. Director

Center for Teaching Development,

UC San Diego Center for Engaged Teaching,

Teaching + Learning Commons

Who are you?

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 3 wordle.net

Who are you?


Turn to your neighbors and introduce yourselves.

Think about your best and worst undergraduate classes.

Why was it the best or

worst class?

Make a list on your

whiteboards

best

because worst

because

Why are we here?


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

Here is an important new number

system. Please learn it.

7

1 = 4 = 7 =

2 = 5 = 8 =

3 = 6 = 9 =

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

What’s this number?

8 How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Scientifically outdated, a known failure

9

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

10

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9


Test


What number is this?

Constructivist Theory of Learning

12

New learning is based on knowledge you already have.

You store things in your long term memory through a set of connections with your existing memories.

(Image by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)

learning is done

by individuals


How People Learn


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.

Available for free as PDF

www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853

Key Finding 1


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.)

Key Finding 2


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.


Key Finding 3


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.


Aside: metacognition


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.

([2], [3])

cognition meta

Key Finding 3




Please sort your cards into 3 sets of 3:


Key Finding

2

Implication

for Teaching

Implication

for Teaching

Implication

for Teaching

Designing

Classroom

Environments

Key Finding 1


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


Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.



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

Classroom Environments 1


Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.


Learning requires interaction [4]




% of class time

NOT lecturing



% of class time

NOT lecturing

Learning gain:

pre-test 0

100%

post-test

0.50



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). Points shows a class’ learning gain.



1 2

3 4

Key Finding 2


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.



knowledge

framework

retrieval

Smith et al. [5]

35

knowledge

framework

retrieval

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu Smith et al. [5]



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.



Key Finding 3






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.



Supporting metacognition


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

“What questions do you have for me?”

…and give them enough time

to ask a useful question

Course-level learning outcomes


By the end of The College Classroom, you’ll be able to

explain why certain instructional activities are successful and why

others are not

identify and support student-centered learning environments

recognize and build upon the diversity of your students

be reflective and scholarly about your teaching

participate in the teaching and learning community, in-person and

online

know how to succeed as a professional educator in higher

education

What is going to happen in this class


Weekly meetings in Center Hall, Room 316:

1hr 20 min mixture of theory and practice

interact in small groups

Tue 11a–12:20p, Tue 2–3:20p, or Thu 12:30–1:50p

If you need to attend a conference, job interview or something of that nature, attend another weekly session and let us know.

To prepare:

read assigned research paper, chapter, article, etc.

do an activity (post on the class blog, leave comments on others’ posts, observe a class, etc.)

Traditional classroom


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


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


All course information,

presentations, links to

readings, discussions, etc.

will be on the class blog.

Each of you will have a username and password so you can

post to the blog. (You don’t need to login to access the

course materials or leave comments, though.)

(Image by kitsu on flickr CC)

Course blog is public so


I can only provide links to copyrighted articles, not the

articles (PDF) themselves

you may need to be on-campus so you can use UCSD

credentials to access subscriptions

you may be able to connect from home with the UCSD web

proxy server (search Blink for “web proxy”)

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


The College Classroom is not an official UC San Diego

course. You will not receive an grade on your transcript.

To receive a completion certificate (and for SGTSs, to be

qualified to teach in the Summer), you must

attend all sessions

thoughtfully complete all assigned work.

contribute during class in a professional, collegial

manner.

Week 2:

Supporting expert-like thinking

Watch for communication with a description of tasks to complete

before next class.


References


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. Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B.

Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ:

Erlbaum.

3. Brame, C. (2013). Thinking about metacognition. [blog] January, 2013,

Available at: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2013/01/thinking-about-

metacognition/ [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013].

4. 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.

5. Smith, J. & Tanner, K. (2010). The Problem of Revealing How Students Think:

Concept Inventories and Beyond. CBE – Life Sciences Education 9, 1.