How Do Students Learn?

EDU 553 – Principles ofInstructional Design

Dr. Steve Broskoske

What Can We Learn from Brain Research?

What Is Learning?

• What actually is learning?• How do people learn?

Discuss

ion

What Is Learning?

• Learning is not a thing (noun); it is a process (of storage and retrieval).

• Neurons are billions of cells that encode, store, and retrieve information.

• Neurons form networks of connected information.

• Learning involves making connections between neurons.

• “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

Example of How Our Brain Works(Proof of Neural Network)

• Sally took her birthday money and went to buy something from the ice cream truck.– Now, tell me more…

Example of How Our Brain Works(Proof of Neural Network)

Example of How Our Brain Works(Proof of Neural Network)

• The way that information was stored (neural pathway), is the way that information will be retrieved.– Example: How did you store the alphabet?

Example of How Our Brain Works

Cna yuo raed tihs? The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mind! Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are. The olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

What Is Learning?

• Memory is not static (like storage in a computer).

• The brain is dynamic. It constantly arranges and rearranges its networks to accommodate incoming information.

vs.

What Is Learning?

• The brain is constantly bombarded with all kinds of sensory data.

• If we paid conscious attention to all these data, we would be on continuous overload and unable to process any of the information.

What Is Learning?

• The brain filters out any information that it finds not useful, not important, or irrelevant. This material does not get encoded nor is it stored.

The brain does not store everything it has experienced, as was once thought.

What Is Learning?

• Unfortunately, much of the information taught in schools fits into this category. The brain does not see fit to store or retain dates of events, definitions of terms it does not understand, or any other data it deems irrelevant.

What Is Learning?

New Stimulus

Brain searches existing networks to find a place where new information fits.

Fits info. into schema. Learning has taken place.

Irrelevant,not useful, unimportant, nonsensical data gets discarded.

The Magical Number

• The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information (Miller, 1956).

• Memory span of young adults was found to be 7 ± 2 elements (chunks) regardless of whether the elements were digits, letters, words, or other units.

The Magical Number

Learners chunk material into understandable units.

Demonstrating theMagical Number

• How do you remember your phone number?– (570) 674-6761

• How did you learn the alphabet?• Can you retell a story (a movie or a book)?

What Can We Take from Brain Research into the Classroom?

• Learner attention is critical.• Involve students actively in learning.• Don’t cognitively overload learners.• 2 powerful features in teacher’s control:

1. Meaning.

2. Emotion.• Eliminate negative aspects.• Accentuate positive aspects.

1. Importance of Attention

• Attention is the first step in the learning process. If the brain ignores information, it is not encoded or retained in memory.

• Brain is programmed to attend to loud noises or sudden movements (survival technique).

• Highly responsive tonovel stimuli and events.

Importance of Attention

Gain learner attention at the beginning of a lesson, and as frequently as needed throughout instruction.

Incorporate attention-getting devices (sound and/or movement) in materials such as PowerPoint.

2. Involve Students Actively in Learning

• Verbal Experiences– Teacher talk, written words. Engages 1 sense.

• Visual Experiences– Graphics, images, charts. Engages 1 sense.

• Vicarious Experiences– PC or video programs. Engages several

senses. Learner indirectly doing.• Simulated Experiences

– Role play, experiment, simulations, working model. Engages nearly all senses.

• Direct Experiences– Learner actually does what is being learned.

Engages all senses.

Most effective and long-lasting learning. Engages many senses. Interdisciplinary. Authentic learning.

Abstract

Concrete

Hands-onMinds-on

Symbolization

Active vs. Passive Learning

Active• Students actively

construct knowledge by listening carefully, conversing, and performing meaningful tasks.

• Students are engaged mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically.

Passive• Teacher-centered instruction.• Students sit at desks and memorize, take notes, recite,

and drill as primary instructional methodology.

Employ this test: Are your students actively involved in the thinking/learning process?

Active vs. Passive Learning

• Suggestions:Allocate passive activities (reading, drill,

practice) to homework.Use the classroom for active learning

experiences and group experiences.

Active vs. Passive Learning

• It is the student’s responsibility to actively participate in learning (vs. being passive “sponges.”)

• Not all learning will be fun and entertaining, but it all should be meaningful.

• Engage students by requiring them to reconstruct the knowledge they acquire.

3. Don’t CognitivelyOverload Learners

Remember the Magical Number (7 ± 2 elements/chunks).

Help students chunk information:• Use mnemonic devices.• Do not provide more than the magical number

of elements and expect students to remember it effectively.

4. Meaning

• Realize that learners are not information absorbers. They are active participants in learning (constructing knowledge).

• Learners create new neural pathways, connecting new information to existing knowledge.

• Therefore, new learning depends on previous experience.

Meaning

Start a lesson by helping learners recall previous knowledge before delivering new information.

Respect prior knowledge. Don’t assume students understand something clearly.• Brain is pattern-seeking. When it does not understand

something, it tries to figure it out.Example: Understanding sets.

Work to connect new information with existing knowledge.

Meaning

Use metaphors and analogies.• Helps learner bridge existing knowledge and new

information.Example: Electrical circuits are like flowing water.

When there is little or no previous experiential knowledge, use concrete experience.Projects and problem-solving help brain see context

into which discrete parts fit into. Brain does not “get” meaning, it “makes” meaning.Examples: Problem-based learning, case studies, hands-on

learning.

5. Emotion

• Amygdala is a set of 2 almond-like structures associated with the reptilian brain (brain stem) that regulate emotion.

• Releases adrenaline and triggers fight or flight (the stress response).

• Emotion can influence memory.– Try it:

• Where were you during the World Trade Center Bombing?

• Recall an experience from Kindergarten (or 1st or 2nd grade).

Emotion

• Positive:– Classroom activities that engage student

emotional and motivational interest lead to more vivid memories.

• Negative:– Stress can lead to “down-shifting” to the

reptilian brain, which makes the rational problem-solving part of the brain less efficient.

Emotion

Eliminate negative: Foster an environment where students feel safe. • Brain does not distinguish between physical

and psychological danger.Accentuate positive: Intensify students’

emotional state to enhance both meaning and memory.

Examples: Simulations, role playing, real-life problems, interviewing people who lived through events.

Emotion

• Positive use of emotions:– Create an aesthetically pleasing/positive

environment in which the learner feels positive during instruction.

– Engage the learner’s emotions in learning to enhance understanding and memory. Any emotion (positive or negative) can accomplish this end.

Effect of Positive Emotions on Multimedia Learning

Improving anInstructional Product

1. List several negative aspects of emotion that can be eliminated from your training product.

2. List several elements that could help create an aesthetically pleasing/positive environment for learners.

3. Describe how you might incorporate emotion into a lesson to increase understanding and memory.

4. List several ways you might involve more active participation from learners.

Discussion

Review

• Steps in Instructional Design process.– Analysis of Dick & Carey Model.– Comparison of various ID models.

• How learning physiologically works.• What can we learn from brain research?

– Attention.– Magical number.– Meaning.– Emotion.

Next In-person Session

• Front end analysis:– Needs assessment– Audience analysis– Task analysis