CIRTL Spring 2016 The College Classroom Meeting 1 - How People Learn

CIRTL – The College Classroom

Meeting 1: How People Learn

January 28, 2016

Unless otherwise noted, content is licensed under

a Creative Commons Attribution- 3.0 License.

Peter Newbury

Center for Engaged Teaching, UC San Diego

[email protected]

Tom Holme

Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University

[email protected]

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Peter Newbury

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 2

Ph.D. Applied Math (Astronomy)

Associate Director,

Center for Engaged Teaching

University of California, San Diego

[email protected] @polarisdotca

peternewbury.org

Tom Holme

Ph.D. Chemistry

Professor, Chemistry Department

Iowa State University

[email protected] www.chem.iastate.edu/faculty/Tom_Holme

Who are you?

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

Blackboard Collaborate Orientation


Who are you?


1. Turn on your microphones and cameras and introduce

yourselves to the others in your breakout room.

2. Think about your best and worst undergraduate

classes. What did the instructor do to create those

experiences?

Why are we here?


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 8 image by um.dentistry on flickr CC







Here is an important new number

system. Please learn it.

11

1 = 4 = 7 =

2 = 5 = 8 =

3 = 6 = 9 =

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

What’s this number?

12 How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Scientifically outdated, a known failure

13

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

14

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9


What number is this?

Type it in the chat window


Constructivist Theory of Learning

16

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) How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Constructivist Theory of Learning

17

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




In your breakout rooms…


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



% 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.



In your breakout room, figure out

what story these data are telling us


1 2

3 4



1 2

3 4



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]


knowledge

framework

retrieval

Smith et al. [5]

48

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.




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.




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?”








“What questions do you have for me?”

…and give them enough time

to ask a useful question


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


To receive a completion certificate that shows you’ve

reached the CIRTL Associate level of achievement, 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.