The College Classroom (Fa14) Week 1: How People Learn

The College Classroom

Week 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 are we?

Tamara Sheldon Peter Newbury

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 2

Who are you?

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

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

The traditional lecture is based on the

transmissionist model of learning

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 5 image by um.dentistry on flickr CC

Important new number system


Learn it.

1 = 4 = 7 =

2 = 5 = 8 =

3 = 6 = 9 =

Test


What is this number?

Scientifically outdated, a known failure


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


1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

Test


What number is this?

Constructivist Theory of Learning


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.

(Images by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)

Creating memories (learning) involves having neurons fire and link up in networks or patterns. (fMRI is allowing us to observe learning as it happens.)

learning is done

by individuals

12 How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

How People Learn


3 Key Findings

3 Implications for Teaching

3 Designs for Classroom Environment

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

What do students bring

to your class?


Work with the other person at your table.

Partner 1 (whose first name comes earlier in alphabet):

Think of a concept in a freshman-level course in your

discipline. What knowledge, experience, or skill do your

students already have that you can use to teach that

concept?

Partner 2:

Help your partner align pre-existing knowledge,

experience, or skill and the concept.

“In a moment but

not yet…”

Classroom Environments 1


Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.

(How People Learn, p. 23)

Students need to encounter safe yet challenging conditions in

which they can try, fail, receive feedback, and try again without

facing summative evaluation.

(What the best college teachers do, p.108)

Learning requires interaction [3]




% 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.



Why Your Students Don’t Understand You


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



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.



Expert-like thinking


Think about the class you observed earlier this week.

How often did the instructor model expert-like thinking

or behavior? That is, not just sharing content but revealing

and demonstrating how experts think about, process,

articulate, etc. the concepts.

A) all the time

B) occasionally

C) hardly ever

D) never


knowledge

framework

retrieval


knowledge

framework

retrieval

30

knowledge

framework

retrieval

How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

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.

([4], [5])

cognition meta

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.




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

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

36 How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

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

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

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level LO

Course-level LO


Course-level LO

Course-level LO Course-level

learning outcome (LO)

Topic-level

LO Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

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LO

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO Topic-level

LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-level

LO Topic-level

LO

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

know how to succeed as a professional educator in higher

education

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

online

Topic-level learning outcomes


Many topic-level learning outcomes in

1. modern theory of Constructivist learning

by the end of the course, you’ll be able to have an elevator

conversation describing the importance of metacognition in

learning.

and more…




2. best practices for the college classroom

by the end of the course, you’ll be able to write a peer

instruction (clicker) question and explain to a colleague the

rationale behind the question and choices and describe how

it can be incorporated into the lesson.

and more…

Throughout the classes, I’ll be

trying to model best practices so

try to watch how I teach as well

as what I teach.




3. how to be a successful, professional educator

by the end of the course, you’ll be able to collaborate with

others using Google docs.

and more…

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. 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].

Education

The College Classroom (Fa14) Week 1: How People Learn