1. I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the joy. When my students and I discover uncharted territory to explore, when the pathway out of a thicket opens up before us, when our experience is illumined by the lightning-life of the mind - then teaching is the finest work I know. But at other moments, the classroom is so lifeless or painful or confused--and I am so powerless to do anything about it that my claim to be a teacher seems a transparent sham. Then the enemy is everywhere: in those students from some alien planet, in that subject I thought I knew, and in the personal pathology that keeps me earning my living this way. What a fool I was to imagine that I had mastered this occult art--harder to divine than tea leaves and impossible for mortals to do even passably well! Parker J. Palmer, The Courage to Teach
Backdrop as people enter

2. You Can Lead a Dog to the Fridge But Can You Make Him Think?
Aligning Learning Theory and Instructional Methods for More Effective Instruction
Jeffrey A. Liles, Ph.D.
St. John Fisher College
Rochester, NY

3. Goal Theoretical framework, ideas, methods as foundation:
personal growth and effectiveness
program effectiveness
further research and development
It is good to share your goals, intentions, outcomes with people. When I grew up, and maybe some of you can relate to this also, it sometimes seemed that what teachers wanted us to learn was a mystery or a secret. Of course it was not, it was just poor teaching most of the time. There are x number of people in this room and I don’t want to leave it to pure chance that we will all get it or not. I guess I say this because of an experience I had early in my college teaching career. “Lots of babes” story.
Research in cognitive science focusing on the differences between novices and experts reveals that experts do not necessarily “know” more stuff than novices, content, facts, etc. The advantage they have is the ability to see patterns and organize the content in a meaningful, useful way. My goal today, in this room full of experts and novices, is to share how I am currently organizing my thoughts about teaching and learning and using it in my own practice. This brings me to my next point about my method.

4. Method Model best practices Theory – practice dialogue
Reflective Interaction
I am trying my best today to model best practices …
Get a theory to practice dialogue going that we can all take some insights from…
Facilitate reflective interaction ….

5. Assumptions
Teachers as reflective decision-makers: “teacher designers”
Subject-centered approach
Students control their own learning
Less is more
Multicultural pedagogy is “simply good pedagogy”
The nature of the experience matters: educative vs. miseducative
Learning is not linear
“Learning Pyramid”
chef; dancer
Teacher-centered; student centered
Lots of babes
Also true in dealing w/ multiple learning styles (learning style article paragraph)
Dewey; the nature of librarians’ work – you want thenm to come back
The questions handout – because you are in control of learning and because learning Is not linear, your questions may be answered at different times by different cues than the person next to you.

7. Generalizations There is more than one type of learning.
Individuals do not all learn best in the same ways.
Some things can be learned without a teacher, other times a teacher is vital.
There is more than one learning theory.
Investigators’ initial ideas have colored their conclusions.
Search continues for a single, comprehensive theory of learning.
With all of these assumptions, generalizations, and caveats, how are we to organize our thinking about teaching and learning? So, let’s get started …

8. We begin… Socratic Seminar
Probably not what you were expecting, huh? But this should be fun and I think I can make a good point too! I want to teach my dog a new trick. I want him to fetch me a beer from the fridge, or perhaps a nice California Cab if you prefer. Pedagogically, I have always been a fan of the Socratic seminar, my professors used it with me and look how well I turned out. So I think I will sit Rover down for a little Socratic seminar on fetching a beverage from the fridge.

9. Premise
What we believe about learning guides how we view learners, teachers (ourselves), and how we teach.

10. Who are the learners and how do they learn?
My nephew, Asher.

11. What do you believe about “learning”
What is learning?
How do we learn?
How do we know
when someone has
learned something?
Who controls learning?
Write down on your handout.
Pair-n-share.
Fortunately, we do not have to reinvent the wheel here…

12. Dominant Learning Theories
Behaviorism (early 20th century)
Cognitive Theory (mid 20th)
Constructivism (late 20th)
These have been, continue to be the major competing frameworks for understanding and explaining learning, and thus teaching.

13. New kids on the block…
George Siemens, Connectivism. A theory of learning for the digital age?
Brain-based learning. A new science of teaching and learning?

14. Learning Theory or Pedagogy?
Learning theory attempts to answer the questions we posed earlier
Pedagogy refers to instructional methods
Pedagogy should be based on learning theory
Our focus today
We must delineate between learning theory and pedagogy

15. Animal Intelligence Edward L. Thorndike (1911)
“The process involved in the learning was evidently a process of selection. The animal is confronted by a state of affairs or as we may call it, a 'situation.' He reacts in the way that he is moved by his innate nature or previous training to do, by a number of acts. These acts include the particular act that is appropriate and he succeeds …The profitless acts are stamped out; the impulses to perform them in that situation are weakened by reason of the positive discomfort for the absence of pleasure resulting from them. So the animal finally performs in that situation only the fitting act.”
“Here we have the simplest and at the same time the most widespread sort of intellect or learning in the world. There is no reasoning, no process of inference or comparison; there is no thinking about things, no putting two and two together; there are no ideas … learning by having ideas is really one of the rare and isolated events in nature … but the common form of intelligence … is not by the acquisition of ideas, but by the selection of impulses.”
Influence: E. Condiffe-Langeman, “Thorndike won, Dewey lost.”

16. Behaviorism Learning is observable behavior; all behavior is learned
Learning is the result of actions of the environment on the learner (stimulus – response)
Learning is controlled by the use of reward, punishment, and reinforcement
Learning has occurred when behavior has changed
Given these conclusions, how should we teach? Discuss this for two minutes with your neighbors.

17. Behaviorism in the Classroom
Learning is the accumulation of responses through selective reinforcement:
The learner is a passive recipient of stimuli from the environment
The teacher is the controller of stimuli and shaper of behavior through reinforcement
Ok. Your turn. Pair and share: What instructional methods would be consistent with this explanation of learning? How suitable are these methods for instruction in a library?
Reflection: Does it work?

18. But doesn’t it work? Yes, but… At a cost. Short term vs. long term
Concrete vs. conceptual
External vs. internal
Critique: Alfie Kohn
RA: Pair and share: Does it work?
“First grade.”

19. Jean Piaget
  “To express the same idea in still another way, I think that human knowledge is essentially active.”
   “Accommodation of mental structures to reality implies the existence of assimilatory schemata apart from which any structure would be impossible.”
  "Knowing reality means constructing systems of transformations that correspond, more or less adequately, to reality."

20. Cognitive Theory
Learning is the development of new cognitive “structures”
Learning is restoring “equilibrium” through assimilation and accommodation
Learning has occurred when a person has reached a newer, higher level of understanding
It’s like …

21. "Studies have consistently found that higher order thinking skills are not acquired through didactic approaches, but rather through learner's active involvement with information." (Collins, Brown and Newman, 1989; Resnick 1987)
Reflection: How is this view of the learner different from the behaviorist’s view?

22. Prior Knowledge and Learning
Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni

23. Constructivism
Learning involves the active construction of understanding and by the individual
New learning depends on prior understanding
Learning is enhanced by social interaction
Authentic learning tasks promote meaningful learning
A student who can transfer learning has learned
What methods align with these ideas?

24. Constructivism in the Classroom
Teacher acts as guide and facilitator; planner of learning experiences
Prior knowledge of the learner should be considered and utilized
Learning should involve social interaction
Learning should be “authentic” and relevant
Students should be allowed to take “ownership” of learning
Assessment and evaluation should be used to inform future teaching and learning

25. George Siemans
“Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.”

26. Principles Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes of information resources.
Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
Capacity to know is more critical than what is currently known.
Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
Currency is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
Decision-making is itself a learning process.

27. Essentials of Brain-Based Learning
Pre-Exposure and Priming
Sufficient Time for Learning
Low or No Threat
High Engagement
Positive Emotional Engagement
Learner Choice
Moderate to High Challenge
Strong Peer Support
Mastery Goals
Balancing Novelty and Predictability
Safe for Taking Risks
Moderate Stress
Alternating Low to High Energy
Multi-Modal
Frequent Feedback

28. Alignment Method
Theory to Practice
Assumptions Instructional Methods

30. Reading circle on learning
Campus Teaching & Learning Center
Department or School of Education

31. This presentation and a resources page are available at: