1. ‘Ripples on a pond’ model of learning
Phil Race

2. Factors underpinning successful learning (Phil Race)
The slides which follow are based on those I use in my workshops about learning processes, and are written up in Chapter 1 of ‘The Lecturer’s Toolkit’ (Phil Race and Sally Brown, Kogan Page, 1998).
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

3. Factors underpinning successful learning...
I’m going to ask you four questions about your own learning.

4. Prepare to jot down your answers to four questions1 2 3 4
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

5. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
1: How do you learn well?
Think of something that you’re good at, something that you know you do well.
How did you become good at it?
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

6. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Most people’s views...
practice
trial and error
having a go
experimenting
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

7. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
A famous view...
One must learn by doing the thing; though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try.
(Sophocles, BC)
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

8. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Another...
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes,
which can be made,
in a very narrow field.
(Niels Bohr, )
Therefore we need to allow learners to make mistakes, in a constructive environment, to help them towards becoming experts.
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

9. 2: What makes you feel good?
Think of something about yourself that you feel good about.
How you can tell that you feel good about this? What’s your evidence to support this feeling?
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

10. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Most people’s views...
feedback
other people’s reactions
praise
seeing the results
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

11. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
3: What can go wrong?
Think of something that you’re not good at, perhaps as a result of a bad learning experience.
What went wrong, and whose fault it may have been?
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

12. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Most people’s views...
did not really want to learn it
could not see the point
bad teaching
could not make sense of it
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

13. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
4: What kept you going?
Think of something that you did learn successfully, but at the time you didn’t want to learn it.
What kept you going, so that you did indeed succeed in learning it?
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

14. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Most people’s views...
strong support and encouragement
did not want to be seen not able to do it
needed to do it for what I wanted next
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

15. Five factors for successful learning
learning by doing
learning from feedback
wanting to learn
needing to learn
making sense - ‘digesting’
Realising?
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

16. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Is it a cycle?
Wanting/Needing
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

17. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Is it a cycle?
Wanting/Needing
Doing
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

18. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Is it a cycle?
Is it a cycle?
Wanting/Needing
Doing
Feedback
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

19. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Is it a cycle?
Wanting/Needing
Digesting
Doing
Feedback
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

20. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
No, a cycle is too simple!
The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’m convinced that the human brain does not just do things step by step, but can handle several processes concurrently. That is the basis of my ‘ripples on a pond’ model, which follows.
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

21. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Ripples on a pond….
Wanting/
Needing
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

22. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Ripples on a pond….
Wanting/
Needing
Doing
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

23. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Ripples on a pond….
Wanting/
Needing
Doing
Digesting
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

24. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Ripples on a pond….
Wanting/
Needing
Doing
Digesting
Feedback
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)

25. A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)
Ripples on a pond….
Wanting/
Needing
Doing
Digesting
Feedback
A Fresh Look at Learning (Phil Race)