What Our Students Need Most The 7 Fundamental Conditions of Learning

Rob Jenkins, Presenter 30-year veteran of higher education 20 years as a mid-level administrator Columnist and blogger, The Chronicle of Higher Education Author of Building a Career in America’s Community Colleges Currently associate professor of English at Georgia Perimeter College

How Do Students Learn?

Bloom’s Taxonomy Gagne’s Learning Theory The 7 Fundamental Conditions of Learning

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Cognitive Domain

Comprehension Translation Interpretation Extrapolation

Knowledge Exhibit memory Knowledge of specifics Knowledge of conventions, classifications, etc. Knowledge of universals and abstractions: theories, principles, structures, etc.

Application Solving problems Applying acquired knowledge

Analysis Elements Relationships Organizational principles

Synthesis Producing unique communications Producing a plan or proposal Deriving a set of abstract relations

Evaluation Judging internal evidence Judging external criteria

Affective Domain Has to do with “emotional learning” Receiving Responding Valuing Organizing Characterizing

Psychomotor “The ability to use sensory clues to guide motor activity” Perception Set (mental, physical, emotional) Guided response Mechanism Complex overt response Adaption Origination

Advantages of the Taxonomy Defines knowledge Identified different types of knowledge Tells us what to teach Tells us in what order to teach those things

Disadvantage While the Taxonomy does a good job telling us what to teach, it doesn’t necessarily tell us how to teach it—or, to be more specific, what we as teachers ought to be doing in the classroom and what conditions are necessary to learning. In other words, Bloom is focused more on teaching than on learning.

Gagne’s Learning Theory Like Bloom, identifies domains Verbal information Intellectual skills Motor skills Attitude Cognitive strategy

However, unlike Bloom… Gagne also identifies specific conditions under which learning in the various domains can best take place. That is, he tells teachers specifically what to DO. Gagne is more learning focused.

Gagne’s 5 Domains: What students need Verbal information Intellectual skills Motor skills Attitude Cognitive strategy

Verbal information Provide a meaningful context Opportunity for storing and retrieving information Stress relationships among content Provide opportunities for additional practice over time

Intellectual Skills This take us back to Bloom Recall of specific prerequisite intellectual skills That is, reviewing and re-teaching skills as necessary

Motor Skills Observing of model performing skill in correct way Opportunity to practice performing skill Receiving feedback on performance Making adjustments and trying again

Attitude Observing model who makes desired choice Seeing that choice is positively reinforced Making desired choice Receiving positive reinforcement

Cognitive Strategy Opportunity to work with novel problems Monitoring their cognitions Allow them to observe expert problem solvers at work.

Advantages of Gagne Builds on Bloom Goes a step further Tells us more about what students need in order to learn Tells us more about what we ought to be doing in the classroom

Disadvantages For me, still doesn’t go far enough Good starting point, but doesn’t do enough to tell me exactly what I need to be doing What, specifically, do students need in order to learn? What can I do to establish those conditions?

The 7 Fundamental Conditions of Learning An attempt to build further on Bloom and Gagne To take their ideas and apply them directly to the college classroom Practical, relevant, modern Based on my 30 years of college teaching and attempts to apply Bloom and Gagne Hands-on “research” Student-centered, not teacher-centered

The Questions: What do conditions must be met if students are to learn? How can I best create those conditions?

The 7 Conditions Awareness Interest Motivation Relevance Engagement Reinforcement Support

Awareness Awareness of subject matter Recognizing there is something they need to learn Students don’t know what they don’t know Teacher must open students’ eyes to fact that there’s A LOT they don’t know that might be of use to them.

Interest Why should students care? Especially difficult with required “core” courses Teachers must show them why and how information is meaningful—why they should care Otherwise, they’re unlikely to feel motivated

Motivation Can be a product of interest Other types of motivation: grades, good standing, approbation, academic acceptance Best type: professional standards and expectations That is, why is it in their best interests to learn this material?

Relevance Big complaint: college education is mostly theoretical Some theory is necessary for students to understand concepts Look for opportunities to connect those concepts to “real world” Show them how what they’re doing prepares them for career and life

Engagement Students who understand relevance of materials are more likely to be engaged Engagement means students are immersed in subject— listening, participating, reading, thinking about topics

Engagement Also goes beyond mere listening and thinking to doing Easier in some disciplines than others

Reinforcement Includes necessary repetition (Gagne’s “re-teaching”) Includes assessment and subsequent modifications to teaching Includes motivational tactics— positive and negative

Reinforcement Mostly, though, it means providing evidence that the material is actually relevant Outside materials, guest speakers, etc.

Support Not just hand-holding OK, a certain amount of hand-holding (e.g., non-traditionals, first generation) Making sure students have the tools they need (intellectual, technical, physical) Building an environment conducive to learning

In conclusion… Our quest is not to figure out how to teach best It’s figuring out how to create an environment and a situation where students can learn best It’s the quest of a lifetime, full of trial and error, failures and success But…

It’s well worth it!

Questions?

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