What is learning?

“A relatively permanent change in behaviour that results from practice” “A meaning-making process”

Does what you teach translate into what your learners learn?

ATHERTON J S (2009) What is learning? http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/whatlearn.htm

Motivation to learn Maslow’s hierarchy of needs You are not going to be motivated by any higher-level needs until your lower-level ones have been satisfied. basic physiological needs, comfort Safety – maintain confidentiality/privacy, treat fairly, follow safety rules Sense of belonging, feeling accepted – show interest, promote interaction, peer support self esteem & self-worth, feel capable of achieving – praise, welcome ideas, treat with dignity, it’s ok to make mistakes, constructive & formative feedback Sense of achievement, recognition of the things learners do, moving up to more demanding tasks – be positive, enthusiastic, supportive Learners need to be in the right mindset to learn successfully ATHERTON J S (2009) Motivation http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/motivation.htm

Note down examples of: Questions you ask your learners The purpose of each of these questions

Surface v deep learning Recall/reproduce facts Aim to pass exams No reflection No concept of overall patterns or themes Relate concepts to existing knowledge and everyday life Organise and restructure new knowledge Challenge new concepts Determine what is significant Questioning and assessment strategies can make a significant difference to the way learners learn. Reece & Walker (2003) Teaching, training and learning

Bloom’s Taxonomy Classify forms and levels of learning Identifies three domains of learning Cognitive (Knowledge) Affective (Attitude) Psycho-motor (Skills)

Bloom’s Taxonomy Include lower and higher level tasks Staying with tasks at the bottom the taxonomy can lead to surface learning The full spectrum of the taxonomy could appear at every academic level Useful concept when devising activities and assessment (questions)

Bloom’s Taxonomy – effective questioning Pair work Assign the questions to the appropriate level of Bloom’s taxonomy Review the questions you habitually use Questioning for learning

Memory Stages Perception – Gathering of the same signals by different people leads to differences in perception due to their different experiences and abilities Short –term – retain the immediate interpretation of events. Information goes there quickly and is available for rapid recall (15-30 sec) Long-term – the purpose of the first two stages is to filter material that is appropriate to long term storage ATHERTON J S (2009) Memory http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/memory.htm

Triggering the memory Unusual info Organised info Make associations e.g. verbal, visual Review during and after Create multisensory memories Odd, bizarre, comical, rude In categories e.g. animals, office Visualise a list or pictures, make up story linking things together Review and repetition VAK, music, action Rose & Nicholl (1998) Accelerated Learning for the 21st Century

Learning cycle (Kolb) Learning by doing / experiential learning (Kolb’s cycle) Try out new ideas – what have I learned? What was effective/ineffective? – What sense can I make of my new knowledge? Do I have to adjust my understanding? – Apply amended or new solutions to new problems Has a long pedigree in education (e.g. Dewey, 1938). It is the process of actively engaging learners in an authentic experience. Learners make discoveries and experiment with knowledge first hand, instead of hearing about, or reading about, the experiences of others. When learners reflect on their experiences, they develop new skills and attitudes, new theories and new ways of thinking and working. No one learns by simply ‘having an experience’. Learning by doing is only effective when you reflect on what you have experienced and how it contributes to your overall understanding. Reflection encourages you to compare new knowledge with old and make links between theory and practice. Finally, no one learns unless they test out their understanding in new situations to make sure the knowledge is sound and stands up to scrutiny. This requires us to make links between knowledge, to use it to attempt new tasks, higher-level tasks and to make adjustments to our understanding in the light of our new experience. At this point learners need to try open-ended tasks such as ‘What happens if … ?’ to test whether their understanding works in every situation or if there are exceptions.

Learning by doing / experiential learning Simulations, real-life problem-solving tasks, use of props and arterfacts They stimulate high-level thinking skills i.e. reasoning, enquiry, creative thinking, evaluation

Active learning “Active learning? You must be joking, there’s not time for entertainment with all this content to cover.”