What makes a good learner?

“Knowledge is what remains when what was learned has been forgotten.” - Oscar Wilde

Distinguishing Learning from Achievement

You can’t be a learner without actually learning something. Obviously, one can learn in different ways. Academic learning Social learning Personal learning Dextrous learning Etc… So the process of learning itself needs to be defined.

So: Assessment of the learning that has taken place (ie: how good the learner is), can be done in a formal way by an institution or assessment body, Or by your peers, Or by yourself as an internal or even unconscious process, That is why: We are distinguishing learning from achievement. This allows us to explore more aspects of what makes a good learner.

Ways of learning We’ve found more than 50 competing “learning theories” by psychologists and educationalists Generally they are categorised into Behaviourist, constructionist, humanist and social and situational We’re not going to go over them all again here, but remember that they’re not the only way of looking at the subject!

Ways of learning How do we learn? Actually, functionally, we have very little idea! Catecholamines such as noradrenalin, dopamine and serotonin all seem to have a role in learning Although we don’t know the exact processes involved in learning, we can affect how well we can learn chemically and in animal models Some people seem to think we’re just 10 years away from an artificial brain, which may answer some of these questions

It’s interesting to read about these theories, but what use is it unless we do something about the way we teach and learn? Which brings us onto evidence, if we know that we do x, y, and z it improves learning, that’s helpful and can be useful. Ways of learning

Factors affecting learning To distinguish a student by their learning style, there must first be a review of the students’ abilities and the factors affecting their learning. When reviewing these factors there will be a sense of when the students’ responses are more consistent and help a teacher figure out when a student learns the best and how they learn as an individual. There are six factors that could affect learning of a student: Motivation Physical/social need Home Environment Nutrition Brain processing Superficial, watered down and uninteresting books

Motivation Recent research on achievement motivation has focused on identifying different types of goal orientation among students. The motivational process that is associated with these different goals and conditions that elicit them. Home environment Unstable home environment also affect learning. Examples include students affected by family breakdown, who are homeless, or move home quite often, who are helping to care for parents or siblings with health problems, who have become parents themselves, or who are in care or have recently left care.

Social/ emotional problems A students’ learning may be restricted if he/ she has experienced bereavement, have missed school a lot for whatever reason, are experiencing bullying, are facing racial discrimination or displaying behavioural difficulties. Students who misuse drugs or alcohol are also likely to be not good learners. Nutrition New research show that even mild under nutrition can prevent learning. Malnutrition can even affect learning before slowing down the growth.

Superficial, watered down and uninteresting books A great deal of concern has been voiced recently about students’ lack of basic knowledge, or ‘cultural literacy’. At the same time, text books a major conveyor of knowledge in schools, have been widely criticized as being poorly written, superficial, watered down, and uninteresting. Therefore, it is not surprising that researchers, educators, and now news media have been asking how texts can be written in ways that both inspire and facilitate learning.

Brain processing This theory of structure and function suggests that the two different sides of the brain control two different modes of thinking. Left brain Right brain Logical Sequential Rational Analytical Objective Looks at parts Random Intuitive Holistic Synthesising Subjective Looks at whole

So, let’s say you have the right environment to be a good learner. How can you tell how well you’re doing? If learning is a process which leads to a change, what kinds of changes can there be? I might set out to learn Astronomy at an evening class, meet an ecologist there, fall in love and end up devoting my life to saving seals – no stars, but I can tell you about a seal’s physiology!

External, concrete goals Self-appointed goals *Achieving good grades *University entry *Winning a sports tournament *Passing your driving test *Self-worth *Social acceptance *Dealing with everyday challenges *Understanding what has been accomplished

We think it’s important to distinguish learning from achievement - and so does the National Curriculum! By assessing the progressive qualitative factors in learning, and not just academic prowess, we can perceive a fuller picture of what makes a successful learner So: a good learner is someone who is engaged in all aspects of their learning and can apply that learning in a practical way Conclusion