Incidental Learning in different Pedagogical Approaches

1. Definitions 2. Incidental Learning in language teaching 3. Incidental Learning in Computer-assisted Learning Environments 4. Interactions between Incidental and Intentional learning 5. Factors that influence Incidental Learning 6. Hypotheses 7. Experimentation

Definitions Formal Learning Informal Learning Intentional learning institutionally sponsored, classroom-based, highly structured Cotrolled and structured by a ‘teacher’ Intentional but not highly structured, Not classroom-based, Controlled by the learner Intentional learning Incidental Learning Conscious, ‚intrinsically motivated‘ (?) Unconscious, unintentioned, unplanned Byproduct of other learning activities Situated, contextual, social (Rogers1997) Explicit Learning Implicit Learning Learning ‚En-passant‘ (Reischmann 1995)

Significance of Incidental Learning Incidental learning is the most important form of learning in every day life Mother tongue Every day motor skills Social knowledge Use of common technical devices Some people claim that even at school incidental learning is the main form of learning. (Rogers 1995)

Incidental Learning in language teaching Incidental learning is the way how pre-school children learn speaking (and many other skills!) Several studies have shown the tremendous significance of incidental learning for language-teaching in a school context - Acquisition of vocabulary Spelling Grammar rely at least as much on incidental than on explicit/formal learning This holds for all ages from primary school children to adults and for First and second language learners Review in Elley, 2005

Implicit and explicit Grammar Learning Grade level Shared book Silent reading Grammar teaching Grade 5 38,6 40,8 25,25 Grade 6 43,9 42,13 30,37 Mean percentage score for of the two Book Flood treatment (shared reading and silent reading) as compared to trad. Teaching of grammar Incidental Acquisition of vocabulary Impressive scores for vocabulary acquisition (40%) of eight year olds were obtained when high-interrest Stories were read with brief definitions of key words (without explanations: 15%)

Incidental Learning in Computer-assisted Learning Environments -> Animation, Incidental Learning and Continuing motivation Rieber, 1991 -> How seductive Details do their damage: A theory of cognitive interrest in Science learning Harp & Mayer, 1998 -> Perceived Disorientation and Incidental Learning in a Web-based Environment Baylor, 2001 -> Incidental Learning during Information Retrieval: A Hypertext environment Jones, 2005 Animated graphics are favourable both to incidental learning and to intrinsic motivation Incidental learning processes (Seductive Details) can negatively interfere with explicit learning Incidental learning is inhibited by seductive details (‚detracters‘) and perceived Disorientation, and promoted by nonlinear navigation

Interactions between Incidental and Intentional learning Different studies find contradicting evidence on whether Incidental Learning and formal learning interfere positively or negatively: The relation between implicit and explicit Learning: Evidence for Parallel Development Willingham &Goedert-Eschmann, 1999 How seductive Details do their damage: A theory of cognitive interrest in Science learning Haarp & Mayer, 1998 Role of implicit and explicit processes in Learning From Examples: A Synergistic effect Mathews etal, 1989

Role of implicit and explicit processes in Learning From Examples: A Synergistic effect Mathews etal, 1989 Theoretical model Explicit Learning/Thinking Implicit Learning/Thinking Similar to conscious problem solving They attempt to form a mental representation of the task by searching memory for knowledge of analogous systems and build/adapt mental model alternate learning mode more powerful than explicit thinking in discovering nonsalient covariance between task variables Experimentation Learning the rules of an artificial grammar (800 trials learning 4x 2.5 h) according to different tasks: explicit implicit Find out the rules Memorize the ‚words‘

Results Memory-instructed subjects acquired as much tacit knowledge of the grammar as ‚rule-instructed‘ subjects This knowledge is accessible Implicit learning failed when a more complex grammar was used But also in this situation subjects which in addition to the explicit task worked ‚implicitly‘ with the material outperformed the ‚purely explicit‘ subjects in rule detection.

Navigation mode Distracters Animation Motivation Behavioural Tasks Factors that influence Incidental Learning Navigation mode Baylor has shown a moderate positive effect of nonlinear Navigation mode on incidental learning Distracters The same author also showed that ‚seductive details‘ and percieved disorientation have a negative effect on incidental learning. Animation According to Rieber animated graphics strongly promote both motivation of learners and incidental learning Motivation A similar effect has been shown by Elley for the incidental acquisition of vocabulary Behavioural Tasks Behavioural tasks promote intentional learning. At the same time they reduce incidental learning (Klauer) Task level To some extent a higher structural complexity of the task leads to incidental learning of more complex facts of the material (Barker & Hapkievicz)

Conclusions Incidental learning has been shown to be an essential factor in learning. It has also been shown to influence intentional learning in several fields. In spite of these evidences incidental learning has been neglected in research during the last decade and can be seen as „the forgotten dimension of learning“ (Reischmann 1986).

Hypotheses The following experiments aim at elucidating the interaction between Pedagogical approach and incidental learning Transmissive teaching material is less favourable to incidental learning than material based on a cognitivistic approach. Working in groups will favour incidental learning since it favours an open cognitive attitude Incidental learning is linked to intrinsic motivation and to a better score in intentional learning (?)

Experimentation Four groups of (12) students pass an animated learning sequence which covers the molecular basis and concepts of Diffusion, Osmosis and Plasmolysis. The learning sequence is divided into several steps at the end of which incidental learning is measured by a number of questions. „Pedagogy“ Transmissive Constructivistic Work alone Group A1 Group B1 Work in pairs Group A2 Group B2

Time table Fin Janvier 2006 Fin Fevrier 2006 Mi-Mars 2006 Revue de la litterature Fin Janvier 2006 Concept de l‘approche experimentale Fin Fevrier 2006 Decision sur l‘environnement à utiliser (Flash, Authorware, SVG/PHP) Mi-Mars 2006 Programmation des unités d‘apprentissage Fin Decembre 2006 Conception de l‘experimentation Janvier 2007 Déroulement de l‘experimentation Mars/Avril 2007 Evaluation des résultats Mai 2007 Ecrire le Mémoire Juillet 2007

Questions ouvertes et problèmes Problèmes techniques Vitesse des animations sur Mac Programmation de certains paramètres en Flash Problèmes conceptuels Comment differencier les animations pour les deux approches pedagogiques sans trop compromettre la comparabilité des deux experimentations.

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