PGCAP: learning and learning theories (CORE Sep11)
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Transcript of PGCAP: learning and learning theories (CORE Sep11)
learning Learning and Teaching in HE (core module)
Sep11 PGCAP, University of Salford
aims
To discuss how people learn
Introduce major learning theories
objectives
Discuss how people learn
Discuss major theories in education
What is learning?
Write a definition
understanding theory through boxes...
understanding theory through boxes...
learning, a definition
Driscoll (2000) defines learning as “a persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner‟s experience and interaction with the world” (p.11).
Driscoll, M. (2000). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Needham Heights, MA, Allyn & Bacon.
4 stages of learning
•you know what you know
•you don‟t have to think what you are doing
•you know what you don‟t know
•you don‟t know what you don‟t know
unconscious incompetence
conscious incompetence
conscious competence
unconscious competence
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4 stages of learning
Unconscious incompetence - This basically means that you
don't know what you don't know.
Conscious incompetence - This is where the learner is aware
that s/he does not know something or can learn something new.
Put more plainly, you realize that you are not as expert as perhaps
you thought.
Conscious competence - This is where you have to think about a
task or exercise in order to complete it correctly.
Unconscious competence - Eventually you reach a point where
you no longer have to think about what you are doing in order to
complete it correctly. True experts often do things very well without
thinking about it.
Learning Power
What is it?
How can we nurture it in the classroom and beyond?
How does learning power relate to values?
Double Helix of Learning (McGettrick 2002)
Knowledge
skills and
understanding
Attitudes,
values,
feelings,
dispositions,
motivations
Values carried in the relationships of life
◦ with self
◦ with others
◦ with an O/other
Holding it all together
Learning Power
Curriculum and Assessment Practices
Pedagogy
Institutional Ethos
Worldviews and
Traditions
Home, Family and Community
Cultural Tools
Peer Culture
Self-regulation
Goal Orientation
Interest
Sense of Self
As Learner
Effort
Dispositions Locus of
Control
Self-efficacy
Skills and Capacities
Awareness Self Esteem
factor analysis: what impacts on learning?
the 7 dimensions of learning power
str
ength
Changing and Learning
Meaning Making
Critical Curiosity
Creativity
Learning Relationships
Strategic Awareness
Resilience
weakness
Being Stuck and Static
Data Accumulation
Passivity
Being Rule Bound
Isolation & Dependence
Being Robotic
Fragility & Dependence
facilitating/inhibiting learner centredness
facilitating Belief & professional
vision
positive classroom culture
collaborative teaching
positive relationships
professional dialogue & choice
golden moments
being empowered as a professional
inhib
itin
g Covering the
curriculum
results and targets
performance management
workload
large numbers of students
OFSTED
large numbers of classes in week
lack of time
lack of know how
about learning theories
provide the vocabulary and a conceptual framework
for interpreting the examples of learning that we
observe
suggest where to look for solutions to practical
problems
from transmission…
to constructing…
to co-constructing...
knowledge today
The “half-life of knowledge” is the time span from
when knowledge is gained to when it becomes
obsolete. Half of what is known today was not
known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in
the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is
doubling every 18 months according to the
American Society of Training and Documentation
(ASTD). To combat the shrinking half-life of
knowledge, organizations have been forced to
develop new methods of deploying instruction.” Source: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Shelf life
“The shelf life of information is now so short that knowing where to find information is more valuable than knowing any particular piece of information.” (p. 10) Source: Mason, R (2008) Chapter 1: Social networking as an educational tool, in: Mason, R, E-learning and social networking handbook: resources for higher education, Routledge, p.1-24
Trends in learning
Many learners will move into a variety of different, possibly unrelated
fields over the course of their lifetime. Informal learning is a significant aspect of our learning experience.
Formal education no longer comprises the majority of our learning. Learning now occurs in a variety of ways – through communities of practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related tasks.
Learning is a continual process, lasting for a lifetime. Learning and work related activities are no longer separate. In many situations, they are the same.
Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and shape our thinking.
The organization and the individual are both learning organisms. Increased attention to knowledge management highlights the need for a theory that attempts to explain the link between individual and organizational learning.
Many of the processes previously handled by learning theories (especially in cognitive information processing) can now be off-loaded to, or supported by, technology.
Know-how and know-what is being supplemented with know-where (the understanding of where to find knowledge needed).
Behaviourism Cognitivism
Humanism Constructivism
Socio-constructivism
Connectivism
Gestalt Theory Communities
of practice
transmission of knowledge
filling empty buckets
Pavlov: behaviourism
Behaviourism is a theory of animal and human learning that only
focuses on objectively observable behaviours
Learning is an acquisition of new behaviour through
conditioning.
Stimulus-response
Learner is passive
Uses reinforcement techniques (positive and negative)
constructing knowledge
learner is actively engaged in the formation of ideas.
constructing knowledge
experiential, based on previous knowledge
sense-making in naturally embedded activities (active learning) and problem-solving
authentic tasks in a meaningful context
constructing and re-constructing through personal experience
Piaget: constructivism
development comes before learning focus on human cognitive development (children) through adaptation and organisation Just being exposed to something new doesn‟t mean we will change, there will be resistances Changes are conceptual Knowledge expands and widens from within Building knowledge structures through progressive internalization of actions based on previous knowledge and experience
Papert: constructionism
Building knowledge structures through progressive internalization of actions (constructivism) focus on learning through making, less on cognitive potential – „diving-in approach‟ how ideas get formed and transformed within a context worked out by individual minds through reflection on experience situated and pragmatic self-directed learning
Vygotsky: socio-constructivism
learning comes before development
co-constructing knowledge within a community or culture
learning as a dialogical process
the connection between people
collaborative construction of knowledge through social negotiation
Etienne Wenger: communities of practice
Old concept, new name
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.
Etienne Wenger: communities of practice, 3 characteristics
The domain: A community of practice is not merely a club of friends or a network of
connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of
interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore
a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people.
The community: In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint
activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build
relationships that enable them to learn from each other.
The practice: A community of practice is not merely a community of interest--people
who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. Members of a community of practice
are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences,
stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems—in short a shared practice.
This takes time and sustained interaction.
Siemens: connectivism
Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing. Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.
Siemens: connectivism, principles
• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions. • Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information
sources. • Learning may reside in non-human appliances. • Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known • Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual
learning. • Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a
core skill. • Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all
connectivist learning activities. • Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn
and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.
today and tomorrow?
“The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe.
Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more
important than what we know today. A real challenge for any
learning theory is to actuate known knowledge at the point of
application. When knowledge, however, is needed, but not
known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the
requirements becomes a vital skill. As knowledge continues
to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more
important than what the learner currently possesses.”
Siemens, G. (2004) Connectivism, A learning theory for the digital age, available at http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Learning theories
Theories are best understood in their historical context.
They reflect the social „climate‟ or current thinking at the time of their popularity.
They first developed after the industrialisation when „schools‟ appeared and „formal‟ teaching began.
Learning theories
There are two perspectives on how people learn most effectively:
Psychological Social emphasis on the emphasis on the individual social context „situated‟
Learning theories- psychological
Behaviourism
Cognitivism
Humanism
Gestalt
Behaviourism
Behaviourism
Based on stimulus response (S-R)
Dominant theory in the 19th century
Based on application of science to
Observable, measurable behaviour
Why the popularity?
Pavlov (Russian physicist 1849-1936)
Behaviourists
Pavlov – (1849-1936) Russian physicist – experiments with dogs -conditioned reflexes - conditioning
Neo-behaviourists
Skinner FB 1904 - 1990
Skinner – known for experiments with rats.
Rejected reflex as the only source of behaviour – recognised feelings as existing but not as causes of behaviour
Skinner’s box
J B Watson 1878-1958 nature v nurture debate
‘Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.’
Behaviourism: Discuss!
A scientific approach is based on structure and measurement.
What sort of teaching is a behaviourist approach likely to encourage?
How does behaviourism still influence teaching?
Main contributions
Teacher-centred Aims & outcomes Schemes of work Lesson plans Feedback and reward systems Grading seen as important –
measurability paramount
Criticisms
What do you think would be the criticisms of this approach?
„reductive‟ – humans are more complex than animals.
Cognitivism
Cognitivism
Mid 20th century - A rejection of behaviourism in favour of a theory based on the principle that learning occurs through logically presented information in which the learner organises information received and makes sense of it.
Cognitivism
Used the analogy of the brain as a computer – people are able to sort and sift information and add it to previous knowledge
Popular late 50‟s early ‟60‟s
Why?
Cognitivism
Dewey (1859-1952 Chair of Philosophy) Education is „intelligent action‟ Learning is based on meaning The classroom cannot be separated from
the environment of which it is a part. „Education is not a mere means to life.
Education is a life’
Cognitivism
Dewey
Library cataloguing system
Enquiry based learning
Problem solving
Learning outcomes which privilege thinking skills
Cognitivism
How do you feel about this theory?
What might the criticisms of this theory be?
Another example of reductionism – human beings are more complex than machines
Humanism
Humanism
Also a reaction to behaviourism
Saw learners as „whole people‟ therefore needs and feelings important to the process of learning
Popular ‟60‟s and early „70‟s
Humanism
Developed in 1960‟s America as a reaction against behaviourism
Maslow (1890-1970)(hierarchy of needs)
Carl Rogers (also influential in counselling)
Scientific approach „sterile & dehumanising‟ – people should be viewed as „whole beings‟
Maslow
Carl Rogers 1902- 1987
Teacher as „facilitator’
Concept of „readiness to learn’
How useful are these concepts in your work?
Gestalt
Gestalt
Gestalt means pattern or structure The theory is concerned with perception Also known as „insight learning‟ The „eureka‟ phenomenon Teachers must structure learning so that
learners reach an understanding and overview of the whole.
Gestalt
German word for pattern or structure
Stressed the importance of learner perception of the overall pattern.
Process:
1. Learner explores and defines problem
2. Incubates
3. Illumination – Eureka
What do you see?
What do you see?
What do you see?
What do you see?
Young girl or old woman?
Gestalt
How useful is a concept?
Learning theories
Which of the theories we‟ve looked at most approximate to yours?
Which of the theories we‟ve examined do you find most convincing?
Social learning theories
Social learning theories
This body of theorists reject the individual focus of the preceding theories.
The emphasis is on how people learn in communal or community settings.
Vygotsky Lave & Wenger
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development:
Situated learning
Lave & Wenger‟s „Communities of practice‟ People absorb the practices, attitudes and beliefs of the community they want to join.
They learn „how to be‟ something – teacher, doctor, dancer.
Develop language, stance etc. initially through peripheral involvement.
Links to learning theories
Novice
Advanced
beginner
Competent
performer
Proficient
performer
Expert Behaviourist
Cognitivist
Rule based learning
Situated learning
Humanist
Gestalt
… education was a sieve. The weaker students were „seived out‟ and they left the classroom for the world of work, while the able students were retained for the next level. „Drop outs‟ were planned for, and seen not just as inevitable but as desirable. Put bluntly, the aim was to discover those who could not cope, and get rid of them.
Once learners were thought to have a genetic disposition for learning, or not, which was measured by their „IQ‟. This placed an upper limit on their possible achievement. Some students were thought to reach their „ceiling‟ after which further teaching would be in vain. This is no longer thought to be the case. Experts on the brain and on learning now stress that everyone can learn more, if they are taught appropriately, whatever they have previously achieved. A vivid illustration of this is provided by the work of Professor Reuven Feuerstein (theory of Mediated Learning Experience MLE).
Education is a ladder, and we expect every learner to climb as fast and as high as they are able. „Drop outs‟ are seen as a wasted opportunity, for the learners, and for society as a whole.
Once teachers taught courses, subjects and classes. But no more. Now they are teaching individuals…
flashcards: learning power
Growth-orientation v being
stuck & static I see learning as something I can get better
at, and myself as an improving learner. This
often reflects a more general interest in ‘self-
improvement’, and faith that this is possible. I
have a sense of history and of hope. I tend to
take ownership of my own learning, and like
to be responsible for what I’m learning and
how I go about it. I’m usually quite ready to
‘sign up’ to learning tasks that are presented
to me
Meaning making v Data
accumulation
I tend to look for patterns, connections
and coherence in what I am learning,
and to seek links between new
situations and what I already know or
am interested in. I’m on the look-out for
‘horizontal meaning’ I like to make
sense of new things in terms of my own
experience, and I like learning about
what matters to me.
Critical curiosity v passivity
I like to get below the surface of things and
see what is really going on. I like to work
things out for myself, and to ask my own
questions. I tend to go looking for things to
understand better, rather than just
responding to problems that come my way. I
am usually excited by the prospect of
learning, and have a good deal of energy for
learning tasks and situations. In general, I’m
attracted to learning and enjoy a challenge. I
value getting at the truth.
Creativity v Rulebound I like new situations, and will sometimes create
novelty and uncertainty ‘just to see what happens’. I’ll
spice things up to stop them being boring. I like
playing with possibilities and imagining how situations
could be otherwise. I am able to look at problems
from different perspectives. I like trying things out
even if I don’t know where they will lead. I sometimes
get my best ideas when I just let my mind float freely,
and I don’t mind ‘giving up mental control’ for a while
to see what bubbles up. I often use my imagination
when I’m learning, and pay attention to images and
physical promptings as well as rational thoughts.
Positive learning
relationships v Isolation I like working on problems with other people, especially
my friends. I have no difficulty sharing thoughts and
ideas with others, and find it useful. I am quite capable
of working away at problems on my own, and
sometimes prefer it. I don’t feel I have to stick with the
crowd for fear of being lonely or isolated, when I’m
learning. I have important people at home and in my
community who share with me in my learning. I am
ready to draw on these when it seems helpful. I feel that
I live within a supportive social context.
Strategic Awareness v
Robotic
I tend to think about my learning, and plan how I am
going to go about it. I usually have a fair idea how
long something is going to take me, what resources I
am going to need, and my chances of being
successful.
I am able to talk about the process of learning – how I
go about things – and about myself as a learner –
what my habits, preferences, aspirations, strengths
and weaknesses are.
Resilience - dependence
and fragility I tend to stick at things for a while, even when they are
difficult. I don’t give up easily. I often enjoy grappling with
things that aren’t easy.
I can handle the feelings that tend to crop up during
learning: frustration, confusion, apprehension and so on. I
have quite a high degree of emotional tolerance when it
comes to learning. I’m not easily upset or embarrassed
when I can’t immediately figure something out
I don’t immediately look for someone to help me out when I
am finding things difficult, or when I get stuck. I’m usually
happy to keep trying on my own for a while. I don’t mind if
there’s nobody around to ‘rescue’ me.
Banking model
“This model of education sees pupils or students as depositories to be filled up by teachers who have already been filled up. The contents are pre-produced as an abstract body of knowledge, by researchers whose intellectual labour is already divided by subject area, and distributed through the curriculum by teachers in schools and other institutions which are factories for filling minds.” (p. 79)
Fox, S (2002) Studying Networked Learning: Some Implications from Socially Situated
Learning Theory and Actor Network Theory, in: Steeples, C, Jones C (eds.) Networked Learning: Perspectives and Issues, London: Springer, pp. 77-91.
Banking model
“This model of education sees pupils or students as depositories to be filled up by teachers who have already been filled up. The contents are pre-produced as an abstract body of knowledge, by researchers whose intellectual labour is already divided by subject area, and distributed through the curriculum by teachers in schools and other institutions which are factories for filling minds.” (p. 79)
Fox, S (2002) Studying Networked Learning: Some Implications from Socially Situated
Learning Theory and Actor Network Theory, in: Steeples, C, Jones C (eds.) Networked Learning: Perspectives and Issues, London: Springer, pp. 77-91.
learning Core Module Team
Chrissi Nerantzi & Neil Currant
Twitter @pgcap