The College ClassroomJanuary 16, 2013
Week 2: How People Learn
Please form 4 islands of 6 peopleby the color on the index card you
received.
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Evidence-based teaching
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We know How People Learn.1
There is research that informs us. Let’s exploit the patterns of learning to make instruction more effective.
1. National Research Council. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. J.D. Bransford, A.L Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.),Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2000.
“…exploit the patterns…”4
Put up your hand when you know what this means:
NBCFBIOMGUSAIRS
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recognize what this is:
How People Learn, Chapter 1 matrix
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Key Finding – 1
Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom.
(How People Learn, p. 14)
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Discussion
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1. Introduce yourself.2. Tell the others in your group about how,
in the class you observed, the instructor successfully engaged the students’ preconceptions and initial understanding. (5 minutes)
Discussion
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1. Introduce yourself.2. Tell the others in your group about how,
in the class you observed, the instructor successfully engaged the students’ preconceptions and initial understanding. (5 minutes)
3. Tell your group about a time when the instructor failed to engage the students’ pre-existing knowledge. How did you know? (5 minutes)
Implications for Teaching – 1
Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.
(How People Learn, p. 19)
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New Coding System
Please memorize this code:
1 =
4 =
7 =
2 =
5 =
8 =
3 =
6 =
9 =
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
unsupported, unfamiliar content
built on pre-existing
knowledge (tic-tac-toe
board)
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Designing Classroom Environments – 1Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.
(How People Learn, p. 23)
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Key Findings – 2
To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must: (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.
(How People Learn, p. 16)
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Implications for Teaching – 2
Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge.
(How People Learn, p. 20)
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Discussion
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1. Introduce yourself.2. Tell the others in your group about how,
in the class you observed, the instructor talked about the framework of concept and organization/retrieval of the concepts. (5 minutes)
3. Tell your group about a time when the instructor failed at [see 2]. How did you know? (5 minutes)
Designing Classroom Environments – 2To provide a knowledge-centered classroom environment, attention must be given to what is taught (information, subject matter), why it is taught (understanding), and what competence or mastery looks like.
(How People Learn, p. 24)
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learning outcome
s(Week 4)
developmentof
expertise(Week 3)
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Key Findings – 3
A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.
(How People Learn, p. 18)
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Aside: metacognition
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Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes or anything related to them, e.g., the learning-relevant properties of information or data. For example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should double check C before accepting it as fact.
(Flavell1,2, 1976, p. 232)1. Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.2. Brame, C. (2013) Thinking about metacognition. [blog] January, 2013, Available at: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2013/01/thinking-about-metacognition/ [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013].
Aside: metacognition
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I wonder why I wonder why?I wonder why I wonder?I wonder why I wonder why I wonder why I wonder?
Richard Feynman
Image: Wikimedia Commonshttp://www.fnal.gov/pub/news/feynman.jpg
Key Findings – 3
A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.
(How People Learn, p. 18)
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Implications for Teaching – 3
The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.
(How People Learn, p. 21)
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Designing Classroom Environments – 3Formative assessments — ongoing assessments designed to make students’ thinking visible to both teachers and students — are essential. They permit the teacher to grasp the students’ preconceptions, understand where the students are in the “developmental corridor” from informal to formal thinking, and design instruction accordingly. In the assessment-centered classroom environment, formative assessments help both teachers and students monitor progress.
(How People Learn, p. 24)
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assessment
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Evolution of the Solar System
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Today, we’ve been learning about the formation of the Solar System. Just like a geologist studies the exposed layers on a cliff-face, we study landforms on other planets and moons to find the chronology (sequence) of processes.
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Clicker question
Are features X and Y ridges or valleys?A) X=ridge,
Y=valleyB) X=valley,
Y=ridgeC) both are ridgesD) both are valleys
X
Y
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Typical Peer Instruction Episode
1. Instructor poses a conceptually-challengingmultiple-choice question.
2. Students think about question on their own.
3. Students vote for an answer using clickers, colored/ABCD voting cards,...
4. The instructor reacts, based on the distribution of votes.
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Peer Instruction and How People Learn25
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In effective peer instruction
students teach each other while theymay still hold or remember their novice misconceptions
students discuss the concepts in theirown language
the instructor finds out what the students know (and don’t know) and reacts
students learn and practice how to think, communicate like experts
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Effective peer instruction requires1. identifying key concepts, misconceptions2. creating multiple-choice questions that
require deeper thinking and learning
3. facilitating peer instruction episodes thatspark student discussion
4. resolving the misconceptions
beforeclass
duringclass
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Teacher C
(HPL p. 12)
The College ClassroomJanuary 23, 2013
Watch the blog for the Week 3 homework
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Week 3: Development of Expertise