HOW PEOPLE LEARN
Peter Newbury, Ph.D.
Center for Teaching Development,
University of California, San Diego
[email protected] @polarisdotca
ctd.ucsd.edu
slides and resources: tinyurl.com/PI-CSULA
September 11, 2013
CSULA
Unless otherwise noted, content
is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommericial 3.0 License.
Peter
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 2
PhD (Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) 1998
in applied math
taught math and astronomy 1998 – 2007
Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative in Dept. of Physics and
Astronomy at UBC, 2008 – 2012
Center for Teaching Development, UCSD since August, 2012
Teaching and learning interests:
how people learn science, technology, engineering, arts, math (STEAM)
how to coax instructors to transform the way they teach and then
providing effective “coaching”
finding the most effective ways to implement peer instruction (clickers)
establishing and maintaining an online personal learning network
@polarisdotca peternewbury.org
3
how
people
learn
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) (Image: Sunset in Antartica by
Christopher.Michel on flickr CC)
Survey
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 4
Which of these do you associate
with a typical university lecture?
A) listening
B) absorbing
C) note-taking
D) learning
E) other
Survey
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 5
Which of these do you think students associate
with a typical university lecture?
A) listening
B) absorbing
C) note-taking
D) learning
E) other
The traditional lecture is based on the
transmissionist learning model
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 6 (Image by um.dentistry on flickr CC)
Let’s have a learning experience…
7 How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
Here is an important new number
system. Please learn it.
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 8
1 = 4 = 7 =
2 = 5 = 8 =
3 = 6 = 9 =
Test
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 9
What is this number?
Scientifically Outdated, a Known Failure
10 How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
We must abandon the tabula rasa
“blank slate” and “students as
empty vessels” models of teaching
and learning.
New Number System
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 11
Here’s the structure of the “tic-tac-toe” code:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Test
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 12
What is this number?
Constructivist Theory of Learning
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 13
New learning is built on and from existing knowledge.
You store things in long term memory through a set of connections that are made with previous existing memories.
(Images by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)
Creating memories (aka learning) involves having neurons fire and neurons link up in networks or patterns.
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 14
What are the patterns
of how people learn?
(And how do we use them?)
(Image: entropy memory creativity by jef_safi on flickr CC) How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
15
How People Learn
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 16
National Research Council (2000).
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.
Available for free as PDF
www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853
Key Finding 1
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 17
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 the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom.
(How People Learn, p 14.)
Key Finding 2
18
To develop competence in an area, 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.)
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
Key Finding 3
19
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.)
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
Aside: metacognition
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 20
Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s
own cognitive processes or anything related to them.
For example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B.
([2], [3])
Key Finding 3
21
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.)
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
Please break into groups of 3-4...
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 22
Each set of cards has
3 Key Findings
3 Implications for Teaching
3 Designing Classroom Environments
TASK: Sort your cards into 3 groups of 3 cards each by
matching the Implication for Teaching and Classroom
Environments to the Key Finding:
Implication
for Teaching
23
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
Key Finding 1
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 24
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 the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom.
(How People Learn, p 14.)
Implications for Teaching 1
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 25
Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.
(How People Learn, p 19.)
New Coding System
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 26
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)
Classroom Environments 1
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 27
Schools and classrooms must be learner centered. (How People Learn, p 23.)
Learning requires interaction [4]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 28
Learning requires interaction [4]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 29
% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning gain:
pre-test 0
100%
post-test
0.50
Learning requires interaction [4]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 30
1 2
3 4
Key Finding 2
31
To develop competence in an area, 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 (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
(How People Learn, p 16.)
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
32
Implications for Teaching 2
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 33
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.
Classroom Environments 2
To provide a knowledge-centered 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 20.)
(How People Learn, p 24.)
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 34
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Level of Expertise
Beha
vior
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 35
incompetent competent
Level of Expertise
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 36
conscious
unconscious
adikko.deviantart.com
Beha
vior
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 37
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Level of Expertise
Beha
vior
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 38
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
1
Level of Expertise
Beha
vior
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 39
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
1
2
Level of Expertise
Beha
vior
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 40
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
1
2 3
Level of Expertise
Beha
vior
Development of Mastery [5]
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 41
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
1
2 3
4
Level of Expertise
Beha
vior
Why Your Students Don’t Understand You
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 42
Expert brains differ from novice brains because novices:
lack rich, networked connections, cannot make
inferences, cannot reliably retrieve information
have preconceptions that distract or confuse
lack automization, resulting in cognitive overload
Key Finding 3
43
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.)
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
Implications for Teaching 3
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 44
The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.
Classroom Environments 3
Formative assessments — ongoing assessments designed to make students’ thinking visible to both teachers and students — are essential.
Instructors need to provide opportunities for
students to practice being metacognitive: an
internal dialogue about their own thinking
(How People Learn, p 21.)
(How People Learn, p 24.)
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 45
student-centered instruction traditional lecture
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 46
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos
student-centered instruction
Clicker question
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 47
Melt chocolate over low heat. Remove the chocolate
from the heat. What will happen to the chocolate?
A) It will condense.
B) It will evaporate.
C) It will freeze.
(Question: Sujatha Raghu from Braincandy via LearningCatalytics)
(Image: CIM9926 by number657 on flickr CC)
Typical episode of peer instruction
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 48
Alternating with 10-15 minute mini-lectures,
1. Instructor poses a conceptually-challenging,
multiple-choice question.
2. Students think about question on their own.
3. Students vote for an answer using clickers,
smart phones, colored/ABCD voting cards,
Poll Everywhere,…
4. The instructor reacts, based on the
distribution of votes.
Typical “choreography”
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 49
1. Students think and answer on their own (“solo vote”)
2. Instructor says, “Interesting! Please turn to your neighbors
and convince them you’re right.” Walks around the
classroom, eavesdropping on conversations.
3. Students discuss question. As things quiet down, instructor
says, “I’ve heard some great discussions. Please vote
again.” (“group vote”)
4. Class-wide discussion, concluding with why the right
answer(s) is right and the wrong answers are wrong.
Depending on the solo vote distribution, agile instructors can
try other variations on 2 – 4.
In effective peer instruction
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 50
students teach each other while
they may still hold or remember
their novice preconceptions
students discuss the concepts in their
own (novice) language
the instructor finds out what the students know (and
don’t know) and reacts, building on their initial
understanding and preconceptions.
students learn
and practice
how to think,
communicate
like experts
Clicker Question
51
The molecules making up the dry mass of wood that
forms during the growth of a tree largely come from
A) sunlight.
B) the air.
C) the seed.
D) the soil.
Question credit: Bill Wood How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
52
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction)
Lunch Task #1: Find a partner
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 53
Find a partner or two in your discipline – this afternoon,
you’ll be writing a peer instruction question together. It’s
important to have
content knowledge (the concepts)
pedagogical content knowledge (how to teach and
learn the concepts)
Sit together when you get back from lunch.
Lunch Task #2: Watch this video
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 54
Veritasium (Derek Muller) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KZb2_vcNTg
Student-centered instruction takes time
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 55
Five minutes of student-centered instruction every 15
minutes means 25% of class time is not lecturing. But you
(already) have lecture material to fill 100% of the time!
Where does that time come from?
Traditional classroom
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 56
1. Transfer: first exposure to material is in class,
content is transmitted from instructor to student
2. Assimilate: learning occurs later when student
struggles alone to complete homework, essay,
project
1. learn easy
stuff together 2. learn hard
stuff alone
(Mazur [6])
Flipped classroom
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 57
1. Transfer: student learns easy content at home:
definitions, basis skills, simple examples. Frees up
class time for...
2. Assimilate: students come to class prepared to
tackle challenging concepts in class, with immediate
feedback from peers, instructor
2. learn hard
stuff together 1. learn easy
stuff alone
(Mazur [6])
References
How (you can help) People Learn (using peer instruction) 58
1. National Research Council (2000). 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.
2. Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
3. Brame, C. (2013). Thinking about metacognition. [blog] January, 2013, Available at: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2013/01/thinking-about-metacognition/ [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013].
4. Prather, E.E, Rudolph, A.L., Brissenden, G., & Schlingman, W.M. (2009). A national study assessing the teaching and learning of introductory astronomy. Part I. The effect of interactive instruction. Am. J. Phys. 77, 4, 320-330.
5. Sprague, J., & Stuart, D. (2000). The speaker’s handbook. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers.
6. Mazur, E. (2009). Farewell, Lecture? Science, 323, 5910, 50-51.