CIRTL Class Meeting 1: How People Learn

The College Classroom – Spring 2015
Class Meeting 1: How People Learn
Dave Gross
dgross@
biochem.umass.edu
Thursday, January 29, 2015
1:00-2:30p ET, 12:00-1:30p CT, 11:00a-12:30p MT, 10:00-11:30a PT
Peter Newbury
pnewbury@ucsd.edu
@polarisdotca

Who are we?
Dave Gross
Professor,
Department of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology
UMass, Amherst
Peter Newbury
Associate Director,
Center for Teaching Development
University of California, San Diego
Assoc. Director, CTD
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu2

Who are you?
wordle.net

Who are you?
I’m sending you into
“break out rooms”
Toggle on your audio and video.
Introduce yourself and where you are.
Briefly tell your neighbor about the class you remember
most from your undergraduate experience.
Why that class?Was it something the instructor did?
What was it?

Why are we here?
What do you think students are doing in a typical
university class?
A) listening
B) absorbing
C) learning
D) note-taking
E) distracted

The traditional lecture is based on the
transmissionist model of learning
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu6 image by um.dentistry on flickr CC

The traditional lecture is based on the
transmissionist model of learning
How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu7 image by um.dentistry on flickr CC

Important new number system
Learn it.
1 = 4 = 7 =
2 = 5 = 8 =
3 = 6 = 9 =

Test
What is this number?

Scientifically outdated, a known failure
We must abandon the
tabula rasa (blank slate) and
“students as empty vessels”
models of teaching and
learning.

New Number System = tic-tac-toe code
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

Test
What number is this?

Constructivist Theory of Learning
New learning is based on knowledge
you already have.
You store things in long term memory
through a set of connections that are
made with your existing memories.
(Image by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)

Constructivist Theory of Learning
New learning is based on knowledge
you already have.
You store things in long term memory
through a set of connections that are
made with your existing memories.
(Image by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)
learning is done
by individuals

15 How People Learn - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

How People Learn
3 Key Findings
3 Implications forTeaching
3 Designs for Classroom Environment

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 the
purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions
outside of the classroom. (How People Learn, p 14.)

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.)

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)
Transmissionist Constructivist

Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting
understandings that their students bring with them.
Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.
(How People Learn, p. 23)
Classroom Environments 1

Learning requires interaction [3]

% of class time
NOT lecturing

% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning gain:
pre-test
0
100%

% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning gain:
pre-test
0
100%
post-test

% of class time
NOT lecturing
Learning gain:
pre-test
0
100%
post-test
0.50

52 classes of sizes 25 to 100+ students, at 2-
and 4-yr colleges and research universities
across US. Every student wrote an astronomy
test (twice). Each points shows average
learning gain in one class.

1 2
3 4

1 2
3 4
In a moment but not yet, you’ll meet with
3-4 others in a break out room.You’ll have
5 minutes to
1. select the person who will speak for your
room: the person whose first name comes
earliest in the alphabet
2. interpret the data – what story do they
tell? Be prepared to share your ideas with
the rest of the class.

1 2
3 4

Key Finding 2
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.)

Why Your Students Don’t Understand You
Expert brains differ from novice brains because
 novices lack rich, networked connections, cannot make
inferences, cannot reliably retrieve information
 notices have preconceptions that distract, confuse,
hinder
 novices lack automization (“muscle memory”) resulting
in cognitive overload

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.)

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.
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.

Key Finding 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.)

Aside: metacognition
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 learningA than B.
([4], [5])
cognitionmeta

Key Finding 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.)

The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated
into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.

The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated
into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.
Formative assessments — ongoing assessments designed to
make students’ thinking visible to both teachers and
students — are essential.

Supporting metacognition
Why do you think instructors ask,“Any questions?”
A) to signal they’re at the end of a section or concept
B) so the instructor can check if s/he can continue
C) so the instructor can check if the students understand
D) so the students can check if they’re ready to continue
E) not sure but it’s something instructors should do

“What questions do you have for me?”

“What questions do you have for me?”
…and give them enough time
to ask a useful question

Traditional classroom
 first exposure to material is in class, content is
transmitted from instructor to student
 learning occurs later when student struggles alone to
complete homework, essay, project
learn easy stuff
together
learn hard
stuff alone
transfer assimilate

Flipped classroom
 student learns easy content at home: definitions, basic
skills, simple examples. Frees up class time for...
 students are prepared to tackle challenging concepts in
class, with immediate feedback from peers, instructor
learn hard
stuff together
learn easy stuff
alone
transfer assimilate

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
All course information,
presentations, links to
readings, discussions, etc.
will be on the class blog.
Look for posts tagged CIRTL
(Image by kitsu on flickr CC)

Course blog is public so
 I can only provide links to copyrighted articles, not the
articles (PDF) themselves
 you may need to be on-campus so you can use your
institution’s credentials to access subscriptions
 Your posts and comments will be visible to the public.
Be aware of what and how you write: your posts
become part of your digital footprint.
 If you include pictures in your posts, they must not be
protected by copyright (use Creative Commons pix?)

How you will be assessed
To receive a completion certificate, you must
 attend all sessions
 thoughtfully complete all assigned work.
 contribute during class in a professional, collegial
manner.
Some of you are taking the course for credit.We will track
and assess your participation and your work.

Class Meeting 2:
Supporting expert-like thinking
Watch for communication with a description of tasks to complete
before next class.

References
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 NationalAcademies Press.
2. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
3. 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.
4. Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B.
Resnick (Ed.),The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum.
5. Brame, C. (2013).Thinking about metacognition. [blog] January, 2013,
Available at: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2013/01/thinking-about-
metacognition/ [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013].

CIRTL Class Meeting 1: How People Learn

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