Keynote presentation at ETUG Spring Jam 2017, "Education by Design" at UBC Okanagan, June 1-2, 2017 Peter Newbury UBC Okanagan CC-BY

1. How People Learn
Peter Newbury, Ph.D.
Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning, and
Senior Advisor for Learning Initiatives, UBC Okanagan
peter.newbury@ubc.ca peternewbury.org @polarisdotca
#etug
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etug.ca

2. “Fish is Fish” by Leo Lionni (1970)
I started my presentation with a picture from Leo Lionni’s “Fish is Fish”
showing a frog describing a cow to a fish (get all that?). The picture is
copyrighted so I’m not including it here but you can see it at 2:27 of this
great video:
https://vimeo.com/39374062
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3. Why are we here?
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What do you think students are doing in a typical university class?
A) listening
B) absorbing
C) learning
D) note-taking
E) not paying attention Peter Newbury CC-BY
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3
POWER ON
CLICK A–E
WATCH FOR
GREEN LIGHT
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4. The traditional
lecture is based
on the
transmission
model of
learning
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um.dentistry on flickr CC

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

6. What’s this number?
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7. Transmission
model
proven to be less
effective than
active learning
“the equivalent
of blood-letting”
(Wieman, 2014)
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We must abandon the
tabula rasa (“blank slate”) and
“students as empty vessels”
models of teaching and
learning.

8. Important new number system: tic-tac-toe code
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1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

9. What number is this?
9

10. Constructivist
model of learning
New learning is
based on knowledge
you already have.
You store things in
your long term
memory through a
set of connections
with your existing
memories.
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Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC
learning is done
by individuals

11. 11

12. How People
Learn
(2000)
Available for free
from the National
Academies Press
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www.nap.edu/catalog/9853/how-people-learn-brain-mind-experience-and-school-expanded-edition

13. Key Finding #1
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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.

14. Key Finding #2
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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.

15. Key Finding #3
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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.

16. Metacognition
thinking
about
thinking
“I am engaging in
metacognition if I
notice that I am
having more
trouble learning
A than B.”
(J. Flavel, 1976)
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cognitionmeta

17. Key Finding #3
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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.

18. Key Findings: Theory Practice
1. IN GROUPS OF 2 – 3, TEAR YOUR
SHEET INTO 9 CARDS
2. MATCH ONE IMPLICATION AND ONE
CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT WITH
EACH KEY FINDING
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Key Finding
#2
Implications
for Teaching
Implications
for Teaching
Implications
for Teaching
Designing
Classroom
Environments
Peter Newbury CC-BY

19. Key Finding #1
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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.

20. Implications for Teaching
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Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that
their students bring with them.

21. TRANSMISSION MODEL CONSTRUCTIVIST MODEL
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1 = 4 = 7 =
2 = 5 = 8 =
3 = 6 = 9 =
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
unsupported, unfamiliar built on pre-existing knowledge

22. Implications for Teaching
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Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that
their students bring with them.
Designing Classroom Environments
Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.

23. Key Finding #2
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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.

24. 24

25. 25
Smith & Tanner (2010)
knowledge
framework
retrieval

26. 26
knowledge
framework
retrieval
Smith & Tanner (2010)

27. 27
knowledge
framework
retrieval
Smith & Tanner (2010)

28. Implications for Teaching
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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.
Designing Classroom Environments
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.

29. Development of Expertise
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conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise Sprague & Stewart (2000)
Peter Newbury CC-BYPeter Newbury CC-BY

30. Development of Expertise
30
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise Sprague & Stewart (2000)
BruceBarett CC-BY-ND-NC
AmSteuerCC-BY-SA

31. Development of Expertise
31
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
1
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

32. Development of Expertise
32
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
1
2
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

33. Development of Expertise
33
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
1
2 3
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

34. Development of Expertise
34
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
1
2 3
4
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

35. Think about the last time you taught something.
Where are you on this chart?
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conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
A
B C
D
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

36. Development of Expertise
36
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
2 3
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

37. Development of Expertise
37
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
1
2 3
4
5
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

38. Development of Expertise
38
conscious
unconscious
incompetent competent
Behaviour
Level of Expertise
2 3
4
Sprague & Stewart (2000)

39. Think about the house you grew up in…
How many windows are there?
As you counted the windows, did you see them from
inside the house or outside the house?
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4 5

40. Key Finding #3
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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.

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

42. YOU’RE HAVING TWINS?!?
Your sister calls to say she’s having twins. Which of the following is more
likely? (Assume she’s not having identical twins.)
A) twin boys
B) twin girls
C) one boy and one girl
D) all are equally likely
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Wikimedia Commons

43. HOW (YOU CAN HELP) PEOPLE LEARN
1. draw out and build on their
pre-existing knowledge
2. model expertise (especially
framework and retrieval)
3. create opportunities (and time)
for people to practice being
metacognitive
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44. “Any questions?”
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 they can continue
C) so the instructor can check if the audience understands
D) so the audience can check if they’re ready to continue
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“What questions do you have for me?”
…and give them enough time to ask a useful question

45. References
Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.
231-236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lionni, L. (1970). Fish is Fish. New York, NY:Pantheon Books.
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.
www.nap.edu/catalog/9853/how-people-learn-brain-mind-experience-and-school-expanded-edition
Smith, J. & Tanner, K. (2010). The Problem of Revealing How Students Think: Concept Inventories and Beyond. CBE –
Life Sciences Education 9, 1.
Wieman, C.E. (2014). Large-scale comparison of science teaching methods sends clear message. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, 11 (23), 8319-8320.
Sprague, J., & Stuart, D. (2000). The speaker’s handbook. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers.
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