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![4. Explain
and Defend
Concepts
“Since students systematically misunderstand
most of what we tell them… the emphasis
[must be] placed on student articulation of the
concepts.” (Jackson, Dukerich, Hestenes, 2008)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/oesis13-131017155148-phpapp02/85/Oesis13-8-320.jpg)
![4. Explain
and Defend
Concepts
“Since students systematically misunderstand
most of what we tell them… the emphasis
[must be] placed on student articulation of the
concepts.” (Jackson, Dukerich, Hestenes, 2008)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/oesis13-131017155148-phpapp02/85/Oesis13-19-320.jpg)
Uploaded byCarole Hamilton
Oesis13
The document discusses how cognitive science can enhance online learning by emphasizing techniques such as relearning just before forgetting, starting with questions, building mental analogies, explaining concepts, transferring knowledge, and engaging in metacognition. It highlights the importance of adapting technology to individual learning styles, tracking progress, assessing mastery, and reinforcing concepts. It includes references for further reading on improving educational practices based on cognitive science principles.
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Oesis13
- 1. Tapping Cognitive Science toOptimize Online Learning Carole Hamilton Cary Academy Cary, NC
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- 4. Cognitive Science TellsUs That Students Need To 1. 2. 3. 4. Re-Learn Just Prior to Forgetting (Bjork 2011) Start with a Question (Williams, 2012) Build Mental Analogies (Hofstadter, 2003) Explain and Defend Concepts (Jackson, Dukerich, Hestenes, 2008; Williams 2012) 5. Transfer Knowledge (Willingham, 2002) 6. Engage in Metacognition (How People Learn)
- 5. 1. Re-Learn Just Prior To Forgetting “Aswe forget…when things are presented again, we get a larger increase in storage strength. So…forgetting, rather than undoing learning, creates the opportunity to reach additional levels of learning.” Robert Bjork, 2011
- 6. 2. Start with a Question “Thereis substantial evidence that students can learn far more by trying to answer questions themselves (than by receiving the answers), or by being pushed to construct explanations (rather than be provided with them).” Joseph Jay Williams 2009
- 7. 3. Build Mental Analogies “Analogy…simply pervadesevery tiny nook and cranny of cognition, it shapes our every thinking moment. Not seeing that is like fish not perceiving water.” Douglas Hofstadter
- 8. 4. Explain and Defend Concepts “Sincestudents systematically misunderstand most of what we tell them… the emphasis [must be] placed on student articulation of the concepts.” (Jackson, Dukerich, Hestenes, 2008)
- 9. 5. Transfer Knowledge “What turnsthe inflexible knowledge of a beginning student into the flexible knowledge of an expert seems to be a lot more knowledge, more examples, and more practice.” Daniel T. Willingham
- 10. 6. Engage in Metacognition “Inresearch with experts who were asked to verbalize their thinking as they worked, it was revealed that they monitored their own understanding carefully, making note of when additional information was required for understanding, whether new information was consistent with what they already knew, and what analogies could be drawn that would advance their understanding.” How People Learn
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- 14. How Does OnlineLearning Stack Up? We’ll look at one example:
- 16. 1. Re-Learn Just PriorTo Forgetting “As we forget…when things are presented again, we get a larger increase in storage strength. So…forgetting, rather than undoing learning, creates the opportunity to reach additional levels of learning.” Robert Bjork, 2011
- 17. 2. Start with aQuestion “There is substantial evidence that students can learn far more by trying to answer questions themselves (than by receiving the answers), or by being pushed to construct explanations (rather than provided with them).” Joseph Jay Williams
- 18. 3. Build Mental Analogies “Analogy…simply pervadesevery tiny nook and cranny of cognition, it shapes our every thinking moment. Not seeing that is like fish not perceiving water.” Douglas Hofstadter
- 19. 4. Explain and Defend Concepts “Sincestudents systematically misunderstand most of what we tell them… the emphasis [must be] placed on student articulation of the concepts.” (Jackson, Dukerich, Hestenes, 2008)
- 20. 5. Transfer of Knowledge “Whatturns the inflexible knowledge of a beginning student into the flexible knowledge of an expert seems to be a lot more knowledge, more examples, and more practice.” (Daniel T. Willingham)
- 21. 6. Engage in Metacognition “Inresearch with experts who were asked to verbalize their thinking as they worked, it was revealed that they monitored their own understanding carefully, making note of when additional information was required for understanding, whether new information was consistent with what they already knew,, and what analogies could be drawn that would advance their understanding.” How People Learn
- 22. What Else TechnologyCan Offer • Adapt Dynamically to Individual Student Learning Rate and Style • Track Productive Time on Task • Assess Mastery of Material • Reinforce Concepts, not Just Content
- 24. Further Reading Bjork, Robert.“The Theory of Disuse and the Role of Forgetting in Memory.” http://gocognitive.net/interviews/theory-disuse-and-role-forgetting-human-memory Go Cognitive. 2011. Donovan, M. Suzanne . Et al. How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. 1999. W. Pellegrino, EditorsHofstadter, Douglas. “Analogy at the Core of Cognition.” http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/hofstadter/analogy.html 2001. Jackson, Jane, Dukerich, Larry, and Hestenes, David (2008). Modeling Instruction: An Effective Model for Science Education, Science Educator 17(1): 10-17. http://www.nsela.org/images/stories/scienceeducator/17article7.pdf Williams, Joseph Jay. How Can Cognitive Science Improve Online Learning?, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKW5lZqBWgI Willingham, Daniel T. “Inflexible Knowledge: The First Step to Expertise.” American Educator. Winter 2002. http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/winter2002/willingham.cfm web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/ carole_hamilton
Editor's Notes
- #3 Current debates about education (Joel Klein, Former NYC school chancellor and now chief executive of Amplify, an educational tablet supplier) “ideological, not evidence-based.” Even when all pushing same way not achieving goals. we try a lot of new methods. In business world, changes = testing. Lots. If not good, not implemented. Not in schools! We design new “car,” drive it for years, no matter how many accidents, we keep driving it and get others to drive it too. Apply some metrics. Why do we keep trying new things and repeating old methods, without doing the obvious? “Unfortunately, the majority of uses of technology in education consist of nothing more than a new implementation of old approaches, and therefore technology is not the magic bullet it is often presumed to be” Harvard Physics Professor Eric Mazur 2009 “Farewell, Lecture?”
- #4 Cognitive Science new way to “look under the hood” Not easy to sift through neuroscientific reports on CT scans and snake oil salesmen touting unsubstantiated theories, like the now-repudiated “learning styles” theory.
- #5 Mental schemas are needed because it makes the learner active sense-maker, instead of passively recipient. It becomes part of the learner’s world view.
- #6 Balance Spacing Effect & Testing Effect (Repeat at strategic point in Forgetting Cycle.
- #7 Problem Based Learning for knowledge and reasoning strategies. “substantial evidence that students can learn far more by trying to answer questions themselves (than by receiving the answers), or by being pushed to construct explanations (rather than provided with them)” Joseph Jay Williams “Instead of designing the course to address specific ‘naïve conceptions’…focus on helping students construct appropriate models to account for the phenomena they study.” Joseph Jay Williams
- #8 “Cognitive scientists have identified metaphors as a fundamental tool of human thought…” “[They] structure our experience and thereby make it meaningful. A major objective of teaching should therefore be to help students ‘straighten out’ their metaphors.” (Jackson, Dukerich, Hestenes, 2008) “All perception of truth is the perception of an analogy. “Henry David Thoreau “An idea is a feat of association, and the height of it is a metaphor.” Robert Frost
- #9 “Ask ‘why’ questions.” (Joseph Jay Williams, 2012) Studies show that humans learn better in "shared attention" settings. Meltzoff, Kuhl, Movellan and Sejnowski 2009. Studies show that students who had to explain concepts (versus just write down what they thought about it) retained 40% more of the material (Williams 2012). This also boosts the likelihood of using the knowledge.
- #10 “Transfer is rare.” Joseph Jay Williams. You teach them a method and immediately give them a similar problem, and most students (80%) will not use what they just learned—unless it has become part of their world view.
- #12 We can easily offload some tasks: homework, lectures, projects. But we’ve picked the low-hanging fruit, and we have not applied the principles of cognitive science to e-learning programs. Other things that can go on outside of class: calibration, concept learning, adaptive practice (continuously dynamic--not simply fast-tracked), measuring retention
- #13 What should go on in class: modeling and practicing intellectual engagement, deployment of concepts, group skills
- #15 Membean is one e-learning option that has based it’s design on principles of learning. It’s one of the most advanced e-learning options available, with a sophisticated system for tracking student learning patterns, and a lot of science behind it’s methods of teaching new words.
- #18 Inference is a process of confronting an unknown, sifting it through known concepts, and developing a working thesis about the topic. Engaging the brain at this level leads to creation of a new schema to account for the new thought.
- #19 Here a visual analogy serves as a “memory hook.” Membean also creates verbal hooks, such as Gracious Sage to remember the noun, Sagacious. Membean employs the brain’s desire for analogy to expand understanding.
- #20 “Ask ‘why’ questions.” (Joseph Jay Williams, 2012) Studies show that humans learn better in "shared attention" settings. Meltzoff, Kuhl, Movellan and Sejnowski 2009. Studies show that students who had to explain concepts (versus just write down what they thought about it) retained 40% more of the material (Williams 2012). This also boosts the likleihood of using the knowledge.
- #21 “Knowledge tends to be inflexible when it is first learned. As you continue to work with the knowledge, you gain expertise; the knowledge is no longer organized around surface forms, but rather is organized around deep structure.” Willingham
- #23 With technology, we can calibrate the student’s learning “spedometer” and pace the learning according to teach student’s rate of retention. We can also engineer software that knows when it’s time to introduce more advanced material, individually. Of course, assessments can be tailored to each student. Membean does this by quizzing mastered words.
- #24 Current debates about education are, according to Joel Klein, Former NYC school chancellor and now chief executive of Amplify, an educational tablet supplier, “ideological, not evidence-based.” Even when all of us are pushing the same way, even when we share the same opinions about what we as educators should do, we still aren’t achieving the goals we have for our students. Yet we try a lot of new methods. In the business world, changes demand testing. Lots of it. And if the change isn’t good, it’s not implemented. Not in schools! We design a new “car,” drive it around for a few years, and it doesn’t matter how many accidents it causes, we keep driving it and get others to drive it too. Why not apply some metrics? Why do we keep trying new things and repeating old methods, without doing the obvious? “Unfortunately, the majority of uses of technology in education consist of nothing more than a new implementation of old approaches, and therefore technology is not the magic bullet it is often presumed to be” Harvard Physics Professor Eric Mazur 2009 “Farewell, Lecture?”