How we learn
ICT has been shown to be an
effective support of a number of teaching strategies which promote learning
(Bransford et al. 2000). Informed use of ICT involves an understanding of the
learning theories behind the different methods of instruction. There has been
considerable research on learning theories and how they apply to the use of ICT
in teaching and learning.
As practicing educators it is
highly likely that you have eclectic views on the learning process. Your
conclusions are likely to be a blend of the diverse theories on learning,
motivation, instruction, intellectual development, and effective teaching
practices, largely as a result of your own personal experience. You may thus be
drawing from behavioural theories, cognitive theories, social cognition
theories, attribution theory, achievement motivation theory, as well as using
concepts from Piaget or Vygotsky. We will not go into a great deal of detail
here but provide you with a brief overview of some relevant theories (the links
in the following text will take you to short summaries of the theories) and
provide you with some online resources if you wish to go
further.
Until the late 1950s the dominant
theory of learning was behaviourism which saw learning as a process of
forming connections between stimuli and responses. This had limitations due to
its focus on observable behaviour and not the underlying phenomena such as
understanding, reasoning and thinking. Some of the principles of behaviourism
however are still widely used in today’s classrooms and many online and
computer-based drill and practice exercises use the behaviourist principle of
positive reinforcement.
Cognitive psychology developed in
the late 1950s as a way of dealing with behaviourism’s inability to
adequately explain complex behaviours such as language acquisition. This branch
of learning theories is concerned with the things that happen inside our heads
as we learn. The developmental theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, also
known as cognitive-developmental theories emphasise thought processes such as
thinking, understanding, and perceiving. Cognitive theories take the
perspective that students actively process information and learning takes place
through the efforts of the student as they organise, store and then find
relationships between information, linking new to old knowledge, schema and
scripts. Over the last fifteen years, cognitive psychology, and in particular
the information processing model, has become dominant partly because of
the insights the model gives us in describing and explaining cognitive (mental)
processes, such as thinking and problem solving.
Robert Gagné built upon
behaviourist and cognitive theories to recommend approaches to instruction. His
work played a key role in the systematic design of instruction which is
still widely used in the development of training material.
Continuing research into learning
rejected the idea that learning is a process where knowledge is transmitted to
and acquired by learners. Contemporary theorists suggest that learning is a
process where knowledge is constructed either individually or socially and is
based on a person’s previous knowledge. Though there are a number of
theories that come under the label constructivism they all have a similar
view of learners as being actively engaged in a process of integrating new
experiences and information with existing concepts. They suggest that
learners’ pre-existing knowledge, skills, beliefs and concepts influence
what they notice about the world they live in and how they organise and
interpret it. As a consequence rather than simply absorbing ideas communicated
to them by teachers, students take those ideas and assimilate them with their
pre-existing notions and experience to modify their knowledge and understanding
in a more complex, complete and refined way. Teaching therefore is the process
which supports this construction and reconstruction of new knowledge rather than
the communication of knowledge. Research suggests that educational technology is
most effective when used to enhance constructivist or student-centered
instructional strategies because they emphasise interactivity, learner control
and student engagement.
So where does that leave
us? Drawing on the variety of theoretical perspectives on learning can be
useful when developing effective teaching practices. Flexibility in our
theoretical position allows us to use a number of methods in our teaching in
order to cater to the diversity of learners and the kind of information and
skills they need.
References:
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L.,
& Cocking, R. R. (eds). 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience,
and School: Expanded Edition. The National Academy Press. Washington, D.C.
(Available online)
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9853.html
[19 October 2001]
Behaviourism
B. F. Skinner’s text,
The Technology of Learning (1968), was immensely influential and his
classroom management and instructional techniques based on behaviourist
principles are still widely used today. Skinner developed the theory of
‘operant conditioning’, the idea that we behave the way we do
because this kind of behaviour has had certain consequences in the past.
Skinner’s reinforcement principles are the basis of many drill and
practice exercises – that is, students receive praise or a positive image
when they get the correct answer.
Behaviourists focus on behaviour
and the external environment’s influence on it. They believe that learning
can be measured by observable behaviours that are influenced by antecedents and
reinforcements. Teachers shape a student’s behaviour by gradually and
carefully adjusting contingencies to encourage them to behave in ways that are
progressively closer to a goal. A behaviour will be repeated depending upon the
consequences that follow it. Learning is seen as nothing more than the
acquisition of new behaviour, which can thus be evaluated through the
examination of this same behaviour.
An example using ICT in teaching
and learning could be an online “gap fill” tutorial in a foreign
language: students have to enter a word or phrase to complete the sentence
(behaviour) and they receive an immediate response from the computer telling
them if they were right or wrong (consequence). If they are incorrect the
students will receive a hint or direction to the content where they can review
the task. When they have consistently completed the exercise correctly they will
be said to have learned and achieved the goal of the lesson.
These sorts of tutorials can be
very useful in learning vocabulary or verb conjugations in language classes. A
constructivist approach could be added to these sorts of exercises by not only
asking for a demonstration of knowledge of verb structures but by also asking
students to indicate an understanding of why those verb structures are
appropriate in a given phrase.
An advantage of these types of
tutorials is that they allow students of varying ability to work on exercises in
their own time and at their own pace – this way all students can achieve a
similar level of competence and the teacher’s time is spent on teaching
more complex knowledge and skills or focussing on students with particular
needs.
The exercises can be more
motivating than a simple exercise book as they may contain visual (still and
moving images) and audio aids and are pleasing to look at and interact with. The
variety of written, visual and verbal clues can aid students with different
learning styles.
Further reading:
B. F. Skiller
Foundation
Behaviourism as a learning
theory
Operant conditioning and
Behaviorism: an historical outline
Operant
conditioning
Developmental theories of learning
The developmental theories of
Piaget and Vygotsky, also known as cognitive-developmental theories emphasise
thought processes such as thinking, understanding, and perceiving.
Piaget
Piaget’s cognitive
developmental theory explores changes that take place in thinking abilities over
time. Piaget was interested in how individuals develop knowledge from birth. He
considered cognition as a biological process whereby intelligence develops in
specific growth stages. He believed that conceptual development may be likened
to a building process i.e. a series of qualitative intellectual advancements.
It is this aspect of the theory that has proved most popular with educators.
Piaget argued that cognitive
growth occurs through a series of stages, known as 'stages in development'.
These are:
- sensorimotor (0 to
2 years),
- pre-operational
(2-7 years),
- concrete-operational
(7-12 years), and
- formal-operational
(12 years –adult).
The stages are discrete and in a
strictly linear path. These 'stages in development' have been adopted by many
teachers and it could be argued that they are the reason for the separation of
schools into levels such as pre-school, primary and secondary. Piaget was a
biologist and drew his theory from his studies of living organisms and their
adaptation to changes. His research sample was rather small since his primary
observations were drawn from close study of his own three
children.
However, the existence of
separate stages, each with its own characteristic mode of thinking, and the
limitations involved, has been refuted by a large body of research. The most
permanent remainder from Piaget’s lifetime of studying cognitive
development is the constructivist view of development. This theoretical
position argues that each individual constructs their own understanding of the
world and is primarily responsible for the development of their own intelligence
as a result of experience. It is from this aspect that further ideas on learning
have developed.
Important concepts of Piaget
include schemes, assimilation, accommodation and
equilibration.
- schemes
describe the patterns of behaviour or thinking that people use in dealing
with objects in the
world,
- assimilation
is where an object is incorporated into a new scheme,
- accommodation
describes the situation when a scheme is changed to fit new circumstances, and
- equilibration
occurs when a person focuses on an object causing disequilibrium in his or her
world and either adapts new schemes or changes old ones in order to restore
equilibrium.
Further reading:
Piaget
Piaget and intellectual
development
Cognitive psychology and its
application to education
Vygotsky
Vygotsky began his academic
journey with a law degree from Moscow University in 1917. His studies included
philosophy, psychology and literature. His life took a new direction when he was
invited to join the Psychological Institute of Moscow University after
delivering a brilliant paper at the Russian Psycho–neurological Congress
in 1924. His work was banned for political reasons and was not to emerge until
the 1950’s.
Vygotsky tried to understand
cognitive processes. He attempted to understand the formation of intellect by
focusing on its process of development. He believed that individual development
could not be understood without reference to the social and cultural context
within which development occurs.
Vygotsky is best known for
his:
- stress on the importance of language in
learning development
- focus on development across the whole lifespan
rather than stages
- zone of proximal development i.e. the gap
between what you’re trying to teach and the current state of development
in that area. If the gap is too large, instruction won’t be effective; too
small and the learner won’t be extended, therefore teachers must have
background knowledge of those they
teach.
- scaffolded instruction involves an instructor
or advanced peer working to support the development of the learner. The
instructor should guide the learner in such a way that the gap is bridged
between the learner’s current skill levels and the desired skill level.
As learners become more proficient, able to complete tasks on their own that
they could not initially do without assistance, the guidance can be withdrawn.
Such instruction needs to take place in a social environment where the
interactions reflect mutual respect.(The first reading "Towards maximising
learning through online environments can be considered
scaffolding).
Vygotsky, who was a contemporary
of Piaget's, has had a major influence on developmental psychology. Of
importance is his emphasis on the sociocultural nature of learning with a key
element being Vygotsky's notion of a zone of proximal
development.
The term zone of proximal
development may be seen as a visual image of concentric circles, which in
another context have been labelled comfort zones. The mental image for the term
scaffolding is of an athletic activity such as high jumping where the bar
is raised in small increments. This is one factor of scaffolding,
however the term also includes elements of guided
instruction.
Piaget and Vygotsky hold
contrasting views on teacher involvement. On one hand a Piagetian view suggests
that direct teacher involvement may inhibit learning while on the other hand,
Vygotsky's approach of scaffolding and guided discovery suggests that a guiding
hand by the teacher is critical for effective learning.
Further reading:
The role of culture in
Vygotskyean-informed psychology.
This paper gives an accessible
overview of the main ideas of Vygotsky's developmental framework and offers a
contrast to the Piagetian approach.
Social Development Theory
Vygotsky
Vygotskyean theory
This is an introduction to some
of the basic concepts (culturally-mediated identity) of by Trish
Nicholl.
Virtual Faculty at Massey
College, Celebration of the Centenary of the Birth of Vygotsky
Cognitive theories of learning
Cognitive theories first appeared
last century, but were usurped by behavioural theories earlier this century,
only to re-emerge as the dominant force again. They are concerned with the
things that happen inside our heads as we learn. They take the perspective that
students actively process information and learning takes place through the
efforts of the student as they organise, store and then find relationships
between information, linking new to old knowledge, schema and scripts.
Cognitive approaches emphasise how information is processed.
The three researchers Ausubel,
Bruner and Gagné take different perspectives but each presents ideas that
add to the discussion on how people learn. Ausubel's advanced organiser is a
concept that considers the impact of prior learning. This differs from the
behaviourists who do not consider the importance of this factor. Bruner's work
on categorisation or the forming of concepts provides a possible set of answers
to how the learner derives information from the environment. Gagné looks
at the events of learning and instruction as a series of phases, using the
cognitive steps of coding, storing, retrieving and transferring information.
These three cognitive theorists,
Jerome Bruner, David Ausubel and Robert Gagné have not adopted a
developmental perspective. Although they have adopted quite different
theoretical positions, they share the following features in common.
- they all put
forward their ideas initially in the 1960s. At that time all three were
established in their careers and recognised as authorities in their own right.
- all three attempted
to define cognitive theories of instruction. The advent of these theories
coincided with a period in which Western educators were, for the first time
since the 1920s, seriously pausing to consider their educational policies; the
depression and the second World War had made such evaluations impossible for
almost thirty years. Of equal importance was the fact that this period of
questioning in the 1960s coincided with periods of tremendous growth in
scientific knowledge and expansion of, what was now in these Western countries,
universal secondary education.
Bruner
The ideas of Bruner, who
advocated discovery learning, probably have had greater acceptance, at least in
schools, than those of Ausubel or Gagné. In 1966, Bruner wrote Toward
a theory of instruction, in which he explained how his ideas might be
translated into practice in the classroom. A further factor which contributed to
the popularity of Bruner’s ideas was that they were very much in tune with
the mood of the times. His emphasis on discovery and ‘hands on’
learning was in accord with Piaget’s ideas. Certainly the constructivist
nature of his theory appealed to teachers and many of his principles are still
employed by practising teachers.
Bruner argued that we should
teach the ‘structure’ of subjects. He advocated the introduction of
the real process of a particular discipline to students. For example, when
learning history students should become involved in genuine historical enquiry.
This might involve examining a bridge, a building, or even a head stone in a
cemetery, then using the information acquired to trace records of various kinds
in order to answer the questions generated about the origins, purposes, and
history of that structure, or the life of the person concerned.
The three stages in Bruner's
theory of intellectual development are:
- Enactive
where a person learns about the world through actions on
objects.
- Iconic
where learning occurs through using models and
pictures.
- Symbolic
which describes the capacity to think in abstract
terms.
Bruner's underlying principle for
teaching and learning is that a combination of concrete, pictorial then symbolic
activities will lead to more effective learning. The progression is: start with
a concrete experience then move to pictures and finally use symbolic
representation. Is that path familiar to any of the readers? Are there
similarities between Bruner's principle and the procedure suggested for teaching
numeracy? Have you ever taught algebra using this procedure? It
works!
Another aspect of Bruner's
theory, which has been enthusiastically included in some teachers' classrooms,
is Discovery Learning. This is not an easy teaching strategy to
employ.
Further reading:
Bruner
Ausubel
Ausubel’s writings have not
attracted the popularity of Bruner’s works. However because much of his
theory has been developed from research in mainstream cognitive psychology, many
of his ideas have survived as part of information processing theory.
Ausubel’s most notable contribution was the notion of the advance
organiser. We can think of the advance organiser as simply a device or a mental
learning aid to help us ‘get a grip’ on the new information. Put in
more difficult language, according to Ausubel, the advance organiser is a means
of preparing the learner’s cognitive structure for the learning experience
about to take place. It is a device to activate the relevant schema or
conceptual pattern so that new information would be more readily
‘subsumed’ into the learner’s existing cognitive structure or
mental depiction!
The other major contribution
which Ausubel has made, is his emphasis on the active nature of reception
learning. The distinction between rote and meaningful learning is an important
one, and too often we as educators fail to make reception learning as meaningful
as possible. The need to require learners to be active by underlining, by
completing missing words, by rewording sentences, or by giving additional
examples, cannot be overemphasised in this context. Can you see a link with
behaviourism here?
Further reading:
Ausubel
Ausubel
Gagné
Robert Gagné built upon
behaviourist and cognitive theories to recommend approaches to instruction. Much
of Gagné’s early experience as an instructional psychologist was
spent tackling practical problems of training airforce personnel. He dealt
particularly with problems in determining just what skills and knowledge are
required for someone to be an effective performer at a given job. Once job
requirements were identified, the task then became one of determining how those
requirements might best be learned by a person in training for the job. He
suggested that a task would be best learned by following a specific sequence of
nine events:
- gaining attention;
- informing the learner of the objective;
- stimulating recall of prerequisite
learning;
- presenting new material;
- providing learning guidance;
- eliciting performance;
- providing feedback about correctness;
- assessing performance; and
- enhancing retention and recall.
In addition he proposed that
learning is like to a building process which utilises a hierarchy of skills that
increase in complexity. He also identified five major categories of
learning:
- Verbal
information
- Intellectual
skills
- Cognitive
strategies
- Motor
skills
- Attitudes
His notions of task analysis and
the importance of the correct sequencing of instruction are followed by most
mathematics teachers when designing their programs. Gagné’s
approach is really that of an instructional designer and, although his ideas
have developed quite remarkably over the last quarter of a century, you can
still glimpse the skeletons of the principles used when he was responsible for
designing training systems for World War II pilots.
Gagné’s theory of
learning hierarchies could be said to be a teaching theory, which is easy to
apply in some circumstances, but is not easily applied in other circumstances.
Many of his ideas are readily
transferable to computer-assisted instruction and no doubt at least some readers
will be familiar with his ideas, even if not with Gagné himself as their
advocate.
The concept of Gagné's
knowledge hierarchy leads to the assumption that it is important to present all
the necessary lower-level facts before proceeding to teach at higher levels.
Related to this is the concept that people can reason with higher-level concepts
if they have learned all of the prerequisite lower-level information.
Gagné's ideas have
received wide acceptance in the training field although teachers have also
accepted some of his principles.
Further reading:
Gagné’s conditions
of learning
Gagné’s conditions
of learning (Stephen Bostock)
Influential thinkers: Robert M.
Gagné
The PSI Café: Robert
Gagné
Institute for Research in
Cognitive Science - University of Pennsylvania
Cognitive and Psychological
Sciences - Stanford University
Cognitive Science
Society
School of Cognitive and Computer
Sciences - University of Sussex
Systematic Instructional Design
Gagné’s events of
instruction and learning hierarchies have been widely used to develop systematic
instructional design principles and are used extensively in planning lessons for
instructional software. Lessons are designed carefully by breaking down the
knowledge, skill or process into small, well-described components. The learning
process is initiated by carefully crafted objectives which are stated in
measurable terms. The component parts are taught sequentially, each building on
the previous one and students must master activity A before they can go on to
activity B. etc. Learning activities are followed by some form of assessment
that demonstrates that the objective has been achieved.
While teachers today are
concerned with ensuring students develop skills in problem solving, thinking,
reflection, and approaches for introducing information in indirect ways and
therefore tend to frequently use constructivist approaches in their practice,
there are numerous occasions where direct, guided instruction is required. For
example, directed instructed may be needed in:
- Medical procedures.
- Techniques
for handling dangerous living things such as bacteria, viruses, and poisonous
plants or animals.
- Specific
maintenance procedures.
This sort of instruction can be
useful for:
- Individual pacing
and remediation, especially when teacher time is
limited
- Making learning
paths more efficient, especially for instruction in skills that are prerequisite
to higher-level skills
- Performing
time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks (e.g., skill practice), freeing
teaching time for other, more complex student
needs
- Supplying
self-instructional sequences, especially when teachers are not available,
teacher time for structured review is limited, and/or students are already
highly motivated to learn skills (Roblyer & Edwards 2000, p.
51)
Cognitive science began to
influence instructional design from the late 1970s. Design models based on
behaviourist theories were adapted to include more emphasis on task and learner
analysis but the goal of instruction was still the communication or transfer of
knowledge to learners. The development of constructivist theories of learning
where each of us is individually responsible for our own knowledge construction
initially presented instructional designers with problems regarding the
systematic design of instruction. However instructional design today is adopting
many of the principles of constructivist theories and integrating them in the
design of learning materials. David Merrill, for example, illustrates many
constructivist strategies in a short video on the elements of effective
instructional design.
Further reading
School of Education, University
of Colorado at Denver. Instructional Design Models
Charles Reigeluth’s
Instructional-Design Theories website
Information processing
Cognitive psychology developed
around the late 1950s at a time when technology was developing computers capable
of manipulating large amounts of data more and more rapidly. The group of
information processing theorists which came out of cognitive psychology research
used the computer as a model for the way humans think. This branch of cognitive
psychology looks at the way people take in, process and act on information
focussing on attention, perception and memory.
Over the last fifteen years,
cognitive psychology, and in particular the information processing model, has
become dominant partly because of the insights the model gives us in describing
and explaining cognitive (mental) processes, such as thinking and problem
solving. These are of course what teachers and trainers are very interested in.
Effective use of these cognitive processes depends on our understanding of the
information processing model.
Like a computer, the human mind
takes information, organises it, stores it for later use and then retrieves it
when necessary. In a computer, information (data) is entered into the computer
through a keyboard or scanner or another input device. The human corollary for
this would be the ears, the eyes or another sensory organ. In the computer the
data needs to be processed, i.e. comparisons and logical decisions made. The
'brains' of the computer is the Central Processing Unit (CPU) where the data is
processed. The human match for this task is called Working Memory where we
think about and process the entered data. To store its information the computer
uses hard disks, floppy disks and tapes. Humans store information in Long Term
Memory. Having processed the information, computers need to do something with
that information. This may be visual display on the screen or hardcopy paper
output. The human equivalent is talking, walking, smiling, or shaking hands.
Simply put – action.
According to this view there are
three kinds of memory:
- Sensory
registers. The part of the memory that receives all the information a person
senses.
- Short-term
memory (STM). Also known as working memory, the part of memory where new
information is held temporarily until it is either lost or placed into long-term
memory.
- Long-term memory
(LTM). The part of memory which has an unlimited capacity and can hold
information indefinitely. (Roblyer & Edwards 2000, p.
55)
When people pay attention to
information picked up by the sensory registers it goes into the working memory,
if they don’t pay attention it is lost. Once in working memory it needs to
be processed or practiced within 5 to 20 seconds for it to be transferred to the
long-term memory. New information will only be transferred to LTM when it is
linked in some way to prior knowledge already in LTM. Information is translated
into some meaningful form (encoded) and retrieved through a process of
identification and recall for a particular purpose. Learning is the result of
individuals successfully encoding new information or recoding existing
information in a new way. They can then recall that information from memory and
use it.
Encoding
The key factors for effective
encoding of information include ensuring that the material is meaningful and
that activation of prior knowledge occurs. Strategies for assisting
encoding include chunking, rehearsal, imagery, mnemonics, schema activation, and
level of processing.
- Chunking is
breaking the information up into manageable chunks. Try to remember
'OFHRTJUDYCX' or alternatately 'OFH RTJ UDY
CX'
- Rehearsal
can be either simple repetition, or more elaborate when the information to be
remembered is linked to other
information.
- Imagery
can be simple as with a conjured image of an object such as a book, or complex,
as with a concept such as
justice.
- Mnemonics
are memory strategies that help people remember information. Often a mnemonic
is a rhyme or pairing of to-be-learned information with well-learned
information.
- Schema
activation is a strategy to use with encoding complex information. This
relates new information to students' prior
knowledge.
- Level
of processing assumes that material that is only skimmed will not be as
deeply processed as material that is studied in detail.
Cognitive strategies
enhance learning because the effective use of such strategies minimises the
demands on working memory. The problem is that children are not strategic
learners. They have to be taught how to use particular strategies. A student
who is good at strategic learning may possess the following:
- a broad range of
strategies
- knowledge
of when, why and how to use the strategies (metacognition)
- a broad
knowledge
base
- the
ability to focus and ignore
distractions.
Retrieval
We've looked at encoding where
the information is placed in memory and now we need to look at retrieving that
information. One of the key factors affecting retrieval is encoding
specificity which has been shown to enhance retrieval if the cues present at
encoding are present at recall.
Other factors that affect
retrieval (remembering) include the structure of the material, practice,
relearning, and continued exposure to the content.
Coding and classifying
information through concept maps or networking also appear to benefit learning
and recall.
Types of long-term memory
There are two type of Long Term
Memory: declarative knowledge, which deals with factual knowledge, and
procedural knowledge, which deals with knowing how to perform an
activity.
The building blocks of cognition
The four building blocks of
cognition are:
|
concepts
|
grouping objects into meaningful
categories
|
|
propositions
|
declarative knowledge : the
smallest unit of knowledge that can stand as a separate
assertion
|
|
productions
|
procedural knowledge: a way of
representing condition-action rules
|
|
schemata
|
hypothesised data structures
within which knowledge is stored
|
The importance of IPT for educators
Information processing theory
sits well with educationalists because it deals with intellectual performance
including the use of:
- attention - e.g.
directing mental effort towards important aspects of a situation or
event;
- memory
strategies - e.g. using mnemonics such as Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit for the
notes on a music
staff;
- study
and comprehension skill - e.g. highlighting key points and making
summaries;
- concept
mapping - e.g. setting out the relationship between key ideas in a topic in
diagram
forming;
- problem
solving - e.g. understanding the role of knowledge, the way problems may be
represented;
- metacognition
- e.g. thinking about thinking and deciding how best to manage mental
processes;
- pattern
recognition - e.g. identifying meaningful
relationships;
- elaboration
- e.g. bringing together what we know about something in order to integrate our
knowledge.
Research into information
processing theories suggest that:
- there are limits to
the amount of information that learners can attend to and process
effectively;
- learners
need to be actively engaged in processing information in order to transfer it
from short-term memory to long term
memory;
- recall
of information is facilitated when the learnt material is encoded in some
way.
Information processing refers to
the way we handle information. From the information processing viewpoint,
people are active learners who can control and manipulate information and devise
strategies to deal with particular situations, for example, thinking aloud when
completing a complex task. This approach is comfortable for adult learners and
vocational educators, as are the concepts of self-directed learning and lifelong
learning.
The information processing
approach has continued to gain strength with an increasing amount of research
related to the senses, encoding, memory, retrieval, problem solving,
metacognition, perception, language, attention and so on as evidenced by the
large number of recent publications in this field.
During the last two decades,
information processing theories have been used widely to explain or provide a
major perspective on human learning. The information processing perspective is
linked with the development of computers and improved knowledge of the functions
and processes of the nervous system. Computers provide an avenue for research on
human capabilities and learning processes because they stimulate a number of
complex human functions and specifically because information is involved. Most
educators would recognise the importance of information processing theory
because it emphasises:
- the importance of
meaning and context in
learning,
- the
key role of prior knowledge in
learning,
- the
need for meaningful
feedback,
- the
need for knowledge to be available in an integrated
form,
- the
importance of metacognition (self awareness and self regulation of
thinking),
- the
limitations of short-term memory which may result in mental overload when too
much information has to be considered at
once,
- different
kinds of knowledge are stored in long term memory in different forms - this
influences the ways in which the kinds of knowledge are
used
- skills -
procedures which have become
automatic,
- strategies
which remain conscious but enable us to process knowledge more
effectively.
|
USING THE INFORMATION
PROCESSING APPROACH IN THE CLASSROOM
|
|
Principle
|
Example
|
|
Gain the students'
attention.
|
- Use cues to signal
when you are ready to begin.
- Move around
the room and use voice inflections.
|
- Bring to mind relevant prior learning.
|
- • Review
previous day's lesson.
- Have a
discussion about previously covered content.
|
- Point out important
information.
|
- • Provide
handouts.
- Write on the
board or use transparencies.
|
- Present information in an organized
manner.
|
- • Show a
logical sequence to concepts and skills.
- Go from
simple to complex when presenting new material.
|
- Show students how to categorize (chunk) related
information.
|
- • Present
information in categories.
- Teach
inductive reasoning.
|
- Provide opportunities for students to elaborate
on new information.
|
- • Connect new
information to something already known.
- Look for
similarities and differences among concepts.
|
- Show students how to use coding when memorizing
lists.
|
- • Make up
silly sentence with first letter of each word in the list.
- Use mental
imagery techniques such as the keyword method.
|
- Provide for repetition of
learning.
|
- • State
important principles several times in different ways during presentation of
information (STM).
- Have items
on each day's lesson from previous lesson (LTM).
- Schedule
periodic reviews of previously learned concepts and skills (LTM).
|
- Provide opportunities for overlearning of
fundamental concepts and skills.
|
- • Use daily
drills for arithmetic facts.
- Play form of
trivial pursuit with content related to class.
|
- (Huitt, W. 2000. The Information Processing
Approach.)
Further reading:
Information Processing
Theory
Levels of
Processing
A general theory of
cognition
Information Processing Theory:
Information Process Theory of
Learning
The Information Processing
Approach
Constructivism
In behavioural theories knowledge
is viewed as nothing more than passive, largely automatic responses to external
factors in the environment. In cognitive theories knowledge is viewed as
abstract symbolic representations in the head of individuals. In the
constructivistic theories knowledge is viewed as a constructed entity made by
each and every learner through a learning process. Knowledge can thus not be
transmitted from one person to the other, it will have to be (re)constructed by
each person. This means that the view of knowledge differs from the 'knowledge
as given and absolute' views of behaviourism and cognitivism.
Learning is therefore not just
about memorising facts but the active process of integrating new experiences and
information with existing concepts. Rather than simply absorbing ideas
communicated to them by teachers, students take those ideas and assimilate them
with their pre-existing notions and experience to modify their knowledge and
understanding in a more complex, complete and refined way. Teaching is the
process which supports this construction and reconstruction of new knowledge
rather than the communication of knowledge.
There are a number of theories on
how this construction of knowledge occurs however they all focus on either the
individual or the group as the means by which we construct knowledge. Some
theorists hold that knowledge is constructed by the individual through their own
interpretations and others hold that it is constructed through social
interaction among individuals where their dialogue leads to a shared
interpretation.
Those contributing to
constructivism include Dewey (social constructivism), Vygotsky
(scaffolding and the zone of proximal development), Piaget (stages of
development), Bruner (discovery learning), Papert (microworlds),
Seely Brown (cognitive apprenticeships) Vanderbilt’s cognition and
technology group (anchored instruction), Spiro and others
(flexibility theory and radical constructivism) and Gardner (multiple
intelligences).
A constructivist framework based
on these theories holds the following principles:
- Learners bring
unique prior knowledge, experience, and beliefs to a learning
situation.
- Learning is
internally controlled and mediated.
- Knowledge is
constructed in multiple ways, through a variety of tools, resources,
experiences, and contexts.
- Learning is a
process of accommodation, assimilation, or rejection to construct new conceptual
structures, meaningful representations, or new mental
modes.
- Learning is both an
active and reflective process.
- Social interaction
introduces multiple perspectives through reflection, collaboration, negotiation,
and shared meaning.
(SEDL 1999,
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html)
As constructivism is a collection
of theories of learning and not a method of teaching, the means by which
teachers provide environments that support the ways students learn varies.
However central to this philosophy is the idea that by placing the focus on the
internal construction of knowledge (either individually or socially) the
emphasis in the classroom shifts from the teacher to the student. Teachers need
to do more than deliver information to students: they need to design activities
which facilitate students’ engaging with and making sense of the content.
Learners must be given the opportunity to build on prior knowledge, beliefs and
experiences and encouraged to be autonomous and take initiative.
A constructivist classroom tends
to focus on learning in context and collaboration. Students are asked to solve
realistic and meaningful problems which demonstrate real-life connections by
associating the concepts being taught with a real-life activity or event.
Students are actively involved in the process of gathering information,
analysing information, and using information to make informed decisions that
relate to life. Because they focus on activities that require students to find
solutions to problems the methods used in a constructivist classroom tend to be
problem-based learning, project-based learning, cooperative/collaborative
learning, discovery learning etc. Students are encouraged to reflect on the
process of learning as well as the product of that process.
For suggestions on how to
integrate constructivist practices into your teaching you might like to read the
TAP into Learning series
(http://www.sedl.org/tap/newsletters/).
As a start they suggest you:
- begin with a
problem or issue that your students find relevant and meaningful and that will
encourage their autonomy and initiative
- provide students
with the opportunity for interdisciplinary
exploration
- develop tasks that
require higher-order thinking
- use raw data and
real-world data from primary sources (Burns 1998, p.
7)
Alexander and Boud (2001) suggest
that one of the most important roles of teachers is designing activities which
provide opportunities for students to:
- find a bridge
between what they already know, and what they have read, heard or
seen;
- reflect on the ways
in which their individual understanding aligns with that of the teacher, and the
ways in which it is different; and
- engage in the
social construction of understanding so that the learners’ own experiences
are interpreted and tested against those of others, resulting in the
construction and reconstruction of ideas and
meaning.
The online environment provides
opportunities for exploration and highly creative and individualised
self-expression and for individualised learning, allowing students to progress
at their own pace. It gives students access to a wide range of raw and
real-world data which engages students in authentic learning tasks. It allows
the student to be actively engaged with their learning and be at the centre of
the process. These features of the online environment suggest that online
learning activities designed using constructivist strategies highly effective.
|
Needs addressed by constructivism
- Making skills more relevant to students’
backgrounds and experiences by anchoring learning tasks in meaningful,
authentic, highly visual
situations
- Addressing motivation
problems through interactive activities in which students must play active
rather than passive roles
- Teaching
students how to work together to solve problems through group-based, cooperative
learning activities
- Emphasizing
engaging, motivational activities that require higher-level skills and
prerequisite lower-level skills at the same time. (Roblyer & Edwards 2000,
p. 51)
|
|
Constructivist learning models
tend to:
- Focus on learning through posing problems,
exploring possible answers, and developing products and
presentations.
- Pursue global goals that
specify general abilities such as problem solving and research
skills
- Stress more group work than
individualized work
- Emphasize
alternative learning and assessment methods: exploration of open-ended questions
and scenarios, doing research and developing products; assessment by student
portfolios, performance checklists, and tests with open-ended questions; and
descriptive narratives written by teachers. (Roblyer & Edwards 2000, p.
53)
|
Further reading
Augmentation of the
intellect
Education.au Limited:
Constructivist theory
emtech: Constructivism,
Instructivism, and Related Sites
emtech (emerging technologies) is
a bit like a search engine (such as Yahoo) which has over 15,000 resources
organised by topics for teachers, students, parents, and others. This link will
take you directly to the constructivism resources (but we suggest you might like
to go to the home page and browse through some of the other resources when you
have time).
Faculty of Education, University
of Alberta: Constructivism Links
School of Education, University
of Colorado at Denver. Constructivism
This webpage is essentially a
list of links to others websites/webpages dealing with constructivism. Compiled
by Martin Ryder at the School of Education, University of Colorado at
Denver.
SEDL. 1999. Connecting Student
Learning and Technology. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)
This resources is also from SEDL
and gives a brief look at connecting student learning and technology with an
emphasis on constructivism.
SEDLETTER. 1996.
Constructivism. Volume IX, Number 3, August 1996
SEDLETTER. 1996. The practice
implications of constructivism. Volume IX, Number 3, August 1996
Tap into Learning series.
The TAP into Learning on-line
newsletters are part of the Technology Assistance Program at Southwest
Educational Development laboratory (SEDL). The newsletter offers information for
K-12 educators wishing to use technology to support more constructivist learning
approaches.
The Case for Constructivist
Classrooms.
Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and
Martin Brooks offer a constructivist view that focuses on the learning
environment of the students. They consider the activities and approaches between
teacher and student interaction.
The Constructivist Theory of
Instruction: Constructivism in Science
This is a Chicago Academy of
Sciences website which contains 150 science lesson plans and webcasts. You have
to join to get access to all the lesson plans and to get full access to the CAoS
Club Web site from multiple computers. However there are a number of lesson
plans available to have a look at without joining. The Chicago Academy of
Sciences' curricula are based on the constructivist theory of
instruction
References
Alexander, S. & Boud, D.
2001. Learners still learn from experience when online. In J. Stephenson (ed.)
Teaching & Learning Online: Pedagogies for New Technologies. Kogan
Page, London.
Burns, M. (ed). 1998. TAP into
Learning, vol. 1, no. 1. SEDL. (online)
Roblyer, M. D. & Edwards, J.
2000. Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. 2nd
edn. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddler River, New Jersey.
LINKS TO BE ATTACHED TO
UNDERLINED NAMES ABOVE:
Dewey
Vygotsky
LINK TO WEBPAGE/TEXT
ABOVE
Piaget
LINK TO WEBPAGE/TEXT
ABOVE
Bruner
LINK TO WEBPAGE/TEXT
ABOVE
Papert
Seely Brown
Vanderbilt’s cognition and
technology group
Spiro
Gardner
So where does this leave us?
Most learning and instruction
theories have difficulty in providing for the transfer of learning; that is, the
ability to transfer skills and knowledge acquired in one context to a different
context. Additionally learning theories and teaching theories have difficulties
in accounting for and explaining the effects of individual differences.
You probably use a variety of
methods in your own teaching practice to suit the learners’ needs and the
subject material being taught. When teaching geography, for example, students
may need to learn a certain amount of factual information (such as names and
locations of states, cities and towns) as well as the conceptual understanding
of why cities are located in certain places in order to be able to transfer the
learning to another situation. You may use mnemonics or drill and practices
techniques for basic-level learning in order to help your students acquire the
necessary factual information and problem-based learning techniques to ensure
that they are able to develop a deeper understanding of the subject and transfer
what they learn to other situations.
Bransford et al (2000, p. 23)
conclude that teaching both the “basics” and thinking and
problem-solving skills are necessary.
Students’ abilities to
acquire organized sets of facts and skills are actually enhanced when they are
connected to meaningful problem-solving activities, and when students are helped
to understand why, when, and how those facts and skills are relevant. And
attempts to teach thinking skills without a strong base of factual knowledge do
not promote problem-solving ability or support transfer to new
situations.
Rather than argue that one
teaching technique is better than another Bransford et al suggest that the
variety of methods used in today’s classrooms remain appropriate if chosen
for the right reasons:
Books and lectures can be
wonderfully efficient modes of transmitting new information for learning,
exciting the imagination, and honing students’ critical faculties –
but one would choose other kinds of activities to elicit from students their
preconceptions and level of understanding, or to help them see the power of
using meta-cognitive strategies to monitor their learning. Hands-on experiments
can be a powerful way to ground emergent knowledge, but they do not alone
evoke the underlying conceptual understandings that aid generalization. There is
no universal best teaching practice. (Italics in original) (Bransford et al
2000, p. 22)
Teachers and instructors should
be flexible in respect of the theoretical position they adopt. Being too
closely aligned to a particular theoretical position can restrict your options
when you encounter an individual who fails to benefit from your instruction. You
must be flexible in adopting methods that fit the desired outcome and this may
require the use of techniques which are derived from a variety of theoretical
perspectives.
References:
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L.,
& Cocking, R. R. (eds). 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience,
and School: Expanded Edition. The National Academy Press. Washington, D.C.
(Available online)
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9853.html
[19 October 2001]