Gaining A Basic Understanding of the Subject - Tomorrow's ...

Research has shown that there are two essential tasks to foster student achievement: help students see the relevance and importance of the information and make ... Skiptocontent Skiptonavigation SUNetIDLogin SUNetIDLogin Navigationmenu GainingABasicUnderstandingoftheSubject Tomorrow'sTeachingandLearningMessageNumber: 1874Researchhasshownthattherearetwoessentialtaskstofosterstudentachievement:helpstudentsseetherelevanceandimportanceoftheinformationandmakeitunderstandable.Folks:Thepostingbelowlooksat waystohelpstudents“learnmaterialmoreeffectivelyandalsobeabletousetheinformationastheymoveintomorecomplexcognitivetasks”. Itisby MichaelTheall,YoungstownStateUniversity;WaltWager,FloridaStateUniversity;MarillaSvinicki,UniversityofTexasatAustin,andisfrom IDEANotesonLearning https://www.ideaedu.org/idea-notes-on-learning/. PartofCCcreativecommons- https://creativecommons.org/ Copyright2021 IDEA.AllRightsReserved. Reprintedwithpermission. Regards, [email protected]: FacultyMembers’BiasesandPrejudices Tomorrow’sTeachingandLearning----------2,964words----------GainingABasicUnderstandingoftheSubject ​​​​Thefoundationsofanydisciplineareitsdefinition,knowledgebase,terminology,structure,methodology,andepistemology.Aswemovefrombasicknowledgetothecomplexorganizationandhierarchiesofinformationinthedisciplines,weparallelthelevelsofBloom’scognitivetaxonomy(1):knowledge,comprehension,application,analysis,synthesis,andevaluation.Thisobjective,“Gainingabasicunderstandingofthesubject…,”dealswithacquisitionofbasicinformationuponwhichmorecomplexlearningrelies.Whiletraditionalteachingmethods,especiallylectureandreadings,arequiteefficientat“delivering”thiskindofinformation,thequestioniswhether“delivery”isenough.Simplyhavingtheinformationathanddoesnotguaranteethatstudentswillunderstanditorknowhowtolearnit.Aretherewaystohelpstudentslearnthematerialmoreeffectivelyandalsobeabletousetheinformationastheymoveintomorecomplexcognitivetasks?Research(2)hasshownthattherearetwoessentialtaskstofosterstudentachievement:helpstudentsseetherelevanceandimportanceoftheinformationandmakeitunderstandable.Infact,thedimensionsofteachingthatarethestrongestcorrelatesofstudentachievementare:1)preparationandorganization;2)clarityofcommunication;3)perceivedoutcomeoftheinstruction;and4)stimulatingstudentinterestinthecoursecontent.Thefirsttwoconcerntheorganizationofinformationanditseffectivepresentationandhavetraditionallybeenpartofateacher’spreparation.Thesecondtwodealwithmotivationandengagingstudentsintheirlearning.Ifstudentsunderstandwhyinformationisimportantanduseful,iftheircuriosityispiqued,iftheyareappropriatelychallenged,andiftheyperceiverelevanceofthecontent,theywillbewillingtoexertmoreeffortandwillperformbetterasaresult(3,4).Fromadifferent,butnonethelessimportantperspective,thesesamedimensionsareamongthemoststronglycorrelatedwithoverallstudentratingsofteachingandcourses(2,5).Teachersmustpossessagreatdealofdifferentkindsofknowledge.LeeShulman(6)hasidentifiedthreegeneralkindsofknowledgerequiredbyteachers.Thefirstis“contentknowledge,”anobviousandnecessaryingredient.Thesecondis“pedagogicalcontentknowledge,”orunderstandingofpedagogy,teachingandlearning,anditsapplicationtothediscipline.Finally,is“curricularknowledge,”anenhancedversionofthelatterwheretheteacherhasarepertoireofstrategies,materials,approaches,andalternativesthatarecalledontohelpstudentslearn.Masterteachers,byShulman’sdefinition,alsopossesstheabilitytotaketheprincipalconceptsofthedisciplineandtranslatethemintolanguage,demonstrations,oractivitiesthatstudentscanunderstand.Inotherwords(andparticularlyinintroductorycourseswherestudentsmostfrequentlyhavetolearnterms,definitions,classifications,etc.),theteacherprovidesboththeorganizationalstructureandtheappropriatelevelofcomplexityforthestudents.Quitesimply,thismakeslearningeasier,promotessuccessandenhancedefficacy(7),andcreatesapositivemotivationalcycleinwhichstudentsbecomemoreandmorewillingtoworkandreapbothintrinsicandextrinsicrewardsasaresult.However,structuringandorganizinginformationandactivitiesdoesnotmeanexercisingcompletecontroloverallaspectsofthecourse.Makingacourse“learnercentered”(8)canhelpyoutogetyourstudentsmoredeeplyengagedinthecontent,anditcanpromotethekindof“deeplearning”(9)thatcharacterizesacademicsuccess.TeachingThisObjectiveGainanddirectattention.Dosomethingtofocusthelearneronthelearningtaskathand(10,11).Inthecaseofprinciples,theinstructormightstartwithaquestiontopiquethecuriosityabouttheprincipletobelearned,andpointtoitsapplicationtotherealworld.Thisforeshadowstheeventualfocusonprinciplesratherthanfacts.IDEAresearchhasfoundthatseveralinstructionalmethodsrelatedto“stimulatingstudentinterest”areimportanttoengagingthelearnerintheprinciplesandtheoriesaddressedincourses(see“Demonstratedtheimportanceandsignificanceofthesubjectmatter,”“Stimulatedstudentstointellectualeffortbeyondthatrequiredbymostcourses,”and“Introducedstimulatingideasaboutthesubject”).Incorporatemotivationalstrategiesintoyourteaching.Themostproductivemotivationalstrategyisonethatconsiderstheentrycharacteristicsofstudents,adaptsinstructionaccordingly,demonstratesrelevanceofthecontent,providesopportunitiesforsuccess,andleadstothesatisfactionofpositiveperformance(3).Theintrinsicmotivationthatresultshasbeenrelatedtobrainfunctioninthesensethatsuccessfulexecutionofataskbasedonpersonaleffortisapowerfulemotionalforce.AsZull(12)pointsout,motivationisintensifiedwhenastudentcansay,“Ididitmyself.”Thus,usingactivitiesthatallowstudentstofindinformation,toorganizeitinmeaningfulways,ortouseit,allhavethepotentialtoprovideopportunitiesforsuccessandintrinsicmotivation.Thisapplieseventolearningbasicinformationbecausestudentscanacquiresomeofthatinformation/knowledgethroughtheirowneffortsaswellasthroughateacher’seffectivepresentationandorganization.Whenstudentspassivelysitandlistento50minutesormoreofalecture,theyhavelittleinvestmentinlearningexcepttodoitinordertopassatestandgetagrade.Makeclearhoweachtopicfitsinthecourse (seetheNotefortheTeachingMethod,“Madeitclearhoweachtopicfitintothecourse”).Incomprehensionlearningtasks,thestudentmustunderstandthemeaningofthecomponentconcepts,andtherelationshipsamongthem.Recallprerequisitelearningandconnecttonewmaterial.Allnewlearningishookedinsomewayintopreviouslearning(10,11).Comprehensioninvolvesbringingtomindpreviouslylearnedknowledgerelatedtothenewlearning.InthiscaseitislikelythatthestudenthasencounteredanexplanationofNewton’sfirstandsecondlaws.Sotheyarefamiliarwiththeconceptsofinertia,mass,force,acceleration.Ifduringinstructiontheselawsaretiedtogethersuchthatanunderstandingofonecanbeusedtosupportunderstandingofthenext,thechancesaregoodthatthestudentswilllearnthesimilaritiesanddifferencesamongthem,andwillbeabletodifferentiatetheexamplesthatrepresenteachofthetheoriesorprinciples.Theoriesofhowconceptslikethesearelearnedsuggestthat,afterremindingstudentsofwheretheymighthaveencounteredthisconceptbefore(eitherpersonallyorinapreviousclass),theinstructorwouldgiveagood,cleardefinitionoftheconceptfollowedbywhatiscalleda“paradigmaticexample,”whichissimplytheexamplethatmostpeoplewouldthinkofifyouaskedforanexampleoftheconcept.Forexample,inthecaseofNewton’slaws,theexampleofrollingaballalongasurfaceisthesimplestexamplethatwouldcometomindformostpeople.Theinstructorcouldevenusebowlingorsoccerasamoreconcreteexamplethatmoststudentswouldrecognize.(Thisexamplelaterservesasabenchmarkagainstwhichtocheckeveryotherexampletheythinkof,soitpaystothinkitthroughthoroughly.)Thentheinstructororthestudentsgenerateotherexamplesoftheprinciple.Seeingorevencategorizingpositiveandnegativeinstances(non-examples)oftheconcepthelpsthestudentstoclarifytheirunderstanding.Theinstructorcanillustratedifferentrelationshipsorcharacteristicsoftheconceptbymovingontomorecomplexorrelatedexamples,forexample,usingtheexampleofhowdifferentstrengthsofthebowlerwouldcausetheballtorollfasterorslower.Infact,theinstructorcouldeveninvitethestudentstosuggestotherscenariosandwhattheymightsayabouttheconcept.Incorporatepracticeandfeedback.Oneimportantcomponentoflearningatthislevelispracticeandfeedback.Theprinciplejustlearnedshouldbecomethefoundationforlearningfutureprinciples.Furthermore,themoretheprincipleisusedinfutureactivities,thebetterandstrongertheneuralconnections(12),andtheeasieritwillbetorecallanduse.Unfortunately,researchintheareaoftransferhasshownthatmanystudentsfailtorecognizethatpreviouslylearnedskillscanbetransferredtoanewtasksituationunlesstheyarepromptedtodoso(13).However,themoreoftenthistypeofspacedpracticeoccurs,thehighertheprobabilitythatlearnerswilldevelopanorientationfortransfer(14).Thestudentswouldgetpracticeintheelaborationactivitysuggestedabove,andtheresultscouldbeusedbytheteachertoreinforcecorrectunderstandingandremediatemisunderstanding.Practiceandfeedbackcanbeaccomplishedinmanydifferentways,fromcollaborativeactivitytocomputerizedtutorialsandquizzes.Especiallyhelpfulareengagingactivitieswherethestudentscanpracticeputtingthingsintotheirownwords,givingexamplesoftheprinciplesortheories,illustratingwithgraphicsormodels,and/or,givenasetofconditions,settingupademonstration.Thispracticeallowsstudentstogetfeedbackontheirunderstanding.Theimportanceoffeedbackcan’tbeoverstated.Studentsvaluefeedback,asitconfirmstheirunderstandingormisunderstandingwhilelearningisstilltakingplace.It’seasiertolearnthingstherightwaythefirsttimethantrytounlearnandrelearnitlater.(SeetheNoteontheTeachingMethod,“Providedmeaningfulfeedbackonstudents’academicperformance”).Bearolemodelforlearninghowtolearn(meta-cognition).Youcanexhibitskillsthathelpstudentstoseestructure,torelatetopics,andtoorganizeinformation.Whenyoudothiskindofmodeling,youprovideameta-cognitiveassist.Studentswhofollowyourexamplearenotonlydiscoveringwhattolearn,buthowtolearnit.Ateacherwhosays,“Thisishowweapproachaprobleminourdiscipline”or“ThisishowIwouldgoaboutansweringthisquestion,”isshowingstudentsaprocessthatistransferable.Itisn’tnecessarytoprovideananswertoaproblem–studentscanworkonthat.Evenwhendealingwithknowledgelevelobjectives,ateachercanshowstudentshowtopicsrelatetoandbuildoneachother.Combiningthemodelingprocesswithcarefullychosenquestionsthatleadstudentsfromonepointtoanotherisanotherstrategyforengagingstudentsinmeta-cognitiveactivity.(SeetheNotefortheTeachingMethod,“Encouragedstudentstoreflectonandevaluatewhattheyhavelearned”).Considerusingactivelearningorteam-basedmethods.Content-heavycoursesmaynotseemtobetherightplacesforinstructionalmethodsthathavebeenshowntoenhanceconceptuallearning,butconceptualunderstandingcanoftenhelpstudentsmakesenseofthefacts,terms,andorganizationofthesubject.Itisthedisassociationoffacts,thefrequenterrorofstudentspresumingthatmemorizationofbitsofinformationislearning,thatcanbeovercomebycreatingengagingproblemsandencouragingteamwork(15).Whenyouaskstudentstoorganizeinformationorplaceitincontext(andthat,initself,canbeateamassignment)youhelpthemtoconstructmorecompleteknowledge.Conceptmaps(16)areusefulatthislevelbecausetheyprovideastructuralpictureoftherelationshipsofinformationandconcepts.Studentsbenefitfromacleardescriptionofhowconceptmapsareconstructedandwithsometraining,theycanusethetechniquethemselves.Inteams,theycanthencomparetheirworkanddiscusstheirreasonsfortheirorganizationoftheinformation.Ofcourse,youwillhavetoincludesomereviewoftheteamdecisionsinordertoverifythatstudentsareontherighttrack,butthisisabeneficialactivityinitself,sinceitprovidesareviewofthethoughtprocessneededtoarriveatthecorrectresponse.Movingstudentsfromknowledgetocomprehension.First,studentscanrestatetheprinciple,generalizationortheoryintheirownwords,whichBloomcalls translation.WhenaskedwhatisNewton’sthirdlawofmotion,thestudentmightanswer,“It’swhentwothingshiteachother,theypusheachotherequallyinoppositedirections.”Bloomstatesthattranslationcantakeoneofthreeforms:translationintothestudent’sownwords,aswe’vejustseen;translationintosymbolicform(e.g.,fromverbaltographicalform—insertingarrowsintoapicturetodepicttheforcesoperatingonthechairintheexampleabove);andtranslationfromoneverbalformtoanother(e.g.,metaphor,analogy).AsecondwaytodemonstrateunderstandingiswhatBloomcalls interpretation.Thestudent’sresponsemightbe–“That’swhentwothingspushoneachotherinoppositedirections,theforcesareequalinbothdirections,likewhenyourolltwopoolballsateachothertheyhitandpushoneachotherinoppositedirections.”Anotherformofinterpretationmightinvolvethestudent’srecognitionthatthecommunicationisdescribingtheoperationofaprinciple,likerealizingthatNewton’slawsexplainhowitispossibleforcartomoveforwardonaroad.Athirdwaytodemonstrateunderstandingis extrapolation,which“…includesthemakingofpredictionsbasedonunderstandingofthetrends,tendencies,orconditionsdescribedinthecommunication”(1,p.90).Forexample,thecommunicationmightask,“Whyisiteasierforthreepeopletopushacarthanoneperson?”Anacceptableanswermightbethatthecarpushesbackwithaforceequaltotheforceofthepersonpushingit,sowithmorepeoplepushing,theforceisdistributedamongthethree.Whiletheremaybeanynumberofacceptableresponses,theanswerwouldhavetoincludethefollowingcomponents:1)aforce,2)anequalcounterforce,and3)intheoppositedirection.Providepractice.Instructionshouldincludeopportunitiesforlotsofpracticespacedoutacrossthelearning.Spacedpracticeisperiodicuseoftheprinciplesindialogandotherlearningactivities.Knowledgethatisnotpracticedorusedtosupportnewknowledgequicklydecays,andbecomesinertknowledge.Remindingstudentsinsuccessiveclassperiodsofwhattheylearnedbeforeandhavingthemdosomethingwiththatinformationwillkeepitfreshandeventuallymoresolidlystoredinlongtermmemory.Thisistheprinciplebehindaspiralcurriculum,inwhichtheinstructionreturnstoearlierprinciplesbutinmorecomplexsituations.Anexamplewouldbemovingfromcomprehensiontoapplicationofaprincipleinasubsequentclassperiod.Comprehensionoffundamentalprinciples,generalizations,andtheoriesisgenerallytaughtasaprerequisiteforapplicationlevellearning,wherestudentsareexpectedtodemonstrateunderstandingbyapplyingtheknowledgetheyjustlearnedtonewsituationstheyhaven’tencounteredbefore.Instructionthatteachescomprehensionlevellearningshouldbefollowedassoonaspossiblewithapplicationlevelactivities.Applicationlevellearningstrengthensthestudents’abilitytorecallthepreviouslylearnedknowledge.Applicationsarepotentiallymoremeaningfulandmotivatingtostudents,especiallyiftheyhaveamanipulativeandoremotionalcomponent,becausetheyreinforcetheconceptualunderstandingassociatedwithcomprehension.Comprehensionoffundamentalprinciples,generalizationsandtheoriescanbeanexcitingandmotivatingpartoflearning,anditfacilitatesthestudents’futureapplicationofknowledge.Becauseofthis,itisworththetimeandefforttoteachit.AssessingThisObjectiveAssessmentofcomprehensiontasksfollowsthesamepatternasthebehaviorspracticedininstruction.Thestudentcanbeaskedtoidentifyrelevanttheoriesorprincipleswhengivenascenario,orbeaskedtotranslate,interpretorextrapolateaparticularprinciplewithinarangeofconditions.However,assessmentofcomprehensionshouldstaywithintheparametersdescribedinthestatementofinstructionaloutcomes.Thatis,iflearningisatthecomprehensionlevel,assessmentshouldnottestapplicationorevaluationoftheprinciplesorconcepts.Collectformativeevaluationdata.Coursesthatmostoftenrequirestudentstolearnbasicinformationarefrequentlyofferedinthefirstyearandinlarge-enrollmentsettingsandthus,theyposeparticularchallenges.Yourstudentsprobablyhavelittleexperiencewiththecontentandtheymaynothavesophisticatedlearningskills,soitisimportanttokeeptrackoftheirprogressandproblems.Youcannotwaituntilmid-semesterorlatertoassesslearningand,keepinginmindthemotivationalnotesabove,itisoftenthecasethatnon-gradedassessmentswillbemosteffectiveinpromotinglearningwithoutthethreatoffailureorpossiblediscouragementthatcomeswitherrors.Oneeffectivetechniqueforfollowingprogressistheuseofknowledgesurveys(17).Theseassessmentsaskstudentstoestimatetheirknowledgeand/ortheirconfidenceintheirabilitytorespondcorrectlytoquestions.Whentheirestimatesarecontrastedtoactualresponses,studentsbecomemoreawareofwhattheydoanddonotknow,andtheareasthatneedattention.Whenyouandyourstudentsknowwhatneedsattention,bothteachingandlearningbecomemoreefficient.Anotherapproachthathasbeensuccessfulistousenewtechnologies,suchasstudentresponsesystems.Theserequireremotedevicessometimescalled“clickers”thatstudentsusetoanswerin-classquestions.Thesesystemscanthendisplaytheresponseswithtwobeneficialresults–youcanimmediatelyseethelevelofstudentunderstandingandyoucanfollow-upwithotherquestionsorinvolvestudentsinadiscussionaboutcorrectanswersandstudents’reasonsfortheirchoices(seetheIDEAPaper,“TheTechnologyLiterateProfessoriate:AreWeThereYet?,”formoreideas).Completethefeedbackcycle.Asnotedabove,assessmentwithfeedbackismostbeneficialforstudentlearning.Nomatterwhattechniqueischosen,theobjectiveisnotsimplytodeterminerightorwrong,butrathertofocusonwhyagivenansweriscorrectandontheprocessusedtoarriveatthatanswer.Therearevariouswaystoprovidefeedback.Some,liketheresponsesystemsdescribedabove,providefeedbackimmediately.Some,liketeamreviewofindividualwork,providefeedbackaspartoftheirprocess.Face-to-facefeedbackisalwaysuseful,butthereareotherwaystokeepstudentsapprisedoftheirprogress.Youcanusetechnology(e.g.,coursemanagementsystems)torespondtostudentworkinon-lineorhybridcourses.Insomeofthesecourses,directcontactbytelephonecanbeveryeffective.Whateverthemethodsused,themosteffectivefeedbackisthatwhichisclear,focused,supportive,andincludesinformationaboutstrengthsaswellasspecificrecommendationsforimprovement.ReferencesandResources1.    Bloom,B.(1956). TaxonomyofEducationalObjectivesHandbookI:TheCognitiveDomain.NewYork:DavidMcKayCompany,Inc.2.    Feldman,K.A.(1989).Theassociationbetweenstudentratingsofspecificinstructionaldimensionsandstudentachievement:Refiningandextendingthesynthesisofdatafrommultisectionvaliditystudies. ResearchinHigherEducation,30,583-645.3.    Keller,J.M.(1983).Motivationaldesignofinstruction.InC.M.Riegeluth(Ed.) Instructionaldesigntheoriesandmodels:anoverviewoftheircurrentstatus.Hillsdale,NJ:LawrenceErlbaum.4.    Theall,M.(Ed.).(1999).Motivationfromwithin:Encouragingfacultyandstudentstoexcel. NewDirectionsforTeachingandLearning#78.SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.5.    Franklin,J.L.,&Theall,M.(1995).Therelationshipofdisciplinarydifferencesandthevalueofclasspreparationtimetostudentratingsofinstruction.InN.Hativa&M.Marincovich,(Eds.),“Disciplinarydifferencesinteachingandlearning:implicationsforpractice.” NewDirectionsforTeachingandLearning#64.SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.6.    Shulman,L.S.(1986).Thosewhounderstand:Knowledgegrowthinteaching. EducationalResearcher,15,4-14.7.    Bandura,A.(1977).Selfefficacy:Towardaunifyingtheoryofbehavioralchange. PsychologicalReview,84,191-215.8.    Weimer,M.(2002). Learnercenteredteaching.SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.9.    Entwistle,N.,&Tait,H.(1994).Approachestostudyingandpreferencesforteachinginhighereducation:implicationsforstudentratings. InstructionalEvaluationandFacultyDevelopment,14 (1&2),2-9.10.Gagne,R.M.(1977).Theconditionsoflearning,3rdEd.NY:HoltRinehart&Winston.11.Gagne,R.M.,Wager,W.W.,Golas,K.C.,&Keller,J.M.(2005).PrinciplesofInstructionalDesign,5thEd.Stamford,CT:Wadsworth/Thomson.12.Zull,J.E.(2002). Theartofchangingthebrain.Sterling,VA:StylusPublishing.13.Gick,M.,&Holyoak,K.(1980).Analogicalproblemsolving. CognitivePsychology,12,306-355.14.Bransford,J.,Brown,A.,&Cocking,R.(Eds.)(1999).Howpeoplelearn:Brain,mind,experienceandschool.Washington,DC:NationalAcademyPress.15.Michaelsen,L.K.,Knight,A.B.,&Fink,L.D.(Eds.)(2004). Team-BasedLearning:ATransformativeUseofSmallGroupsinCollegeTeaching.SterlingVA:StylusPublishing.16.Novak,J.D.(1998). Learning,Creating,andUsingKnowledge.Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaum.17.Nuhfer,E.,&Knipp,D.(2003).Theknowledgesurvey:atoolforallreasons. ToImprovetheAcademy,21,59-78.RelatedIDEAPapers·       IDEAPaperNo.15: EffectiveClassroomDiscussions,CashinandMcKnightretired·       IDEAPaperNo.16: ImprovingMultiple-ChoiceTests,CleggandCashin·       IDEAPaperNo.24: ImprovingInstructors’SpeakingSkills,Goulden·       IDEAPaperNo.41: StudentGoalOrientation,Motivation,andLearning,Svinicki·       IDEAPaperNo.46: EffectiveLecturing,Cashin Shareto:Facebook 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