Learning about Learning

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• Stephen Solberg
• ssolberg_at_holderness.org
• Holderness School

• Learning about Learning

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• Central Questions
• What does the field of cognitive science have to
  say about how students learn?
• How can we apply that knowledge and
  understanding to our teaching?

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• Memory
• its a construct
• - Perception
• - Short-term memory
• Long-term memory
• that can be built to last
• - Educate about perceptions
• Understand and build on prior knowledge
• Build quality frameworks
• Encourage quality rehearsal

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• Perception
• - Making sense of sensation organizing,
  identifying, recognizing, and assigning meaning
  to stimuli
• A construct based on previous knowledge,
  beliefs, values, and attitudes
• A dynamic mix bottom-up based on what we
  sense and know and top-down based on what we
  can infer and expect in a particular context

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• Short-Term or Working Memory
• Brief Duration lasts only 5-20 seconds
• Limited Amount most people can only store 7
  2 pieces of information in working memory
• Effect of Previous Knowledge in Form of
  Frameworks and Automatization previous
  knowledge, frameworks, and automatization can be
  used to remove need for using short-term memory
  and/or expand capacity of each slot in
  short-term memory

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Short-Term Memory Test - Duration
wit, sum, harm, bay, top
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Short-Term Memory Test - Duration
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Short-Term Memory Test - Duration
university, opportunity, aluminum,
constitutional, auditorium
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Short-Term Memory Test - Duration
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Short-Term Memory Test Duration (Baddeley, 1975)
wit, sum, harm, bay, top subjects can recall
4.5/5 words university, opportunity, aluminum,
constitutional, auditorium subjects can recall
2.6/5
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Short-Term Memory Test Amount (George Miller,
1956)
9754
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Short-Term Memory Test - Amount (George Miller,
1956)
94318
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Short-Term Memory Test - Amount
913825
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Short-Term Memory Test - Amount (George Miller,
1956)
7958423
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Short-Term Memory Test - Amount (George Miller,
1956)
86951372
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Short-Term Memory Test - Amount (George Miller,
1956)
513982471
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Short-Term Memory Test - Amount (George Miller,
1956)
9754 94318 913825 7958423 86951372 513982471
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Short-Term Memory Test Effect of Previous
Knowledge
8675309 17761812186019171941
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Short-Term Memory Test Effect of Previous
Knowledge
17761812186019161941 U.S. Wars? Jane
Who?
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Short-Term Memory Effect of Frameworks (Herbert
Smith and William Chase)
real five seconds
random five seconds
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Short-Term Memory Test Effect of Automatization
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
it deosnt mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the
frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The
rset can be a ttoal mses and you can still raed
it wouthit a porbelm. Amzanig, huh?
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Short-Term Memory Test Effect of Automatization
(Stroop Effect)
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The Matthew Effect
Unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he
shall have abundance but from him that hath not
shall be taken away even that which he hath.
(Matthew 2529)
Deficits in decoding, vocabulary, comprehension,
and prior knowledge often amplify over time.
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Write down a few critical (and positive) pieces
of previous knowledge, frameworks, and/or
automatizations you rely on your students having
daily.
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Existing knowledge, frameworks, and
automatization can also be your worst enemy.
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Write an equation using the variables S and P to
represent the following statement "There are six
times as many students as professors at a certain
university." Use "S" for the number of students
and "P" for the number of professors.
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Identify a few flawed pieces of previous
knowledge, frameworks, or automatizations you run
into with your students (or athletes).
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• Long-Term Memory Making Your Material Sticky
• Memories are encoded according to a variety of
  factors, including
• Characteristics of material
• Presentation of material
• Encoding and Rehearsal
• Existing and Constructed Frameworks

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• Characteristics of Material
• Meaningfulness
• Concrete/Abstract
• Imagery

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• Factors in Presentation of Material
• Serial position
• Distribution of practice
• Distinctiveness

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• Elaborative Rehearsal
• Retention of material is in direct relation to
  the depth of processing, not the length of
  processing
• Internal/external dialogue
• Distributed practice

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• Elaborative Rehearsal
• Stein and Bransford (1979)
• Background
• Subjects asked to remember 10 sentences such as
  The fat man read the sign
• Conditions of the Study
• - First group just studied the sentences
• Second group generated an elaboration of their
  own
• Third group were presented with an imprecise
  elaboration (that was two-feet tall)
• Final group was given a precise elaboration
  (warning about the ice)
• Results
• 4.2/10
• 5.8/10
• 2.2/10
• 7.8/10

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• Frameworks
• Frameworks serve to organize knowledge, creating
  a meaningful structure of related concepts
• Can be mistaken in their assumptions
• Takes time to unlearn old frameworks and learn
  new ones
• Can be the single-most important thing you teach

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Argument Evaluation Schema - What is the authors
claim? - Is the claim supported by reasons? - Are
these reasons acceptable? - Are they connected to
the conclusion? - What is left unstated? - What
are alternative views or counterarguments?
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• Take-Aways
• Memory is constructed and we as teachers can have
  a positive and long-term effect on the final
  product
• Learn about and think about what existing
  previous knowledge, automatizations, and
  frameworks are in play. Teach with these in mind,
  working toward your ideal
• Real learning takes real time

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Final Thought from Taylor Mali
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• Stephen Solberg
• Holderness School

• Thank You!