Some few years ago I was looking about the school supply stores in the cityWe had a great deal of di

1
Some few years ago I was looking about the school
supply stores in the cityWe had a great deal of
difficulty finding what we needed, and finally
one dealer, more intelligent that the rest, made
this remark, I am afraid we have not what you
want. You want something at which the children
may work these are all for listening. That
tells the story of the traditional education. It
is all made for listening.
John Dewey 1912
2
Describe one object so that the other child can
pick the corresponding object.
Child 1 Its this one.
Child 2 (pointing at random) This one?
Child 1 Yes.
Egocentricity - Inability to conceive of other
peoples points of view. Child 1 gives an
egocentric response.
3
Information Processing Model
Storing
Perception
Working Memory (information that can be acted on
and processed)
Long Term Memory
Filter
Events Observations Instructions
Retrieving
Storage
Storage Preparation (limited space) Interpretatio
n Comparing Rearranging
Sensory Inputs Acoustic Visual
Ignores large part of sensory information
Feedback loop for perception filter
previous knowledge preferences
misconceptions biases likes dislikes
A. H. Johnstone, J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74,
262. Gazzaniga et al. Cognitive Neuroscience,
1998.
4
Constructivist Model of Learning
Learning is not the transfer of material from
the head of the teacher to the head of the
learner intact, but the reconstruction of
material in the mind of the learner.
It is an idiosyncratic reconstruction of what
the learnerthinks she understands, tempered by
existing knowledge, beliefs, biases, and
misunderstandings.
-A.H. Johnstone J. Chem. Ed., (1997) 74, 262.
5
If I had to reduce all of educational psychology
to just one principle, I would say this The
most important single factor influencing learning
is what the learner already knows. Ascertain
this and teach accordingly.
D.P. Ausubel
6
The best answer to the question What is the most
effective method of teaching? Is that it depends
on the goal, the student, the content, and the
teacher. But the next best answer may
be Students teaching students.
W.J. McKeachie
7
What Have We Learned About Learning?

• That having students solve exercises at the
  board,
• That teacher demonstrations of how to use
  algorithms,
• That having students solve countless homework
  exercises,

--do not improve the students critical thinking
skills.
8
Katonas (1940) work on problem solving has shown
that the least effective strategy for teaching
students to solve problems is working examples
for the learner.
J. Dudley Herron The Chemistry Classroom ACS 1996
9
Learning Patterns

• Concrete Active
• 50 of h.s. seniors
• Action orientated
• Most practical
• Make lowest grades
• Business
• Nursing
• Allied health

Average SAT 932

• Concrete Reflective
• Thoughtful realists

10
Learning Patterns

• Abstract Active
• Like challenges

• Abstract Reflective
• Thoughtful innovators
• Scholarly
• 10 of h.s. seniors
• Make highest grades
• Arts, sciences

Average SAT 1110
Faculty prefer Abstract Reflective pattern only
about 10 prefer Concrete Active C.S. Schroeder,
Change, Sept/Oct. 1993.
11

• Concrete active learners seek
• Direct, concrete experience
• Moderate-to-high degrees of structure
• A linear approach

• Instructors
• Prefer global to the particular
• Are stimulated by concepts, ideas and
  abstractions
• Assume that students need autonomy

12
Ways to Create a Better MatchBetween Student
Learning Stylesand Faculty Approaches to
Instruction

• Use active modes of teaching and learning
• Experiential learning that actively engages their
  senses in the subject matter for example
• Small group discussions and projects
• In-class presentations and debates
• Monitored experiential learning
• Peer critiques
• Field experiences
• Developing simulations
• Case method approach

13
Teachers seldom seem to find fault with
themselves. What they teach is sound and valid
in their own eyes. When nothing is wrong with
instruction, the problem must lie with the
student. Consequently, some teachers blame the
students they are lazy, lack motivation, are
simply not intelligent enough, or something was
wrong with their prior education.
Hanno Van Keulen, Making Sense, Press Utrecht,
1995
14
Facultyassume those who fail to meet standards
are underprepared, should study harder, should
change majors, or do something else with their
lives.
S. Millar
Teaching
on Solid Ground Jossey-Bass, San
Francisco, 1996
15
Another important insight from current research
on human learning is that the acquisition and
application of knowledge are fundamentally social
acts.
R.F. Elmore in Education for Judgment, Harvard
Business School, Boston, MA. Edited by C.R.
Christensen, D.A. Garvin, and A.Sweet, 1991
16
Constructivist Theory

• Knowledge is constructed from what you already
  know.
• Students construct their own knowledge knowledge
  is personal.

17

• Four I know that Pontius Pilate is a tree.
• Five No, Pontius Pilate is not a tree at all.
• Four Yes, it was a tree, because it says He
  suffered under Pontius Pilate, so it must have
  been a tree.
• Five No, I am sure Pontius Pilate was a person
  and not a tree.
• Four I know he was a tree, because he suffered
  under a tree, a big tree.
• Five No, he was a person, but he was a very
  pontius person.

Gessell (1940) The First Five Years of Life New
York Harper
18
Learning Cycle (Karplus, Piaget)
Inductive
Deductive
E
I
A
Concept Invention (Term Introduction)
Application
Exploration

• Parallels the scientific method
• Ideas do not appear in your brain fully formed
• Being wrong is a stage on the way to being more
  right

Karplus and Thier, A New Look at Elementary
School Science, ChicagoRand McNally
(1967). Piaget, J. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 1964, 2,
176.
19
Research-Based Generalizations on Student
Learning

• Facility in solving standard quantitative
  problems is not an adequate criterion for
  functional understanding.
• Connections among concepts, formal
  representations, and the real world are often
  lacking after traditional instruction.
• Certain conceptual difficulties are not overcome
  by traditional instruction. (Advanced study may
  not increase understanding of basic concepts.)
• A coherent conceptual framework is not typically
  an outcome of traditional instruction.
• Growth in reasoning ability often does not result
  from traditional instruction.
• Teaching by telling is an ineffective mode of
  instruction for most students.

Lillian C. McDermott, Am. J. Phys. 69 (11),
1127-1137 2001.