Applying the Science of Learning at Lawrence Tech Milt Hakel

Alfonso X, The Learned  Lived in Challenging Times  Wrote on law and history  Wrote poetry  Deposed by Dukes and his son

“Had I been present at the creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe.” Alfonso X, the Learned, King of Spain,

Challenging Times in Higher Ed  Rising Costs  Shrinking Resources  Calls for “Accountability”  Consumerist Attitudes  Ill-prepared Students  Low Faculty Morale

Teaching Experience, Learning Courses

Alverno Impact

Learning That Lasts  Alverno College’s longitudinal study  Assessment-as- learning By Mentkowski and Associates, Jossey-Bass, 2000

The Issue: Knowledge is necessary for effective performance, but Knowledge is not sufficient for effective performance Measuring knowledge is not enough

Learning goes beyond knowing to being able to do what one knows

Key Questions  Who is learning?  Who is learning for?

Science of Learning  An emerging field  Dependable findings  Key publication: How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School  Fragmented literatures  Scattered applications, little replication

A great beginning….  Learner-centered  Knowledge- centered  Assessment- centered  Community- centered

The Goal: Better Learning  How can we apply and extend new knowledge of how people learn, think, and remember?  How can we promote engagement in learning?  How can we foster durable learning and effective academic performance?

Teach for long-term retention and transfer Useful Hints for Better Learning The first and only instructional goal:

Principles of Transfer  Effort and Practice  Desirable Difficulties  Multiple Representations  Mental Models Useful Hints for Better Learning

Learning from Feedback  Kluger & DeNisi’s (1996) meta- analysis –Experimental vs. control, studies back to 1917 –Feedback yields poorer performance in 1/3 of cases  Keep the focus on the task to be learned and motivation to perform it Effort and Practice

Practice at Retrieval  Generate responses, with minimal cues, repeatedly, over time, with varied applications.  Recall becomes more fluent, more likely to occur across contexts and knowledge domains. Effort and Practice

Varied Conditions at Learning  Makes learning more effortful (and often less enjoyable).  Also results in better learning (long- term retrieval). Desirable Difficulties

Re-Representing  Learners take information presented in one format (e.g., words)  Translate it to another format (e.g., a schematic diagram) Multiple Representations

Past Learning  What and how much gets learned in any situation depends heavily on prior knowledge and experience. Mental Models

Present at the Creation  It is clear that knowledge and learning are constructed by learners.  Our task as teachers is to be present at the creation of learning by the learner. Mental Models

Principles  Encourage Effort and Practice  Introduce Desirable Difficulties  Request Multiple Representations  Build upon Mental Models Learning goes beyond knowing to being able to do what one knows

Connecting the Principles John Bransford,

How will you transfer these principles of learning to your teaching practice?

Student-Centered Assessment  How do you get students to become active, lively learners?  How do you get students to seek feedback?  How do you get students to want to be assessed?  How do you get students to want to be videotaped?

Embedded Formative Assessments in Courses  Constructed responses  Clearly defined, observable learning outcomes  Reflective self assessment  Longitudinal tracking of development

Some Tactics and Strategies  Freshman research  Poster sessions in intro course  Team and individual research projects  Review of “journal submission”  Given an hypothesis, devise a method section

More Tactics and Strategies  Competitive group projects  Leverage the program assessment requirements of accreditors  Reinvent general education  Commencement addresses

Behavior Modeling  Focus on real (personally relevant) problems  Show examples of effective performance  Identify/encode key behaviors  Rehearse/role play/enact  Feedback and discussion

Three Excellent Sites  MERLOT, the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching  Classroom Assessment Techniques  Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide

Formative Assessments  Topics –Scientific Foundations –Design Principles –Assessment Practices –Future Directions  By Pellegrino, Chudowsky, and Glaser; National Academy Press, 2001

What ARE the core abilities that education should foster?  Critical and constructive thinking –analysis, synthesis, problem solving, judgment, decision making  All facets of communication –write, present, read, listen, information literacy, numeracy  Social interaction –influence others, participate in groups and teams, and lead in diverse settings and cultures

Discovering Shared Outcomes at BGSU  Faculty wrote outcomes for each major  Outcome statements for Arts & Sciences majors showed some common themes –Literacies –Modes of Inquiry –Etc.  Content analysis extended to all colleges, majors, and programs

Computer Science  Program in a higher-level language  Work effectively with a client and members of a software development team to analyze, specify, design, implement, test, and document software that meets the client's needs  Acquire new computer-related skills independently as technologies evolve  Communicate technical concepts to non- technical persons, both orally and in writing  Develop a plan to integrate hardware and software into a particular environment

Biological Sciences  Understand the scientific process as shown in designing and implementing experiments.  Evaluate evidence and differentiate between scientific fact and unscientific arguments.  Present scientific information in appropriate oral and written formats to scientific and nonscientific audiences.  Understand the basic principles of living systems as shown by reading and comprehending primary research literature in the Biological Sciences  Apply knowledge of Biology to address a wide variety of needs and problems, locally and globally.

Psychology  Exhibit broad knowledge about human behavior from a variety of psychological perspectives (e.g., biological, cognitive, developmental, social)  Demonstrate skills in research and other forms of inquiry in order to develop new knowledge about behavior  Communicate knowledge of psychology to others  Critically evaluate existing psychological knowledge

72 Sets of Departmental Learning Outcomes, at BGSU  Learning outcomes for 72 majors and programs are printed in the undergraduate catalog.  They are shown on-line at (look for Learning Outcomes, Departmental Outcomes, and also look at the Rubrics)

BGSU’s Learning Outcomes  Investigate – observe or study by close examination and systematic inquiry  Connect – place or establish in relationship  Write – author or compose  Present – make a presentation  Participate – have a part or share in something  Lead – guide or influence a group to achieve goals

Prototype Rubrics  Set high expectations and make them public  Use rubrics to inform teaching and learning –In classes –Across classes within a major –Across majors –In co-curricular activities  Adapt to specific contexts, activities, and assignments  Use rubrics in reflective self assessment

Electronic Portfolios  Students create, edit, and upload examples of their best performances for regular review, anytime, anywhere  Both baseline performance and the cumulative record of development will be easily retrievable by students themselves, advisors, instructors, and other authorized university staff members

FFalcon.with.BGSU.edu

Wrapping Up  Focus on learning  Figure out what’s in it for students  Write measurable learning outcomes  Identify measures and data  Collect data, and analyze and interpret it  Do something based on the findings!  Document what you’re doing!!

When You Think You Have Seen Everything  Gee, James Paul, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy

Jack Matson  Always Prefer Intelligent Fast Failure  To Slow Stupid Failure

The first and only goal: Teach for long-term retention and transfer

Learning-Centered Institutions  Achieve clarity about learning outcomes  Coordinate teaching and assessment to promote student learning  Align structures and resources to serve student learning  Work continuously to improve the environment for learning