1. Effective Learning The educational process About knowledge
About learning
Cognitive load theory
Cognitive theory of multimedia learning
Metacognition
Critical thinking
Tools for knowledge representation and thinking
Active Learning
Learning Styles

2. The Educational Process?
The
Educational
Process
Value the educational process
… not just the degree
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3. The Educational Process
What is education? What are its goals?
Socrates
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel
Martin Luther King Jr.
Intelligence plus character---that is the goal of true education
C. S. Lewis
Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil
Carl Rogers
The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change
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4. The Educational Process
Goals of the educational process
(source: Dictionary.com)
Impart knowledge
Develop the powers of reasoning & judgment
Prepare intellectually for a mature life
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5. Defining knowledge
The word “knowledge” of common parlance has several connotations
See what famous persons have said about knowledge:
Albert Einstein
Information is not knowledge
Any fool can know. The point is to understand
T. S. Eliot
Where is all the knowledge we lost with information?
Alfred Tennyson
Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers
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6. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Learning Domains
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7. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Learning Domains
Keywords (verbs) of categories of the Cognitive Domain
Category Verbs describing activities in category
Creating Combine, design, generate
Evaluating Appraise, assess, justify
Analyzing Compare, contrast, separate …
Applying Compute, construct, predict …
Understanding Comprehend, explain, summarize …
Remembering Define, describe, identify
Different verbs can be used to describe Internet activities, e.g., bookmarking, annotating.
Complexity
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8. How Should We Learn? Vygotsky Ausubel Wittrock Merrill
Language and social interaction are fundamental means of education
Learning occurs just above a learner’s current competence level
Ausubel
Learners associate new knowledge with existing concepts in their mental structures
Wittrock
Make students responsible for building relations between new subject-matter and own knowledge
Merrill
Provide cognitive structure for prior and new knowledge
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9. How Do We Learn? There are several theories of learning
We describe Gagne’s learning theory
Gagne defined a “learning outcome” as change in behaviour of a learner due to a learning experience
Learning behaviour is determined by state of learning of a learner
Instructor provides stimulii that result in changes in the state of learning
A learner shows “improved bahaviour” after learning
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10. Gagne’s Theory of Learning
Learner before learning
Old
Behaviour
of learner
Stimulus-response
associations
(realize learning)
Response is a change in
internal conditions
Internal
conditions
Represent
prior learning
Learning
outcome
External
Condition
(stimulus)
Learner’s mind
Create
Cause
New
Behaviour
of learner
Events
of instruction
Learner after learning
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11. Gagne’s Theory of Learning
Three of the five categories of learning outcomes
-Executive control processes: when and how
to use intellectual skills & decl. knowledge
-Learning outcome: Problem solving, learning,
thinking
Cognitive strategies
(Techniques of thinking, analyzing, solving)
Argue, assess, compare, predict
-Nos, language, concepts about environment
-Learning outcome: Applying simple rules to
a class of situations
Intellectual skills
(“Knowing how to”: Procedural knowledge)
Classify, identify, select, apply, schedule
Recall of organized bodies of knowledge
Learning outcome: Ability to meaningfully
reconstruct and state in sentences
Verbal information
(“Knowing that”: Declarative knowledge)
Complexity
Verbs: Arrange, identify, recognize, recall
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12. Cognitive Load Theory (CLT)
Cognitive load theory characterizes the mental effort involved in learning activities
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13. Cognitive Load Theory
Cognitive load theory integrates our knowledge of cognitive structures and instructional design principles
Human cognitive architecture has a long-term memory, a working memory, and short-term sensory memories
Most human cognitive activity is determined by information held in long-term memory
This information has been learnt in order to cognitively adapt to the environment; it is in the form of schemas
Learning is defined as alteration in the long-term memory
Cognitive information is actually processed in working memory
It results in formation of schemas
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14. Cognitive Load Theory Used during Can store only 7±2 elements
for only a
few seconds
Non-schema data
is searched randomly
Schemas must
be formed and
transferred to
Long-term memory
Stores knowledge
in the form of schemas
Schema categorizes multiple
information elements
as a single element
(e.g., objects & relationships)
In absence of
knowledge, processing
is by trial-and-error
Used during
Cognitive activity
Use may be
automatic
Figure from Novak, 2006
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15. Cognitive Load Theory
Understanding occurs when all relevant info items can be processed simultaneously in working memory (WM)
If number of information items required exceeds the size of working memory
Schemas must be formed; it reduces the number of items
Forming schemas by trial-and-error consumes time; it delays understanding
Imperfect understanding occurs if schemas cannot be formed in time
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16. Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
Cognitive load has three components
Intrinsic cognitive load is the cognitive load due to natural complexity of information processing in a subject
Germane cognitive load is caused by schema formation while learning
Extraneous cognitive load is caused by the manner in which information is presented to a learner. For example,
Problem solving causes large extraneous load because it causes heavy load on working memory that interferes with schema forming
Means-ends analysis causes large extraneous load
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17. Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
Also called
propositional model
Spoken
words
Written
words
Pictures
Integration of verbal and
pictorial models with each
other & with prior knowledge
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18. Design of Multimedia Instruction
Combining text and pictures
Their manner of presentation should facilitate integration
It can happen if text and pictures are
Semantically related (coherence condition)
Presented closely together (contiguity condition)
Temporal contiguity : At the same time
Spatial contiguity : Visually close to one another
Lack of spatial contiguity causes split-attention condition,
which increases the cognitive effort
Printed words appearing close to a picture reduce the
split-attention effect
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19. Design of Multimedia Instruction
Cognitive Load Reduction in MMI (Mayer, Moreno, 2003)
Three kinds of cognitive demands
Essential processing
Making sense of the presented material
Incidental processing
Not essential, but required by the design of learning task, e.g., processing background music, animation, etc.
Representational processing
Processes aimed at holding a mental representation in working memory over a period of time, e.g., in case of split-attention
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20. Metacognition*
Metacognition is “thinking about thinking”, i.e., thinking about one’s own thinking processes such as
Study skills
Memory capabilities
Ability to monitor learning
Source: Wikipedia
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21. Metacognitive strategies
Metacognition
Metacognition has 2 components:
Metacognitive knowledge: Knowledge about cognitive processes, which can be used to control cognitive processes. Flavell (1979) divided it into 3 kinds of knowledge
Declarative
knowledge
Knowledge about
Person variables
- Knowledge of how humans learn and process info
- Knowledge about one’s own learning process
Procedural
knowledge
Knowledge about
Task variables
- Knowledge about nature of task and
its processing demands
- Sequential processes used by a person
to control cognitive activities
- Knowledge about when and where to use them
Conditional
knowledge
Metacognitive strategies
2. Metacognitive regulation: Use M. knowledge to reach cognitive goal
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22. Metacognition Metacognitive regulation: Contains 3 skills
Planning: Appropriate selection of strategies and correct allocation of resources
Monitoring: Be aware of one’s comprehensive and task performance
Evaluating: Appraise the final product of a task and efficiency of its performance. Re-evaluate strategies if needed
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23. Powers of Reasoning and Judgment
Rene Descartes
I think; therefore I am
Confucius
He who learns but does not think, is lost!
Thomas A Edison
Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think
Stephen King
The thought process can never be complete without articulation
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24. How Should We Think?
We should use purposeful and reflective judgment in deciding what to believe and what to do in response to
Observations
Experience
Verbal or written expressions
Arguments
It is called critical thinking
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25. Critical Thinking
Example: How to obtain answer to a question by using web resources?
Analyze the information available from multiple sources
Validate the information from each source, rejecting unreliable/illogical information
Correlate information from various sources to make a cohesive whole
Take care of differences in terminology used in various sources
Express the answer effectively
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26. Critical Thinking A critical thinker*
Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely
Gathers and assesses relevant information
Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions
Thinks open-mindedly about alternatives
Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems; without being unduly influenced by others
A critical thinker examines and improves own thinking
It is a portable skill; it helps in all aspects of life
*Source: Wikipedia
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27. Tools for Representing Knowledge and Thinking
Many issues can be tackled effectively if knowledge can be represented
Planning a course or curriculum
Checking whether a learner has prerequisites or prior learning
Detecting misconceptions in a learner’s mind
Evaluating whether learning has occurred in a course
Represent knowledge before and after a course and compare
Two widely used tools are
Concept Maps
Vee Diagrams
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28. Concept Map Concept map for “Why seasons occur”
A free online concept mapping tool:
IHMC CmapTools
Figure from Novak, 2006
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29. Vee Diagram
The Vee diagram is based on the view that “knowledge is constructed” and not “discovered”
Construction of new knowledge begins with our observations of events or objects through the concepts we already possess
We make records of our observations and use them while constructing knowledge
Thus, concepts, events or objects, and observations are key elements of knowledge construction
A focus question determines the scope of the inquiry
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30. Vee Diagram 2 1 Path enables thinking based on events/objects in focus
Methods
guided by
stated
principles
Given
info
Prior
knowledge
Path
enables thinking based on events/objects in focus 1
Path
enables construction of an answer 2
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31. Active Learning Quotes related to active learning Benjamin Franklin
Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn
Phil Collins
In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn
Will Rogers
A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people
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32. Active Learning
In active learning, learners are responsible for their own learning.
Typically, they are expected to achieve learning by actively participating it learning activities
It requires learners to have a background in the topic
Some active learning techniques
Think-pair-share: Learners first work in pairs, and then share their results with the class
Learning by teaching: Learners take turns teaching to one another
Collaborative learning groups
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33. Active Learning
Source: Internet
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34. Learning Styles
The learning style of a learner indicates how the learner prefers to receive and process information
There are several dimensions to the learning style*
Perception: What type of information is preferred by a learner?
Input: Which external channel (visual / audio) is preferred for receiving information?
Organization: What kind of organization of material (facts / principles) is preferred?
Processing: How does the learner prefer to process information?
Understanding: How does the learner progress toward understanding?
* Felder and Silverman, Engg Edu 1988
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35. Learning Styles
What is your style?
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36. Learning Styles Perception: Sensing and Intuitive learners
Sensing learners like observing, gathering data through senses
Sensing learners like facts, data, and experimentation
Intuitive learners like speculation, imagination, hunches
Intuitive learners prefer principles and theories
They like symbols and can translate them into their meanings
Input: Visual and auditory learners
Visual learners remember best what they see
Pictures, diagrams, films, demonstrations
Auditory learners remember sounds, words
Most persons are visual learners
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37. Learning Styles
Organization: Inductive learners proceed from data to generalities; deductive learners go in opposite direction
Inductive style is the natural human learning style
Deductive style is natural teaching style for technical subjects
Processing: Active and reflective learners
Active learners work well in group
Reflective learners work better by themselves or in pairs
Understanding: Sequential and global learners
Sequential learners can learn material as it is presented
Global learners understand in fits and starts
Sequential learners: good in analysis, global learners: synthesis
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