What is Learning

L. Gardiner in Redesigning Higher Education: Producing

Dramatic Gains in Student Learning (1994) makes the point-

that if our students do not understand the learning process, the chief
engine of educationthey are not going to learn very much in our
courses no matter what we do.
One of the most valuable actions we could take to improve learning
and thus the productivity of both our students and our institutions
would be to teach our students how to learn.
Learn, Unlearn and Relearn
The illiterate of the 21st century
will not be those who cannot
read and write, but those who
cannot learn, unlearn, and
relearn.--Alvin Toffler
What Do Employers and Grad
Schools Want?
Not a single employment
recruiter or graduate school
admission recruiter has ever said
What we are looking for in a
college graduate is someone
who is great at note-taking and
excels on multiple choice tests
Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon
in 1996 put it this way:

The meaning of knowing has

shifted from being able to
remember and repeat information
to being able to find and use it.
The goal of education is better
conceived as helping students
develop the intellectual tools and
learning strategies needed to
acquire the knowledge necessary to
think productively.
Peter Smith (2004) put it this way:

At Yale or Yakima, backpack

wearing students absorb
knowledge from someone wiser,
regurgitate that knowledge to
the wiser persons satisfaction,
receive grades and move on to
sit in more classes; absorb
knowledge from someone wiser
and so on.
Courage to Change
It takes a lot of courage to release
the familiar and seemingly
secure, to embrace the new. But
there is no real security in what is
no longer meaningful. There is
more security in the adventurous
and exciting, for in movement
there is life, and in change there
is power.
Alan Cohen
The Human Brain
The human brain weighs about
three (3) pounds

Contains 86 billion neurons

These neurons can make 40

quadrillion connections

(Ratey, 2001, Goldberg, 2009)

Understanding the Brain and
Learning
Brain systems relation to complex cognition and behavior can
only be explained satisfactorily by a comprehensive blend of
theories and facts related to all the levels of organization of
the nervous system, from molecules and cells to physical and
social environments.

(Antonio Damasio, Head of the

Beware of
Department of Neurology at the
University of Iowa Medical Center)
 20 years of fMRI Studies on Cognition
In the January 2013 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Mather, Cacioppo, and Kanwisher concluded:

"The best approach to answering questions about cognition, "is a synergistic
combination of behavioral and neuroimaging methods, richly complemented by the wide
array of other methods in cognitive neuroscience."
( Perspectives on Psychological Science: Volume 8, Number 1. )
The Future of Teaching and Learning Research
Mind, Brain and Education
Education Neuroscience Psychology
PedagogyCognitive Neuroscience Development Psychology
Special Ed Neuroethics Neuropsychology
Gifted Ed Neuropsychology
Developmental Neuroscience
Math

Biology Chemistry Social Science

Biopsychology Neurochemistry Sociology
Neurobiology Psychopharmacology Anthropology
Genetics Toxicology Philosophy
Elkhonon Goldberg in his book The Executive Brain:
Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind defines learning

When the organism is exposed to a new pattern of signals from the

outside world, the strengths of synaptic contacts (the ease of signal
passage between neurons) and local biochemical and electric
properties gradually change in complex distributed constellations. This
represents learning, as we understand it today.
Brain is not a computer
Computer Recall of a Phone Number

Phone Number 796-7766

Brains Recall of a Phone Number
My
My
wifes children
Last time
name talked
My with me
name

How
she
feels
Where about
I live me
Reason
for
calling
Kolb Experiential Learning
Model

Kolb
learning
cycle arises
naturally
from the
structures of
the brain
Zulls Natural Human Learning Process
Active testing

Concrete
Abstract experiences
hypotheses

Reflective
Observations
Neuroscience and Learning
We have accumulated enough
knowledge about the
mechanisms and molecular
underpinnings of cognition at
the synaptic and circuit levels to
say something about which
processes contribute (James Bibb of the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2011)
We are Born to Learn
The brain was meant to explore and learn
Teachers Definition of Learning

Learning is the ability to use information after significant

periods of disuse
and
it is the ability to use the information to solve problems
that arise in a context different (if only slightly) from the
context in which the information was originally taught.

(Robert Bjork, Memories and Metamemories, 1994)

Bjorks Explanation
Under this definition, learning has not occurred unless students can
recall the information when they need it, for use later in the course or
in future life activities. For example, having information for a test, at
that moment in time, does not mean the same as having learned the
information for long term use. Testing that measures just short term
learning does a disservice to students by giving them a false sense of
competence (Bjork, p. 186)
Basic Finding from
Neuroscience Research

It is the one who does the work

who does the learning ( Doyle , 2008).
Optimizing students opportunities
to learn
The first is to involve students in as much first hand learning as
possible. Many college students believe that much of the work that
goes into their learning should be done by the teacher.
This is not surprising as that has been their experience for much of
their previous education. The students mantra of tell me what you
want me to know and I will learn it and give it back to you is alive
and thriving in higher education today.

But this mantra does not lead to optimal learning.

Traditional Student Roles and
Responsibilities
Roles
Take lecture notes
Listen in class
Read textbook
Read other assigned reading
Take tests and quizzes
Take part in recitation
Responsibilities
Work mostly alone
Seek out the teacher if you had
questions
Read independently
Develop own study habits
Develop own time management
program
Organize information
Write papers on assigned topics
Memorize
Learner Centered Students Roles

Self-teach
Collaborate with others
Work in teams/groups
Take part in discovery learning
Teach others
Evaluate own learning
Evaluate others learning
Perform/present learning publicly
Learn new how to learn skills and
strategies
Learner Centered Students Roles

Solve authentic problems Listen in Class

Engage in reflection Read the textbook
Demonstrate use of teacher Write papers
feedback to improve performance
Take tests and quizzes
Take learning risks
Take part in recitation
Practice more
Do homework
Take class notes

Learner-Centered Students
Responsibilities
1.Make choices about ones own learning 6. Give formative feedback on learning to
peers

2. Take more control of ones own learning 7. Do self-evaluations of ones own learning

3. Give input to the evaluation 8. Spend more time outside of class learning

9. Working with people from outside the

4. Give input to assessment methods of the university on service projects or other
course authentic learning activities

5. Give input to course rules and guidelines

Walking Discussion of What
Teachers Dont Control about the
Learning Process
Walking Discussion of What
Teachers Do Control about the
Learning Process
What Instructors Dont Control
about
the Learning Process
Exercise
Genes Prior knowledge*
Family life Language skills*
Home environment Work Ethic
Stress levels Financial situation
Sleep Other priorities
Diet Mindset
Hydration Learning strategies/disabilities
What Instructors Do Control about
the Learning Process
Our emotional readiness to
teach
Our level of organization and
planning
The quality of our learning
activities, assessments and
content
Respect we have for students
What Instructors Do Control about
the Learning Process
Our accessibility to students
The level of challenge/expectation
The level of support of the learner
Level of overall preparedness
Quality and timeliness of feedback
The learning environment of the
classroom/online