In any pedagogy it is of the highest importance for the teacher to ascertain if students are successfully meeting the expected learning results. To determine student success, a teacher must define what success is; that is to say a teacher must define learning and acknowledge that learning processes are specific to one’s experience.
In a misguided definition, learning may be understood as recalling information. In this scenario, a learner is required to memorize information from a source, such as a reading or a lecture and be able recognize this information at a later date, possibly for a test. Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) disagree with this perception. They contend that informational texts need to avoid emphasizing “memory rather than understanding” (p. 8). Learning in its true form is far more than memorizing names, numbers, or periods of time.
A contemporary definition of learning is focused on a complete evaluation of a concept. Under this definition, the purpose of learning is to understand a subject, so that the learner is able to retrieve and apply what he or she has learned. According to Bransford et al. (2000), “people must learn to recognize when they understand and when they need more information” (p. 12). This notion of taking responsibility for one’s learning has recently been emphasized in the Common Core Standards as “student centered” learning.
Once “learning” is clearly defined by the instructor, he or she must address the reality that no two students come from the same background, and as a result do not have shared experiences with the topic being taught. In other words, each student is beginning the path to the same finish line at different starting point. It is important for teachers to diagnose where students are beginning a topic of study so prior knowledge can be corrected or built upon (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 15).
For example, in the government class I teach, I often have students who enter the class with preconceptions about political ideologies and parties. Each students’ preconception has, of course, a different level of accuracy. Their knowledge of political ideologies and parties comes from various sources, ranging from family to media, and it is important that I engage their beliefs in order to address their misnomers. If I do not, students will struggle to grasp deeper concepts because of their inaccurate foundation. An accurate foundation of factual knowledge is a prerequisite to be competent in any area of study (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 16).
In addition to the misconceptions that students enter the classroom with, it is important to differentiate the novice learners from the experts. As Bransford et al. (2000) states, “experts have acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret information” (p. 31). This is something I have observed in my government class. Students who enter the class with a well-established political bias and understanding of their own ideology are able to find parallels when learning about different ideologies. Additionally, they can make correct assumptions about other ideologies more readily than the novice students who are studying with a basic understanding. When looking at the same notes or presentation, the expert student will understand certain ideas that the novice did not notice (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 36).
The goal for all students is to have automatic and fluent retrieval of information because these are characteristics found in experts (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 44). The experts know how to examine a task and find the best solution. Students can become “adaptive experts”, using techniques such as models of “how experts organize and solve problems (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 49)” and they will “approach new situations flexibly and learn through their lifetimes” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 48).
It is equally important for expert and novice learners that instructors “pay close attention to the individual progress of each student and devise tasks that are appropriate” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 23). To keep track of student progress and increase metacognition, there should be continual assessments throughout each unit of study (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 24). The use of educational technology would certainly help the teacher facilitate precise assessments of student progress.
Ultimately, without the foundational knowledge of how people acquire and transfer information the teacher cannot support learning in the classroom that is appropriate to a diverse group of students. Lessons that build upon or expand the learnings of experts and novices will help to create a more purposeful curricula.
References
Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind,
Experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved
from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368
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