HOW DO PEOPLE LEARN?

1. Contemporary Principles & Concepts Applied to Medical Education HOW DO PEOPLE LEARN?

2. The meaning of knowinghas shifted from being able to remember and repeat information to being able to find and use it Herbert Simon, 1966

3. LEARNING: Past - Present - Future • Early 20th century • 3 Rs • End of 20th century • Read critically • Clear self expression • Solve complex problems • Early 21st century • Knowledge management • Sustainable learning

4. OBJECTIVES • Describe the basic paradigm of how people learn • Match teaching-learning methods & techniques to your context & learning objectives • Describe & apply 3-4 methods - techniques to activate learning

5. CYC: HOW DO PEOPLE LEARN?

6. “Nobody tells productions when to act; they wait until conditions are ripe and then activate themselves. By contrast, chefs in the other kitchens merely follow orders. Turing units are nominated by their predecessors, von Neurmann operations are all prescheduled, and LISP functions are invoked by other functions. Production system teamwork is more laissez-faire: each production acts on its own, when and where its private conditions are satisfied. There is no central control, and individual productions never directly interact. All communication and influence is via patterns in the common workspace – like anonymous “to whom it may concern” notices on a public bulletin boards”(Haugeland, 1985 in Schmidt, 1993)

7. Memorize this Text A newspaper is better than a magazine. A seashore is a better place than the street. At first, it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skills but it’s easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get too close. Rain, however, soaks very fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. One needs lots of room. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose from it, however, you will not get a second change. Bransford & Johnson, 1972 in Schmidt, 1993.

8. Knowledge is Decentralized & Linked to Stimulus & Context • Dog Bike • Bird School • Chair Flower • Man House • Genoa ESME

9. Context & Remembering Experiment • Water - Land • Land - Water • Water - Water • Land - Land Duncan Godden and Alan Baddeley (1975)

10. Context & Remembering Duncan Godden and Alan Baddeley (1975)

11. 1 2 3 Groups LEARNING WITH UNDERSTANDING 1. Read &  text + Lecture 2. Did not read text, actively compared data + lecture 3. 2x time working with data + no lecture

12. PRE-EXISTING KNOWLEDGE FOCUS ON PROCESS OF KNOWING • History shapes receptivity to information • New knowledge merges with pre-existing knowledge in multiple networks • Teachers need to know and activate students’ history (knowing)

13. LESSONS FROM COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY • Problem solving is context bound • Data collection is influenced by questions being entertained • Context influences understanding & remembering • Timely feedback improves transfer of information

14. LEARNING WITH UNDERSTANDING • Expert problem solving requires rich body of knowledge • Beyond memory • Usable • Connected • Organized around concepts

15. LEARNING WITH UNDERSTANDING • Takes time • Reorganize understanding with new information • Test for understanding • Disconnected facts not sufficient

16. Memory and Expertise • Experts’ command of concepts shapes understanding of new information • Patterns, Relationships, Discrepancies • Extract meaning better than novices • Select and remember relevant information better Possible Position Bizarre Position

17. ORGANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE • Core concepts and ideas • Experts – use principles • Novices – use surface features • Effortless recall of information

18. Professional authenticity A SIMPLE MODEL OF COMPETENCE Performance or hands on assessment Does Shows how Written, Oral or Computer based assessment Knows how Knows Miller GE. The assessment of clinical skills/competence/performance. Academic Medicine (Supplement) 1990; 65: S63-S7.

19. META Changed in position or form Altered -- Transposed Going Beyond, higher Substitutions in the 1,3 position in a benzene ring COGNITION The process of knowing in the broadest sense, including perception, memory, & judgment META ~ COGNITION(REFLECTION)

20. REFLECTION (METACOGNITION)(Adaptive Expertise) • Monitor own understanding • Identify new information for understanding • Consistent with what is known? • Analogies to advance understanding • Metaphors

21. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS • Actively inquire into students’ thinking • Create situations to reveal thinking • Build on their understanding

22. CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING AND TRANSFER • All new learning involves connecting to previous learning • Abstractions help – simile; metaphor • Learning is an active process

23. CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING AND TRANSFER • Time to learn • Deliberate practice • Importance of feedback in learning • Contrasting cases- “what if…” • Context • Active approaches to ‘transfer’ ‘level jumping’

24. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING • Promote reciprocal teaching • Explicate-Elaborate-Monitor • Content expertise  pedagogical expertise

25. LEARNING FOR UNDERSTANDING • Adequate time • Deliberate practice with metacognition (reflection) • Feedback about understanding • Compare & contrast • What if… • Elaboration, Variable Iteration

26. THREE TECHNIQUES • Draw out and work with pre-existing understanding • In-depth teaching, multiple examples • Reflection on and in action (metacognition) in specific subject areas

27. TEACHING TECHNIQUES(Making Understanding Visible) • Consult your colleague • Reciprocal teaching • Polling the class • Frequent formative assessments • Tap into understanding • In-depth vs. superficial teaching • Prototypes

28. TEACHING TECHNIQUES(Making Understanding Visible) • Develop expertise in how students learn your subject • Develop pedagogical expertise • In-depth assessment • Emphasize metacognition (reflection)

29. TEACHING TECHNIQUESFEEDBACK • Timely • Constructive • Mutually agreed • Results in a plan • Supportive • “I” & “You” messages

30. Dog Bird Chair Man Genoa Bike School Flower House ESME Knowledge is Decentralized & Linked to Stimulus & Context

31. WHAT WILL YOU DO?NEXT STEPS

32. PLUS DELTA

34. OBJECTIVES • Describe the basic paradigm of how people learn • Match teaching-learning methods & techniques to your context & learning objectives • Describe & apply 3-4 methods - techniques to activate learning

35. Additional Resources • http://hsc.unm.edu/som/TED • www.menninconsulting.com • How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School (2000) http://www.nap.edu/books/0309070368/html/ • BEME bibliography http://www.bemecollaboration.org/bemebibl.htm

36. Additional Resources • Dent & Harden (eds) (2006). A Practical Guide for Medical Teachers. Edinburgh, Elsevier. • L. Dee Fink (2000). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: an integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. • Bransford & Johnson (1972) Journal of verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 11: 717-726