Thriving in Academe

A Primer on How Learning Happens

Key research findings on learning expose the inner workings of this complex and beautiful process and provide practical guidance for classroom practice.

In the press of preparing and conducting classes, advising students, grading student work, serving on committees, and honoring personal responsibilities, keeping up-to-date on the latest research in psychology, education, and neuroscience journals probably seems like a low priority or unnecessary—and it can be.

But key research findings, readily available in popular and accessible publications, take learning out of its black box. The research exposes the inner workings of this complex and beautiful process and provides practical guidance on classroom practice. The adage "There is nothing so practical as good theory" could not be more true than here.

Some researchers have gone to the trouble of synthesizing the vast literature in psychology and education into handy principles of classroom practice. Chickering and Gamson distilled years of research in higher education into seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education:

1. Encourage student-faculty contact;
2. Encourage cooperation among students;
3. Encourage active learning;
4. Give prompt feedback;
5. Emphasize time on task;
6. Communicate high expectations;
7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning.

More recently, the Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning of the National Research Council has published How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, a synthesis and compendium of research in psychology, education, and neuroscience. Published by National Academy Press, the work has brought legitimacy to the study of learning and its application in the classroom. It advances three key findings related to the role of students: prior knowledge in learning, the development of competence in an area of inquiry, and metacognition, each of which has far-reaching implications for teachers.

In addition, a variety of newsletters such as the National Teaching and Learning Forum, The Teaching Professor, or those published more locally by campus teaching effectiveness centers distill recent research in many areas related to learning and make these available to a broad readership in a succinct and readable way.

So what specifically are some of these key findings, and what implications do they have for teaching?

Learning is constructing meaning
Constructivism refers to a range of contemporary theories that together represent our most current understanding of learning. Unlike more passive views of learning in which students merely memorize or receive information or are acted upon by the environment, constructivism maintains that students are active agents in the learning process, exploring, testing, and probing in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding, and, ultimately, personal meaning. The learner is curious, independent, and purposeful rather than obedient, dependent, and diligent—characteristics encouraged in more traditional classrooms.

A range of classroom practices are consistent with constructivism. With teaching strategies such as problem-based learning and the case method, students grapple with open-ended problems, fully engaging with the problems' inherent complexity and uncertainty.

When students work in groups, learning becomes a social process mediated through exchange, explanation, debate, and persuasion. Together the members of the group build a shared understanding or solution through active negotiation.

Well-crafted projects and writing assignments encourage students to engage with the complexities of course material and build their own understanding of it.

Prior knowledge
Paradoxically, what students already know is probably the most important determinant in new learning. Jean Piaget, the influential developmental psychologist, posited schemata as the symbolic representations in the mind of what we already know, mental frameworks that organize our understanding of concepts and units of knowledge as varied as mother, baseball, freedom, and automobiles. These mental frameworks serve as powerful organizers of experience, so powerful that they often distort our perception of the world around us.

Instructors need to find out as much as they can about what students already know and engage this understanding as they present new material. On the one hand, we need to help students relate new material to what they already know. On the other hand, we must uncover students' misconceptions as new material is presented and address these misconceptions through explicit instruction. If we don't, students will quickly revert to these earlier misconceptions once instruction is over.

Learning is context-dependent, acquired through experience and involvement in real-world situations. The most natural way to learn is in the context of specific real-world situations—an apprenticeship model of learning.

Supported by someone more experienced than ourselves, we acquire new knowledge according to the demands of the real-world context and practice skills whether intellectual (for example, critical thinking) or physical (for example, welding, turning a patient, pipetting) in that context.

We learn in the context in which we will ultimately use the knowledge and skill rather than in the abstract, context-less environment typical of the traditional classroom. In turn, each real-world experience serves as an organizer of new knowledge and skills, thereby enhancing retention and the ability to apply what students have learned in new situations.

A variety of teaching methods facilitate learning through real-world contexts. These methods include role plays, case studies, problem-based learning, service learning, simulations, and internships. In addition to the problem situation, structured reflection that helps students connect the experience to course material and concepts is an important component of context-based teaching.

Reflection is a critical part of learning
We often assume that if students take part in a learning experience, they will learn what we intend them to from the experience. But students bring a powerful set of expectations about schools, classes, and teachers into the classroom. Without bringing these expectations to the surface and helping students see the learning situation for what it is, students may have a different experience from what we intend.

Consequently, guided reflection is an extremely important part of the learning process. Particularly in our contemporary American culture that values experience and action but not quiet and deliberate reflection, we must help students develop and practice the skill of reflection.

Guided reflection can take a number of forms. Journals, discussion—whether as a whole class or in small groups—and focused writing assignments help students think about the implications of the experiences they have and connect them to course material and concepts.

Over time, students should internalize the ability to reflect, enhancing their ability to learn from whatever experiences they have, whether in the classroom, at the workplace, or in their personal lives.

Again, nothing is more practical than a good theory. These four key findings from the literature on learning can transform classrooms into dynamic learning environments. In the process, students connect their prior experience with new learning and learn to acquire knowledge in ways that transfer directly to the workplace, the community, and their personal lives.

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