Learning to

Learn:
Why Not Be
Explicit In The
Classroom?
Karl Wirth

Changing Landscape of
Teaching & Learning

Research on the Brain

Research on Learning
New Students & Learning Styles
Technology
Globalization

Research on Learning
Active & Learner-Centered
Teamwork & Collaborative
Roles of Transfer & Metacognition
Importance of Community & Civic Engagement
Multi-dimensional
How People Learn (NRC, 2000)
Significant Learning (Fink, 2003)

New Students & Learning

Styles
GI
Silent Boomer
GenX Millennial
1924

1942

1960

1982

Faculty are mostly Boomers and Gen Xers

Millennial Preference for Sensing Styles
Active Learning
Teamwork
Civic Engagement
Use of Technology

Technology & Globalization

Age of Communication & Multimedia
New Definition of Educated
Adaptability & Lifelong Learning

Friedman(2005)
Tapscott(1998)

Critical Competencies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Personal responsibility,
Ability to act in principled, ethical fashion,
Skill in oral and written communication,
Interpersonal and team skills,
Skills in critical thinking and problem-solving,
Respect for people different from oneself,
Ability to change,
Ability and desire for lifelong learning.

(from Gardiner, 1994)

Educating Intentional
to help college Learners
students become Intentional
Learners who can adapt to new environments,
integrate knowledge from different sources, and
continue learning throughout their lives.
Intentional Learners Are:
Empowered
Informed
Responsible
Greater Expectations
(2002 AACU Report)

Intentional Learners
Becoming an intentional learner means:
developing self-awareness about the
reason for study, the learning process
itself, and how education is used
Intentional learners are integrative thinkers
who see connections in seemingly
disparate information to inform their
decisions.
Greater Expectations
(2002 AACU Report)

Self-Directed Learners
Self-directed learners are highly
motivated, independent, and strive toward
self-direction and autonomy. They take
the initiative to diagnose their learning
needs, formulate learning goals, identify
resources for learning, select an
implement learning strategies, and
evaluate learning outcomes.
Greater Expectations
(2002 AACU Report)

2006 Panel Report

Commission on Further of
Higher
Education
we are disturbed
by evidence
that the quality of

student learning at U.S. colleges and universities

is inadequate and, in some cases, declining
employers report repeatedly that many new
graduates they hire are not prepared to work,
lacking the critical thinking, writing and problemsolving skills needed in todays workplaces
business and government leaders have
repeatedly and urgently called for workers at all
stages of life to continually upgrade their academic
and practical skills

Learning to Learn

How will you get there

if you dont know where you are going ?

Learning Co-Curriculum
Outgrowth of Faculty Teaching Seminar
Search for Overview of Learning For Students
Preparation of Learning Document
Students & Faculty

The Language of
Definition of Learning
Learning
Levels of Understanding
Significant Learning
Critical Thinking
Research on The Brain
Learning Styles
Metacognition
Affective Domain
Intellectual Development
Behavioral Dimensions of Grades

An OED Definition of
To acquire knowledge
of a subject or a
Learning
skill through education or experience,

To gain information about somebody or

something, or
To memorize something, for example
facts, a poem, or music.
Shift from recall to use
Simon (1996)

Levels of Understanding
Beyond Memorization
Blooms Taxonomy (1956)

Revised Taxonomy

RevisedbyAnderson&Krathwohl(2001)

Significant Learning
Learning that will be significant to the learner

Foundational Knowledge
Application
Integration
Human Dimension
Caring
Learning How to Learn

Relational & Interactive

Fink(2003)

Significant Learning

Critical Thinking
is the intellectually disciplined process
of actively and skillfully conceptualizing,
applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or
evaluating information gathered from, or
generated by, observation, experience,
reflection, reasoning, or communication,
as a guide to belief and action
National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking

Elements of Reasoning
Purpose & Motivation
Question or Problem
Assumptions
Point of View
Data, Information, Evidence
Concepts & Ideas
Inferences & Conclusions
Implications & Consequences

The Brain as a Dynamic

Learning Changes Physical Structure of the Brain
Organ
Synapse Addition, Experience, and Environment

Structural Changes Alter Functional Organization

Learning Literally Involves Re-Wiring the Brain
Novices and Experts

How People Learn: Brain,

Mind, Experience and
School
NRC (2000)

Learning Styles

Focus on different types of information

Operate on that information differently
Achieve understanding at different rates
No learning style is better
Instructors tend to teach to their learning style

Learning Styles
Kolb Learning Style Inventory
Sensing, Watching, Thinking, Doing
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Four Dichotomous Dimensions: Extroversion
versus Introversion, Sensing versus Intuition,
Thinking versus Feeling, Judging versus
Perspective
VARK (Visual, Aural, Reading, Kinesthetic)
Preferences for input and output of
information
Strategies for enhancing learning

Metacognitio
n
How We Think
Strategies for Learning
How Ones Thinking is Changing
Assessing Ones Own Understanding
Progress on Learning Goals

Journaling on
Metacognition
Describe the learning strategies that
you are currently using in this
course? How successful are they?
How might they be modified for more
effective learning?
Describe the methods you are using
to monitor your understanding? How
well are these working?

Affective
Domain
Attitudes
Motivation
Willingness to Participate
Valuing What is Being Learned
Incorporating Values Into Life

Journaling - Affective
Domain
How have your
attitudes about the
significance and relevance of the
course materials changed?
Describe how the content and skills
you have learned in this course might
be relevant to other courses you are
currently taking. How about in your
future education? In your career?

Intellectual Development
Perrys (1968) Study of Harvard Students
Nine Positions of Intellectual Development; Four SubCategories
Stage I - Dualism (Positions 1 & 2)
Either-Or thinking; Authorities have all the answers
Stage II - Multiplicity (Positions 3 & 4)
Recognition of uncertainty; Everyones opinions equally
legitimate
Stage III - Relativism (Positions 5 & 6)
Critical thinking; Knowledge is contextual and relativistic
Stage IV - Commitment to Knowing (Positions 7, 8 & 9)
Developing commitment and sense of being; Knowledge is the
resolution between uncertainty and the need to act

Behavioral Dimensions of
Commitment Grades
Preparation
Curiosity
Attitude
Talent
Retention
Effort
Communication Skills
Performance
fromWilliams(1993)

The Learning CoReading at Curriculum

Beginning of Semester

In-Class Discussion & Activities

Learning Styles Surveys
Reflective Journaling
Frequent Reference Throughout Semester

Learning to Learn
Document

Available from:
Macalester.edu/Geology/Wirth/CourseMaterials
Send Your Top 10 Ideas to:
wirth@macalester.edu

Opportunities for New

Conversations
About Learning . . .

Level

Bloom's Levels of
VerbExamplesThatCanRepresent
Definition
Understanding
IntellectualActivity

Evaluation

Appraise,assess,or
critiqueonbasisof
standardsorcriteria

appraise,argue,assess,attach,choose,defend,
estimate,judge,predict,rate,select,evaluate

Synthesis

Originate,integrate,or
combineideasintoa
newproductorplan

arrange,assemble,compose,construct,create,
design,develop,formulate,organize,propose

Analysis

Distinguish,classify,or
relateassumption,
hypothesesorevidence

analyze,appraise,categorize,compare,
distinguish,examine

Application

Select,transfer,anduse
dataorprinciplesto
completenewtask

apply,choose,demonstrate,employ,illustrate,
interpret,solve,use

Translate,comprehend,

classify,describe,discuss,explain,indicate,
restate,translate

Recallorrecognitionof
information,ideasand
principles

arrange,define,label,list,name,relate,recall,
repeat,reproduce

Comprehension orinterpretinformation
Knowledge

Importance of Neural Networks

The procedure is actually quite simple.

First you arrange things into different
groups. Of course, one pile may be
sufficient depending on how much there is
to do. If you have to go somewhere else,
due to lack of facilities, that is the next
step, otherwise you are pretty well set. It
is important not to overdo things. That is,
it is better to do a few things at once than
too many.

(fromBruer,1993)

Importance of Neural
Networks
Washing
Clothes
The procedure is actually quite simple.
First you arrange things into different
groups. Of course, one pile may be
sufficient depending on how much there is
to do. If you have to go somewhere else,
due to lack of facilities, that is the next
step, otherwise you are pretty well set. It
is important not to overdo things. That is,
it is better to do a few things at once than
too many.

(fromBruer,1993)

1.

Teaching, Learning &

Communication
Form Groups

2. Select and assemble teachers

3. Lesson plan
4. Two-minute lecture; no illustrations
Students take notes, no questions

(fromDuchetal.2001)

Stand and Deliver Exercise

1.

Teaching, Learning &

Communication
Teacher
conference
Students draw figure; no discussion

2. Groups work to refine representation

3. Teachers return; distribute original
4. Discussion & Reflection
Did everyone draw the same picture?
Did discussion improve representation?
How would learning be improved?
Challenge of teaching mental images
Importance of communication &
feedback