How People Learn

Do you ever wonder what research says about the science of learning?  According to the National Research Council's 2000 report How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, there are three key principles that form the foundations of effective learning.

1. Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works.  If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom.

After reading this key principle, I immediately thought of Marzano's element #18 examining errors in reasoning.  Gone are the days of the mindset that children our empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge.  All our students come to us with preconceptions about how the world works, which include beliefs and prior knowledge acquired through various experiences. It is our job to understand their preconceptions and prior knowledge in order to meet the needs of our students and provide them with a meaningful learning experience. 

2. To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

This principle makes me think of the importance of building connections and forming thoughts into concepts.  This can happen through use of thinking maps and concept mapping.

3. A meta-cognitive approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.

This principle aligns to Marzano's element #1 learning goals and rubrics, element #2 tracking student progress, and element #3 reflecting on learning.  When students are a part of the learning process and must track their progress and understand how they are learning the content, the learning becomes relevant.  Students take control of their own learning.

It's important for teachers to give their students many opportunities to reflect on their learning, because the learning itself is rarely sufficient to create understandings of a sort that can be transferred readily to other situations, and because the absence of opportunities for reflecting on one's learning is at the heart of why some kinds of learning are simply barren and infertile if you will, and other kinds of learning turn out to be highly productive and usable again and again.  The heart of it is creating opportunities to step back and analyze and reflect on your own practice.  It is no accident that when we prepare people to do very complex and important skills, we create opportunities for reflection.  (The Learning Classroom: Theory into Practice) 

Think about how these principles play a role in your classroom.  Thank you for taking the time to read this message.  Have a wonderful week.