Unit 1:

How Learning Works

Public domain Image by geralt on Pixabay

Think-Pair-Share

There is a nice book, "Why Do I Need a Teacher When I've Got Google" by Ian Gilbert. Share your thought on the title of the book. Submit your response here.

Do you think the way students learn in the 21st-century environment has changed dramatically?

How Learning Works

To understand teaching we must understand learning first. In the book "How Learning Works — 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching", the authors outlined the 7 principles of learning:

How Does Students' Prior Knowledge Affect Their Learning?
How Does the way Students Organise Knowledge Affect Their Learning?
What Factors Motivate Students to Learn?
How Do Students Develop Mastery?
What Kinds of Practice and Feedback Enhance Learning?
Why Do Student Development and Course Climate Matter for Student Learning?
How Do Students Become Self-Directed Learners?

Teachers sometimes lose sight of the learning theory and main principles of learning during planning, designing and delivering of the course. This could lead to the misalignment between the learning outcomes, assessment and the teaching and learning activities.

Therefore, it is very important that teachers have a strong grasp and understanding of the principles of learning to guide them in becoming competent 'learning designers'.

I wrote a review of the book which was published in the Journal of Food Science Education. Read it here.

Watch the videos below and summarise FIVE key points on Padlet:

Born to Learn — Born to Learn is a fascinating animation series (thank you to Born to Learn Channel) aimed to provide easy-access to the exciting new discoveries constantly being made about how humans learn! This video discusses the philosophy of learning and how it evolves from baby to a grown up adult.
How Does Students' Prior Knowledge Affect Their Learning? — This presentation is a summary of important points from the first chapter of the book "How Learning Works - 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching" by Ambrose and others. In Chapter 1 (How Does Students' Prior Knowledge Affect Their Learning) the authors discuss the importance of teachers to recognise that students bring with them prior knowledge acquired naturally through daily life activities or in prior courses they have studied.
How to Activate Prior Knowledge? — The continuation of the above video. Watch here.

Bloom 's Taxonomy

The diagram below is the well-known taxonomy of educational objectives formulated by Benjamin Bloom and his associates in the 1950s. This taxonomy is very helpful in formulating specific and clear learning outcomes.

Reflect on your own course design and delivery. Have you covered both lower-order thinking and higher-order thinking skills sufficiently? Elaborate on your answer.
Although there are in fact three taxonomies (cognitive, affective and psychomotor), teachers refer to the one in the cognitive domain more frequently. Why?

Submit your response here.

What Makes Learning Significant?

Fink, in his book, Creating Significant Learning Experiences, created a new taxonomy based on six kinds of significant learning. He defined learning in terms of change. For learning to occur, there has to be some kind of change in the learner. No change, no learning. Significant learning requires that there be some kind of lasting change that is important in terms of the learner's life.

Shift 1 in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2015 (Higher Education) aims to produce balanced, holistic and entrepreneurial graduates. How do you think the Taxonomy of Significant Learning can be used effectively in curriculum design and delivery to achieve Shift 1?

Submit your reflection here.

KNOW YOUR STUDENTS

The Adult Learning Theory

In Andragogy or adult learning theory, it is presumed that adults have specific learning requirements. The adult learning theory also suggests that the best learning environments are the ones that are collaborative and utilise a problem-based approach.It is important to note that not every student is in the adult learner stage. With this in mind, it is encouraged that students be made aware of the traits of adult learners, and aspire to gain a few of these characteristics.

How to Apply Adult Learning Theory to Online Learning

When designing the online portion of blended learning, it's important to incorporate the adult learning principles for maximum impact. Read this article, 9 Tips To Apply Adult Learning Theory to eLearning to get some tips.

Try out the quizzes below.

Now that you have learned essential concepts and principles of learning theory, let's dive in to explore more about blended learning. >>>

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