Improving Student Learning by
Addressing Student and Teacher
Misconceptions about How People
Learn
Stephen L. Chew
Department of Psychology
Samford University
Birmingham, Alabama
slchew@samford.edu
Indiana State University
March 13, 2012
Goals of the Presentation
• Discuss misconceptions about how people
learn can undermine both teaching
effectiveness and student performance
• Demonstrate how cognitive research can
improve teaching and learning
• Provide you with accurate and practical
information for improving teaching and
learning from cognitive research
• Explain the complexities of effective teaching
and learning
Three Kinds of Knowledge for
Effective Teaching
Knowledge of
Your Field
Effective
Teaching
Knowledge
Of How People
Learn
Knowledge of How
People Learn
Your Field
Beliefs about How People Learn
• Teaching requires a mental model of how people
learn.
– Most teachers cannot articulate their model of
learning, but they have one.
• Determines which teaching methods are selected,
how they are implemented and assessed, and
how to adjust if there are problems.
• If the model is accurate, the teacher will be
effective
• If it is flawed or simplistic, the teacher will be less
effective
Beliefs about How People Learn
• Students also base their study behavior based on
their models of how people (specifically
themselves) learn.
• Determines whether or not they go to class, if
and how well complete assignments, how they
study material, and when material is mastered.
• The better the model, the better the student
learns
• If the model is flawed or simplistic, it will
undermine student learning
Some Teacher Beliefs that are Related to Poor
Teaching Effectiveness
• I teach, but it isn’t my responsibility whether
students learn
• I teach this way because my integrity prevents
me from “watering down” the material
• Students won’t appreciate my teaching until
later
• My teaching is good enough; there is no need to
improve
• Good teachers are born, not made
• Teaching well only requires a good knowledge of
the material
Beliefs about Learning that
Make You Stupid
• Learning is fast
• Being good at a subject is a matter of
inborn talent rather than hard work,
• Knowledge is composed of isolated facts
• I’m really good at multi-tasking, especially
during class or studying
A Demonstration of Multi-tasking
• Countdown from 10 to 0 out loud as quickly
as you can
• Say the letter of the alphabet from A to K
out loud as quickly as you can
• Now alternate the two: Start with 10 – A,
and countdown with numbers and up with
letters, out loud as fast as you can.
When I Began Teaching I Believed:
• Even at its best, teaching is no more than an
invitation to learn
– Whether students learn is not up to me
• Teaching quality is measured in terms of how current
the information is, the accuracy of the information
and how clearly it is explained.
• The measure of a good test is that it yields a good
spread of scores.
• Rigorous teachers give hard assignments and hard
exams, and that’s the best way for students to learn.
• Really effective teachers get bad evaluations. It
means that students had to work hard and learn.
• Teachers who get high evaluations are probably more
popular than good.
Consequences of Traditional Model of
Teaching and Learning
• Lack of helpful advice to struggling students
– Study harder and study longer
– You are stupid and lazy
• Teaching is still fad driven
– Teaching methods change, but teaching does not
advance
• Lack of a framework to help teachers improve
– You can’t fix a component of teaching that you
don’t know exists
“Enlightened” Beliefs
about Teaching and Learning
• Passive learning, like lecture and note taking is bad;
active learning, like collaboration and discussion, is
good.
• The teacher as expert is bad; the teacher as facilitator
is good.
– Sage on the stage vs. the Guide from the side
• Multiple choice exams test facts and are easy; essays
test understanding and are hard.
• Teaching quality is determined by the methods you use
(collaborative, active, interactive, etc.)
– I use PBL, or clickers, or service learning, so I must be
effective
Teaching vs. Learning
• These beliefs about teaching are based on what
the teacher does, and not what the student
learns.
• Student learning is the sole criterion of effective
teaching
– What is your evidence of student learning?
• Teaching becomes a problem in applied
psychology
– As complex as any research problem
– Mastering teaching takes a lifetime, and there is
always more to learn
– The scholarship of teaching and learning
Put another way
• If teaching is nothing more than explaining
material well, then it is easy and most anyone can
learn to do it.
• If teaching is about developing student
understanding, then teaching is challenging and
you will spend your entire career mastering it.
So how accurate are your beliefs
about how people learn?
Which of the following is the MOST important
ingredient for successful learning?
1. The intention and desire to learn
2. Paying close attention to the material as you
study
3. Learning in a way that matches your
personal Learning Style?
4. The time you spend studying
5. What you think about while studying
Read the instructions for the
demonstration to yourselves and do
your best to follow them.
Levels of Processing
• Shallow processing focuses on spelling,
appearance and sound.
– Rote memorization of facts
– Flashcards
• Deep processing focuses on subjective
meaning.
– Relating new information to prior knowledge
– Making information personally meaningful
Rate each word
• Do you find the word
Pleasant?
• Does the word contain
an E or G?
Deep processing: You are
relating the words to your
own meaningful experiences.
Shallow processing: You are
focusing on spelling.
These are orienting tasks that cause you
to think in deep or shallow ways,
regardless of your intention
Four different conditions
Be forewarned
you will be
asked to
recall all
the words
Front
Left
Right
Shallow Warned
about Recall
Deep Warned
about Recall
Shallow
Not Warned
Deep
Not Warned
Study Conditions
1. If motivation to learn
matters, the front tables
should recall best
3. If both deep processing
and motivation matter, the
front right should recall best
Front
Left
Right
Shallow Warned
about Recall
Deep Warned
about Recall
Shallow
Not Warned
Deep
Not Warned
2. If deep processing
matters, The two right
sections should recall best
Intention vs. Level of Processing
Intentional
Incidental
80
69
70
68
67
60
% Recall
50
43
40
39
30
20
10
0
Shallow: E Checking
Deep: Pleasantness
Level of Procssing
Control
Which of the following is the MOST important
ingredient for successful learning?
1. The intention and desire to learn
2. Paying close attention to the material as you
study
3. Learning in a way that matches your
personal Learning Style?
4. The time you spend studying
5. What you think about while studying
Learning Strategies
• Intention and motivation to learn are not
important
• Attention and amount of study is necessary, but
not sufficient for learning
• Deep level of processing is critical for learning
– elaborative, distinctive, personal, appropriate
• Students have highly practiced poor learning
strategies
• Consider your learning activities in terms of level
of processing
– Assignments, problem sets, questions, examples
– Studying, note taking, reading, writing, listening
These findings are strongly
counterintuitive
• The more students study, the more they learn
– All study is effective, only amount and intensity
matter
• Motivation automatically improves study
effectiveness
• Learning is hard work, but not all hard work
leads to learning
Achieving Deep Processing while
Studying
As you study, follow these principles:
• Elaboration: How does this concept relate to
other concepts?
• Distinctiveness: How is this concept different from
other concepts?
• Personal: How can I relate this information to my
personal experience?
• Appropriate to Retrieval and Application: How am
I expected to use or apply this concept?
• These properties lead to development of
connected understanding
Video Series: How to Get the Most Out
of Studying
http://www.samford.edu/how-to-study/
How to Get the Most Out of Studying
• Video 1: Beliefs That Make You Fail…Or Succeed
– The first video examines common mistaken beliefs students often
possess that undermine their learning.
• Video 2: What Students Should Understand About How People
Learn
– The second video introduces a simple but powerful theory of memory,
Levels of Processing, that can help students improve their study.
• Video 3: Cognitive Principles for Optimizing Learning
– The third video operationalizes the concept of level of processing into
four principles that students can use to develop effective study
strategies.
• Video 4: Putting the Principles for Optimizing Learning into Practice
– The fourth video applies the principles of deep processing to common
study situations, including note taking and highlighting while reading.
• Video 5: I Blew the Exam, Now What?
– This video addresses what students should and should not do when
they earn a bad grade on an exam.
So shouldn’t we design pedagogies
that make students use deep
processing all the time?
Cognitive Load Theory
• Mental effort is the amount of concentration that a
person has available to devote to tasks
• Mental effort is always a limited resource
• Cognitive Load is the total amount of mental effort a
task requires to complete it
• A person can do multiple tasks at once as long as the
total cognitive load does not exceed available mental
effort
• If cognitive load exceeds available mental effort, then
performance suffers
Student mental effort must meet the demands
of instructional mental load
Cognitive Load
Extraneous Load
(Minimize)
Teachers
design
instruction
Germane Load
(Optimize)
Intrinsic Load
(Manage)
Tasks and concepts
possess difficulty
Students possess
prior knowledge,
learning strategies
and mental effort
Available
Mental
Effort
Name the days of the week out loud
and in order as fast as you can
About this Activity
•
•
•
•
Were you engaged?
Were you engaged in active problem solving?
Were you working hard and struggling?
What was the 4th day in the list?
Name the Days of the Week as Quickly as
You Can
In Alphabetical Order
• Friday
• Monday
• Saturday
• Sunday
• Thursday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
Implications of Cognitive Load Theory
• If the cognitive load demanded of students exceeds
their available mental effort, then learning will not
occur
• If the cognitive load demanded of students takes up
most or all of available cognitive effort, then there
will not be enough mental effort available for
learning or schema formation
• Deeper level of processing causes greater cognitive
load
• Teachers must monitor, manage and minimize
cognitive load to allow schema development as well
as design activities to promote schema development
Cognitive Load of Various Tasks
(adapted from Piolat, Olive & Kellogg, 2004)
Planning
Revising
Translating
Composing a text
Task..
Notetaking from a lecture
Playing Chess (experts)
Playing Chess (novices)
Reading a text
Reading sentences
Intentional learning
Incidental learning
Text Copying
0
100
200
300
Cognitive effort (IRT in ms.)
400
About Engagement, Active Learning,
and Struggle
• Engagement, being “active”, and mental
struggle do not always lead to effective
learning
• Neither does deep processing if cognitive load
is too great
• Teachers must balance deep processing and
cognitive load
• Teaching is an interaction of competing forces
The Complexity of Teaching
• The number of teaching methods is large and diverse
• No teaching method is without limitations and pitfalls
• Teaching is contextual; teaching effectiveness involves
the dynamic interaction of multiple factors
• Teaching is a contextual interaction. The best method for
any situation depends on:
•
•
•
•
the outcomes that are desired by
the characteristics of the students by
the characteristics of the instructor by
the curriculum and content
• No single best way to teach
• An effective teacher must be knowledgeable about
multiple teaching methods, select appropriately among
them to achieve desired goals, and make adjustments
during teaching.
Teaching As a Contextual Outcome of
Multiple Agents (TACOMA) Model
Characteristics of the Teacher
In-the-Moment
Reflection
Pre-event
Reflection
Topic, Content, and
Manipulate
Teaching
Strategies
Student-Teacher Rapport
and Classroom Atmosphere
Monitor,
Learning Goals
Manage,
Manipulate
Learning
Strategies
Monitor
Characteristics
of the Learner
Level of Student
Understanding
Manipulate
Form of
Assessment
Post-event Reflection
Take Home Message for Learning
• The measure of effective teaching is student
learning
• Levels of Processing:
– Engagement and active learning aren’t enough
• Cognitive Load
– Must always consider cognitive load of pedagogy
• Must create pedagogy keeping them in balance
• Teaching is a complex interaction of factors that
the teacher must manipulate, manage, and
monitor
– No single best teaching method
– Requires constant monitoring to keep students on
track.
Thank You!
Questions?
Stephen L. Chew
slchew@samford.edu