We Are Teaching, but Are They Learning? Research Findings on How People Learn

1. We Are Teaching, but Are They Learning?Research Findings on How People Learn Christos Zahopoulos, PhD Executive Director, Center for STEM Education and Associate Professor, Engineering & EducationNortheastern University

2. EVOLUTION OF THE MATH PROBLEM • 1960 “A Logger sells a truckload of Lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5’s of his price. What is the profit?” • 1970 (traditional math) “A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5’s of his price, in other words, 80. What is his profit?”

3. MATH PROBLEM (Continued) • 1970 (new math) “A Logger exchanges a set L of lumber for a set M of money. The cardinality of set M is 100, and each element is worth $1. Make one hundred dots representing the elements of set M. The set C is a subset of M, and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set P of profits?” • 1980 “A logger sells a truckload of wood for $100. His cost of production is $80, and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.”

4. MATH PROBLEM (Continued) • 1990 (outcome-based education) “By cutting down beautiful trees, a logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? (Topic for class participation: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel?)”

5. MATH PROBLEM (Continued) • 2000 (The ENRON-Anderson way) “A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $120. How does “his accounting firm” determine that his profit margin is $60?” (Hint: Ignore GAAP, use pro-forma methods and bribe everyone from the president down.)

6. Vision and Mission Shape and implement a coherent K-20 STEM Education Policy for the University that will have an impact both locally and nationally • Funding Facts • External Funding Sources • Federal (NSF) • State (MA DESE) • Corporate Support (EMC) • Private Foundations • Individual Donors Programs • K-12 Teachers: PD Graduate Courses, RET, AP Support • K-12 Students: Bridge to AP, Young Scholars, STEM Camps • STEM Faculty: Seminars on “Teaching & Learning,” • Research on STEM Education • STEM Volunteers: RE-SEED (supporting teachers & students)

7. Existing STEM Education Programs (NSF) • Boston Science Partnership • BEST (Phase II MSP) • STEP-UP (2007-12) • PRISM (2009-14) • CAPSULE (2008 – 11) • ITEL (2009 – 14)

8. Existing STEM Education Programs (Non-NSF) • Greater Boston South Shore Science Partnership • STEP-UP (Mayor’s Initiative) • RE-SEED • ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Program • Boston Summer Advanced Mathematics • Young Scholars Program

9. Characteristics of Effective Teaching • What are some characteristics of effective teaching & learning?

10. Minds of their Own • Discussion • Lessons from the video • Implications for our teaching

11. Memorization vs. Understanding (Eric Mazur, “Peer Instruction”)

12. Results

13. Learning Results from Traditionally Taught Courses vs. Courses Using Research-Based Pedagogy (Carl Wieman – Physics Nobel 2001)

14. National Research Council HOW PEOPLE LEARN: Brain, Mind, Experience and School

15. National Research Council HOW STUDENTS LEARN: Science in the Classroom

16. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Describes the science and design of educational assessment

17. Expert vs. Novice • Experts notice features and patterns of information that are missed by novices. • Experts’ knowledge is well organized. • Experts can retrieve their knowledge easily. • Being an expert is NOT sufficient to be able to teach others.

21. Example • Chess example • Physics

22. Knowledge Transfer • Near and distant transfer • Transfer what we learn in one subject to another • Transfer what we learn in one year of school to another • Transfer what we learn in school to situations not directly related to school

23. Conceptual Understanding Supports Transfer • Group A & B explored with the materials • Both perform equally 12 inches under water _____________________________________________ • Groups A: lecture on light refraction • Group B: no lecture • Move target to 4 inches - Group A outperforms B

24. Principles of Learning From this research, experts have come up with a number of underlying findings on how people learn. These findings can be organized under the following seven principles:

25. Learning Principle 1 • Learning is enhanced when new and existing knowledge is structured around the major concepts and principles of the discipline. • Sources of Evidence • Research on Novice vs. Expert • Research on Knowledge Transfer • Implications to Teaching?

26. Learning Principle 2 • New knowledge and understandings are built on existingknowledge (including preconceptions) and experience (Ex. Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni)

27. Fish is Fish FISH IS FISH Leo Lionni

29. How People Learn – Eliciting prior understandings

32. Implications of P#2 to Teaching Use Elicitation Questions to assess students prior knowledge Other ideas?

33. Learning Principle 3 • Metacognitive strategies/techniques help students monitor and substantially enhancetheir own learning (i.e., predict outcomes, note comprehension failures, connect new and prior knowledge) • Implications to Teaching • Model it in your teaching

34. Metacognitive Monitoring Example “If a serious literacy critic were to write a favorable, full length review of How Could I Tell My Mother She Frightened My Boyfriends Away, Grace Plumbuster’s new story, his startled readers would assume that he has gone mad, or Grace Plumbuster was his editor’s wife.” Wimbley & Wimbley (1975)

35. Metacognitive Strategies Predicting outcomes Explaining to oneself Noting comprehension failures Activating background knowledge

36. Learning Principle 4 • People have different learning styles that are influenced by their heredity and their prior experiences. Implications to teaching? • Use differentiated instruction techniques to reach all students.

37. Learning Principle 5 • Learners’ motivation to learn and beliefs about their own abilities in a subject area (sense of self) influencewhat is learned, how much is learned, and how much effort will be put into the learning process. • Learners are motivated to learn and develop competence by both internal and external factors.

38. Learning Principle 6 • What is learnedisshaped by the context in which knowledge and skills are acquired. Implication to teaching? For best knowledge transfer results, students should be presented with a concept in multiple contexts to develop a deeper understanding. (Making connections)

39. Learning Principle 7 • Social interactions enhance learning Implications to teaching? Provide opportunities for students • to work together • to discuss and articulate ideas to their peers

40. Teaching Strategies Oral Narrative Videos Written Lecture Based Skills Based Simulations Isolated Drill and Practice Technology- Enhanced Electronic Tools Conceptualized Practice Knowledge of How People Learn Assessment Opportunities Modeling Communication Environments Inquiry Based Individual vs Group Cases Problems Jigsaw Learning Cooperative Learning Projects Learning by Design Self Study