Pathways to Excellence: A Reflection on How Connections Enrich Learning

1. Pathways to Excellence: A Reflection on How Connections Enrich Learning Todd Zakrajsek, Associate Professor Department of Family Medicine University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill 919-636-8170 toddz@unc.ed 9th Annual Conference on Quality Assurance in Online Learning September 25, 2017

2. Golf Course Calculation of Slope 1 1 1 1

9. Learning is an Interconnected Process

10. Cognitive Load Sweller 1988 Intrinsic Load – inherent difficulty of the content Extraneous Load–additional external stimuli Germane Load – processing of information; construction and automation of schema

11. Learning and Memory What I have learned from 31 years of teaching psychology and information processing….

12. Learning and Memory To Learn: Attention Understanding Value/Interest To Remember Repetition Elaboration

13. Attention In order to learn it is necessary to attend to that which is to be learned.

14. Photo credit: Auto Repair Match

15. Multi-tasking The mere presence of a cell phone has been shown diminish attention and reduce performance on cognitively complex tasks. (Thornton, Faires, Robbins, & Rollins, 2014)

16. Understanding Learning requires that the learner understand what is being seen or experienced. Prior knowledge is critical in this process.

17. Value/Interest There must be some value in order for the learner to process the new material.

18. Retrieval Dependent on Encoding and Use of Information Strength of Elaborations Memory Trace

19. Repetition Long-term potentiation is the physical process by which we learn through repetition.

20. Karpicke & Roediger, 2007 SSSS SSST STTT .80 .70 Proportion of ideas recalled .60 .50 .40 5 Minutes 1 Week Retention Interval For Final Test

21. Elaboration New information is best recalled when it is connected to other information.

22. Checking for Connections in our Own Learning -- Metacognition • Scheduling an appropriate amount of time to study • Minimize distractions Planning to Learn • Reflecting on study strategies that are working (or not working) • Quizzing yourself Monitoring Learning • Connecting new learning to prior knowledge • Identifying gaps in understanding Evaluating Learning

23. Kathy Nabors, Riverside City College, Manuscript in development

24. Kathy Nabors, Riverside City College, Manuscript in development

25. Teaching How to Connect As Groups

26. Teaching Strategies

28. Sleep and Rest Sleep and Rest – Researchers at the NYU’s Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science have found that rest directly after learning increases retention A NASA study found astronauts who napped for 27 minutes in the afternoon improved their cognitive functioning on later day tasks by 34% over nonnapping astronauts(Medina, 2008).

29. Exercise Ratey (2008) has shown that exercise increases the production of vital neurotransmitters important for: • Focusing and Attention • Motivation • Patience • Mood

30. Hydration Mild dehydration can result in cognitive declines of 10%. (Norman, 2012)

31. Food • Food (glucose) --- Complex carbohydrates (vegetables and whole grains) MUCH better than simple sugars

32. Card passing What is one issue or concern you have with respect to your students and creating an effective learning environment?

33. Pathways to Learning and Memory To Learn: Attention Understanding Value/Interest To Remember Repetition Elaboration

35. Teaching is the Profession that Makes All Professions Possible--Todd Whitaker