Three Principles of Learning Every Teacher MUST Know - I
Three Principles of Learning Every Teacher MUST Know - I
Based on the classic book: How People Learn
The context first:
Ever heard of the phrase Tabula Rasa?
Well, in the 17th century, philosopher John Locke proposed that when we are born, our minds are like a blank slate without any pre-existing knowledge, ideas, or beliefs.
Meaning, we are not born with any innate knowledge or ideas. We gradually fill in all the knowledge, ideas, and beliefs only through experience and learning.
Even though the idea seemed charming at that time, it had a major flaw.
As it turns out, our brains are not ‘blank slates’ but are already predisposed to certain types of information processing and learning from birth, based on genetic and environmental factors. (The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, Steven Pinker)
In a similar vein, when students (young or adult) come into the classroom, they don’t walk in with empty brains. They are not blank slates. Far from it.
They walk in with their own understanding of how the world works. For example, how we have days and nights. How we have different seasons. How people think. How we name stuffs. How the government works.
These understanding or Prior Knowledge are the basis of all new learning.
We take in new information. Connect it with our prior knowledge. Process the new with the prior. Make meaning. And, do something with the new learning.
Without any prior knowledge (in the long term memory) to connect to the new knowledge of the subject we want to learn, it would be an almost impossible task. At that moment, we would have to take the new information for granted.
The First Principle of Learning:
Students come in with prior knowledge about how the world or stuffs work. And there are usually three types:
a. Incomplete Understanding
For example, a student of, say Grade 8, might have an incomplete understanding of the concept of photosynthesis. He already knows that plants need sunlight to grow, but does not have any idea about the role of chlorophyll, carbon dioxide, and water in the process.
Similarly, a student may know that grammar involves rules for how to use words and sentences, but may not understand the reasons behind those rules or how they are applied in different contexts.
b. Misconceptions or Wrong/Opposite understanding
A student may believe that heat rises because she has seen hot air balloons rising into the air. However in reality, heat does not actually rise; instead, it is transferred from warmer objects to cooler objects.
Likewise, a student may believe that using proper grammar means never ending a sentence with a preposition or never splitting an infinitive. However, these are actually stylistic preferences, not hard-and-fast rules of grammar.
c. Simplified version of Complex concepts
A student may have a simplistic understanding of the concept of evolution, thinking that it simply means that animals change over time. Humans evolved from monkeys. However, evolution is a complex process that involves many factors, including genetic variation, natural selection, and genetic drift.
Similarly, a student may believe that subject-verb agreement simply means making sure that the subject and verb agree in number. However, subject-verb agreement is a complex concept that involves not only number but also tense, voice, and other grammatical features.
What’s the implication for teaching and learning?
A teacher’s primary job is to figure out and build up existing understanding that students bring in with them.
While designing lesson plans, the teacher has to pay special attention to the incomplete understandings related with the subject or topic. Also, to the false beliefs or misconceptions. And, to the simplistic version of complex realities.
Find out the source, the reason of their beliefs/misbeliefs and add upon it.
If a student of Grade 2 believes that all animals eat only one type of food, the teacher can use that as a springboard to develop the lesson.
Another student might have a simplistic view about time, that time always moves forward and that it is the same everywhere in the world. That information is an asset for the teacher.
The biggest mistake a teacher can make is to ignore these incomplete, false, simple versions of the concepts, and move on with teaching without resolving these.
How do we have Summers and Winters?
Here’s an example of a learning tragedy that could have been avoided had the teachers built the teaching/learning process based on the prior knowledge of their students.
Watch this video: Harvard Graduates Explain Seasons
Because their school teachers never checked the source of their misconception, they have carried along the strong misconception that changing distance between the sun and the earth is responsible for earth’s seasons.
More on the next part. Meanwhile, if you know teachers or someone who will find this post useful, share it to them.