How Students Really Learn Ripples model of learning

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How Students Really Learn ‘Ripples’ model of learning Phil Race BSc Ph. D PGCE

How Students Really Learn ‘Ripples’ model of learning Phil Race BSc Ph. D PGCE FCIPD SFHEA NTF Assessment, Learning and Teaching Visiting Professor, Leeds Metropolitan University

Mind our language? v Everyone learns. Not just students, not just teachers, not just

Mind our language? v Everyone learns. Not just students, not just teachers, not just professors, not just writers… v Yet the language we use to describe learning has got silly in the last fifty years or so. v It’s become remote, cold, psychological, exclusive, elitist – not a sensible way of talking about something everyone does. v My mission is to get back to using language about learning which everyone can relate to.

A fresh look at learning v In this set of slides, we’ll explore how

A fresh look at learning v In this set of slides, we’ll explore how learning is underpinned by five straightforward factors, which we can address in our teaching, and explore how we can help our students to take more control over how they make their learning happen.

Task: who said this? ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not

Task: who said this? ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler’. (Jot your answer down anywhere – just guess). (Albert Einstein, 1879 -1955).

Timing of feedback is critical v Feedback only really works after we’ve got students

Timing of feedback is critical v Feedback only really works after we’ve got students to do something. v Feedback on something they’ve actually done is far more powerful than feedback on something they’ve merely thought.

Three more Einstein quotes ‘Knowledge is experience, everything else is just information’. And… ‘Imagination

Three more Einstein quotes ‘Knowledge is experience, everything else is just information’. And… ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’. And… ‘I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn’.

Teaching… Other people’s knowledge is just information. Teaching is helping people to turn information

Teaching… Other people’s knowledge is just information. Teaching is helping people to turn information into knowledge… …by getting them to do things with the information… …and giving them feedback about their attempts.

Information and communication? v Information can be communicated, in large amounts, in books and

Information and communication? v Information can be communicated, in large amounts, in books and articles, or downloaded to our computers. v But it’s not knowledge till we do things with it… apply it, extend it, interrogate it, analyse it, disagree with it, compare and contrast it, and so on.

Learning – a natural human process

Learning – a natural human process

Learning at home ‘early’ learning Learning with the Internet Learning at school Learning at

Learning at home ‘early’ learning Learning with the Internet Learning at school Learning at university Five factors Learning underpinning to be old all forms of learning Distance learning Learning at work Vocational Training

Five factors underpinning successful learning I’m going to ask you four questions about how

Five factors underpinning successful learning I’m going to ask you four questions about how you learn…

‘Ripples on a pond’ - a way of thinking about learning v Over the

‘Ripples on a pond’ - a way of thinking about learning v Over the last 20 years, I’ve asked tens of thousands of people four two-part questions about how they learn. v All sorts of people, all ages, in many countries. v Their responses to my questions are surprisingly similar. v I’ll ask you these questions shortly.

Task Please, on a post-it, make a little grid with four boxes, with numbers

Task Please, on a post-it, make a little grid with four boxes, with numbers 1 -4 in the corners. 1 2 3 4

Prepare to jot down your answers to the second parts of each of four

Prepare to jot down your answers to the second parts of each of four questions – no more than six words or so. 1 3 2 4

1: How do you learn well? v Think (don’t write anything yet) of something

1: How do you learn well? v Think (don’t write anything yet) of something that you’re good at, something that you know you do well. v How did you become good at it? Write a few words in box 1.

Most people’s views. . . ] ] ] practice trial and error having a

Most people’s views. . . ] ] ] practice trial and error having a go repetition experimenting

A world famous view. . . “One must learn by doing the thing; though

A world famous view. . . “One must learn by doing the thing; though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try”. (Sophocles, 495 -406 BC)

Another. . . An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes,

Another. . . An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes, which can be made, in a very narrow field. (Niels Bohr, 1885 -1962) Therefore we need to allow learners to make mistakes, and help them to gain feedback in a constructive environment, to help them towards becoming experts.

But sometimes we really need teachers… v Someone who already knows; v Someone who

But sometimes we really need teachers… v Someone who already knows; v Someone who has already learned by getting it wrong at first; v And can help us to do the same… v Sometimes without saying a word…

2: What makes you feel good? v Think of something about yourself that you

2: What makes you feel good? v Think of something about yourself that you feel good about. v How you can tell that you feel good about this? What’s your evidence to support this feeling? Write a few words in box 2.

Most people’s views. . . ] ] ] feedback other people’s reactions praise gaining

Most people’s views. . . ] ] ] feedback other people’s reactions praise gaining confidence seeing the results

Fishing for feedback? v Feedback is like fish. v If it is not used

Fishing for feedback? v Feedback is like fish. v If it is not used quickly, it becomes useless. (Sally Brown). v Give a man a fish, v Feed him for a day. v Teach a man to fish, v Feed him for a lifetime. (Chinese proverb).

3: What can go wrong? v Think of something that you’re not good at,

3: What can go wrong? v Think of something that you’re not good at, perhaps as a result of a bad learning experience. v What went wrong, and whose (if anyone’s) fault it may have been? Write a few words in box 3.

Most people’s views. . . ] did not really want to learn it ]

Most people’s views. . . ] did not really want to learn it ] could not see the point ] bad teaching ] could not make sense of it

Is there anyone there? What station are you broadcasting on?

Is there anyone there? What station are you broadcasting on?

Try WIIFM v What’s In It for Me? v Consciously address learners’ ‘want’ to

Try WIIFM v What’s In It for Me? v Consciously address learners’ ‘want’ to learn. v Learners learn far more readily if they are continuously aware of the benefits for them of putting energy into their learning.

4: And if there isn’t a ‘want’? v Think of something that you did

4: And if there isn’t a ‘want’? v Think of something that you did learn successfully, but at the time you didn’t want to learn it. v What kept you going, so that you did indeed succeed in learning it? Write a few words in box 4.

Most people’s views. . . ] strong support and encouragement ] did not want

Most people’s views. . . ] strong support and encouragement ] did not want to be seen not able to do it ] needed to do it for what I wanted next

Five factors for successful learning v learning by doing v learning from feedback v

Five factors for successful learning v learning by doing v learning from feedback v wanting to learn v needing to learn v making sense - ‘getting one’s head round it’… ‘digesting’

Traditional views. . . A. B. C. D. active experimentation concrete experience reflective observation

Traditional views. . . A. B. C. D. active experimentation concrete experience reflective observation abstract conceptualisation

Is it a cycle? Active Experimentation Abstract Conceptualisation Concrete Experience Reflective Observation

Is it a cycle? Active Experimentation Abstract Conceptualisation Concrete Experience Reflective Observation

Coffield et al on Kolb… “Kolb clearly believes that learning takes place in a

Coffield et al on Kolb… “Kolb clearly believes that learning takes place in a cycle and that learners should use all four phases of that cycle to become effective. . . But if Wierstra and de Jong’s (2002) analysis, which reduces Kolb’s model to a onedimensional bipolar structure of reflection versus doing, proves to be accurate, then the notion of a learning cycle may be seriously flawed”.

Coffield et al on Kolb “Finally, it may be asked if too much is

Coffield et al on Kolb “Finally, it may be asked if too much is being expected of a relatively simple test which consists of nine (1976) or 12 (1985 and 1999) sets of four words to choose from. What is indisputable is that such simplicity has generated complexity, controversy and an enduring and frustrating lack of clarity”. Frank Coffield, David Moseley, Elaine Hall and Kathryn Ecclestone (2004) ‘Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: a systematic and critical review’ London, Learning Skills Research Centre, now LSN.

Is this a cycle? No! Wanting/Needing Making sense Doing Feedback

Is this a cycle? No! Wanting/Needing Making sense Doing Feedback

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing Doing

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing Doing

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing Doing Making sense

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing Doing Making sense

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing Doing Making sense Feedback

Ripples on a pond…. Wanting/ Needing Doing Making sense Feedback

But what if there’s no ‘want’ – or not even a ‘need’? Doing Making

But what if there’s no ‘want’ – or not even a ‘need’? Doing Making sense Feedback

Teaching? Ripples on a pond…. Assessing? Wanting/ Needing Doing Making sense Feedback

Teaching? Ripples on a pond…. Assessing? Wanting/ Needing Doing Making sense Feedback

Cornerstones of learning u. Wanting = curiosity u. Needing = commitment u. Doing =

Cornerstones of learning u. Wanting = curiosity u. Needing = commitment u. Doing = competence development u. Making sense = contestation u. Feedback = communication

Ripples on a pond…. Curiosity Commitment Competence Development Contestation Communication

Ripples on a pond…. Curiosity Commitment Competence Development Contestation Communication

Ripples on a pond…. Curiosity Commitment Competence Development Contestation Communication

Ripples on a pond…. Curiosity Commitment Competence Development Contestation Communication

But what about standards and assessment – the ‘depth’ of the pond? ‘Constructive alignment’

But what about standards and assessment – the ‘depth’ of the pond? ‘Constructive alignment’ as John Biggs (2003) calls it

How do we measure learning? Evidence of achievement of the intended learning outcomes? Learning

How do we measure learning? Evidence of achievement of the intended learning outcomes? Learning including outcomes Evidence Assessment Feedback

Smarter teaching - tuning in everything we do when we teach to these five

Smarter teaching - tuning in everything we do when we teach to these five factors.

Teaching smarter: we need to: v Strive to enhance our students’ want to learn;

Teaching smarter: we need to: v Strive to enhance our students’ want to learn; v Help students to develop ownership of the need to learn; v Keep students Wanting/ learn by doing, practice, trial-and-error, repetition; Needing v Ensure students get quick and useful feedback – from Doing us and from each other; Making sense v Help students to make sense of what they learn. Feedback

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We can strive to enhance our students’ want to learn… v Making learning fun to get them involved in their learning; v Pointing out why we’re teaching it, and why they’re learning it; Wanting/ v Sharing our passion and enthusiasm with them, Needing so they become enthused… Doing Making sense Feedback

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We can help students to develop ownership of the need to learn; v Alerting them to what we expect of them – what the targets are; v Explaining how the learning will be useful to them in their studies, lives and careers; Wanting/ v Illustrating how even the most complex things Needing are learned a little at a time… Doing Making sense Feedback

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We can keep our students learning by doing, practice, trial-and-error, repetition; v Keeping them learning actively in our lectures, tutorials, seminars, online learning, and independent studying; v Helping students to feel good about learning Wanting/ through mistakes; Needing v Helping students to identify what practice will make perfect… Doing Making sense Feedback

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We can ensure students get quick and useful feedback – from us and from each other; v Making sure they get feedback quickly enough while they still care about it; v Ensuring that they get plenty of feed-forward, so they can make their next piece of work better; Wanting/ v Helping them to get a great deal of feedback from Needing each other, including from peer-assessment… Doing Making sense Feedback

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We

How we can help our students to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably… We can help students to make sense of what they learn… v Explaining to them how we got our heads around complex ideas in the past; v Making it OK for the light not yet to have dawned; Wanting/ v Enabling students. Needing to make sense of things they have just mastered by explaining them to students who haven’t yet grasped them… Doing Making sense Feedback

Thank you Phil Race Leeds Metropolitan University p. race@leedsmet. ac. uk www. phil-race. com

Thank you Phil Race Leeds Metropolitan University p. race@leedsmet. ac. uk www. phil-race. com