MEANINGFUL LEARNING DEEP VERSUS SURFACE LEARNING DR SHARIFAH

MEANINGFUL LEARNING DEEP VERSUS SURFACE LEARNING DR SHARIFAH MUZLIA SYED MUSTAFA FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA PUNCAK ALAM, SELANGOR

ASSESS THE STUDENTS’ NEEDS • what do you want to know? • have you heard about the terms before? • what is your background?

Not a good advice!!!

do you ever wonder • whether your students care about your course material? • whether your students appreciate how the information you address in class is relevant to them? • do you feel like there is often a mismatch between your intentions for your class and what your students actually want to learn?

Students are more likely to pay attention and be excited about your course when they view the class as relevant to themselves and connected to their interests.

WHAT IS LEARNING? An individual experiences relatively permanent change in knowledge, behaviors, or skills as a result of practice or experience

LEARNING IS NOT SOMETHING DONE TO STUDENTS, BUT RATHER SOMETHING STUDENTS THEMSELVES DO. IT IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF HOW STUDENTS INTERPRET AND RESPOND TO THEIR EXPERIENCES.

WHAT IS MEANINGFUL LEARNING? … the learned knowledge (lets say a fact) is fully understood by the individual and that the individual knows how that specific fact relates to other stored facts

WHAT IS NOT MEANINGFUL LEARNING? Rote learning. . . a memorization technique based on repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it.

TWO TYPES OF LEARNING Two types of learning Deep learning Surface learning meaningf ul not meaningf ul

Cognitively passive learning behaviors (surface learning approaches) I came to class. I reviewed my class notes. I made index cards. I highlighted the text. Cognitively active learning behaviors (deep learning approaches) I wrote my own study questions. I tried to figure out the answer before looking it up. I closed my notes and tested how much I remembered. I broke down complex processes step-by-step.

WHY IS IT USEFUL TO KNOW ABOUT STUDENTS' APPROACHES TO LEARNING? How students approach a learning task will strongly influence the quality of their learning outcomes. Surface learning Low retention Simply reproduce information inability to use information in new contexts Minimal learning

WHY IS IT USEFUL TO KNOW ABOUT STUDENTS' APPROACHES TO LEARNING? How students approach a learning task will strongly influence the quality of their learning outcomes. deep learning Better understanding Make sense of what they are learning Create meaning ability to use information in new contexts

WHY MIGHT STUDENTS BE TAKING A SURFACE APPROACH? Assessment rewards students for taking a surface approach - eg. exams can be passed through the rote learning of facts or lists of information; Students don't receive adequate feedback on their progress; The subject is taught in a way which doesn't make clear its overall structure or the connections between topics, so it's harder for students to make these connections; The subject doesn't take students' prior knowledge into account, so students are not able to engage meaningfully;

WHY MIGHT STUDENTS BE TAKING A SURFACE APPROACH? The subject contains too much content for the time available - lots of topics are covered but there is little time to engage with new material more deeply; Teaching is teacher-focused and emphasises transmission of information; Teaching encourages cynicism, anxiety or other negative feelings about the subject;

WHY MIGHT STUDENTS BE TAKING A SURFACE APPROACH? Students don't see any intrinsic value in learning the subject and teaching doesn't help them to see the value; Students have been successful by using surface approaches in the past; Students have multiple other commitments and are trying to do the bare minimum necessary to pass the subject.

HOW DO YOU DISCOURAGE A SURFACE APPROACH? matching the level of the subject and the pace at which it is presented with students' prior knowledge. ensuring that assessment tasks are aligned with the desired learning response (e. g. reduce success for rote recall of theories and facts and the chance for question spotting) keeping the workload to a level that allows students the wider exploration of ideas and the development of interest that characterizes deep approaches to learning matching actual and desired administrative requirements (eg. does the system punish late submission more than it punishes error? ).

HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE A DEEP APPROACH? designing assessment which rewards students for understanding, making connections encouraging active engagement with learning tasks, eg. students are engaged in inquiry or creative production, explore complex issues, problems or case studies of practice bringing out the structure of the subject explicitly and encouraging students to make connections with (or challenge) what they already know giving students opportunities to discuss, debate and compare their understandings with each other and with the teaching staff

HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE A DEEP APPROACH? giving students opportunities to gain qualitative feedback, especially but not only on their assessed work, rather than just giving marks or grades aligning learning objectives, teaching and learning approaches and assessment to assist students to achieve the learning goals helping students to perceive clear goals and standards for learning

HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE A DEEP APPROACH? designing the subject in a way which matches students' prior knowledge and learning skills and helps students to develop further using studentfocused teaching approaches which emphasize changes in student understanding teaching in ways which encourage students' intrinsic interest - showing your enthusiasm

Let’s enjoy teaching and give students our best ! Thank you