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WorksheetsGlyn INSET 2018: What have we learned about learning?
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 16mins
Memory is divided into two parts. Which?
Short term and Long Term memory
Working and Short Term memory
Working and Long Term memory
Long term memory is thought to be unlimited. However, working memory is very limited. How many items/chunks can we hold in working memory at any one time?
2-3 items
5-9 items
4-5 items
3-7 items
If how we present to students or what we ask them to do exceeds their number of manageable items/chunks in working memory, this is known as…?
Memory overload
Cognitive overload
Multitasking
According to Kirschner “If nothing has changed in ?, nothing has been learned.”
Long term memory
Working memory
Performance
Transfer to long term memory happens when we connect new knowledge to prior knowledge to create more complex items/chunks (schema). This is most likely to happen when we ask students;
Are engaged in attention grabbing, memorable activities
Are engaged in active learning
Are engaged in thinking hard about the meaning of new knowledge
Are quiet and on task – we shouldn’t worry about Student engagement
Once something is stored in long term memory, will our students always be able to remember it?
Yes
No – knowledge if not used, it is soon lost from long term memory
No – once knowledge is connected in long term memory, although it is stored (storage strength) our ability to find it, get it out and use it (retrieval strength) decreases over time
Prior knowledge plays a critical part in new learning, because… (which is not a reason why?)
The more knowledge in long term memory, the more slots you can free up in your limited working memory for new knowledge and practice
We can hack working memory by connecting knowledge so each item is more complex but only still takes up one working memory item slot.
You won’t need spend time recapping prior knowledge so you can move straight onto learning new knowledge.
Thinking about meaning (which gets knowledge connected and into long term memory) is easier with lots of prior knowledge.
New layers of understanding help strengthen the memory
Students have differing levels of prior knowledge, experience and working memory capacity. This means that…
Some will experience cognitive load more than others
Some will quickly connect new knowledge to prior knowledge and be ready for more new learning
Some will not be able to make connections and forget what is taught
The meaning they construct will vary
All of the above
One of the main areas of prior knowledge that will vary will be vocabulary as a result of differing exposure to words over time. How big is the gap in exposure to words by age 3 between the most and least advantaged children?
A difference of 300,000 words heard
A difference of 3 million words heard
A difference of 30 million words heard
A difference of 300 million words heard
Novices (students) think differently to experts (Teachers); their working memories are quickly overloaded as they have less prior knowledge to draw on. Which method of teaching instruction is best suited to Students in the novice stage?
Discovery Learning – where students discover the learning for themselves
Direct Instruction where the teacher deliberately and directly explains, models and works through each step
Independent Learning – individually practicing new knowledge and skills
Collaborative Learning – in groups
Challenge, mistakes and a certain level of difficulty are…?
Desirable
Undesirable
Only desirable for more able students, not those who require support
Independent practice is essential as it leads to automaticity and frees up working memory. When do you not need independent practice?
When a student already responds correctly
It will always be needed
When a student can respond from memory some time after the first practice
When a student can respond correctly in a new context showing they have mastery
What about skills and application of knowledge? Aren’t these about more than just remembering?
No, everything can be transferred to working memory through repetition
Yes, so we should teach knowledge and skills separately
Yes, but we need fluent knowledge in long term memory before we can think critically and creatively about problem solving in our working memory
Feedback on practice can double progress, especially for low attaining students. This is effective when it corrects misconceptions and sets goals against shared ‘top’ quality exemplars. It can be less effective when…
It is overly focused on grades, rather than comments
It is not responded to by the teacher and the students
It is given too soon into practice or too much is given
it is not withdrawn in the long run
All of the above
Withdrawing teacher support and feedback feels hard because Students often don’t manage their learning behaviours and have the “Illusion of Knowing” where they predict higher test performance from ineffective revision strategies (re-reading and highlighting) compared to effective ones which feel harder (flashcards and self quizzing). Which may not be an effective way to overcome this?
During instruction and feedback use metacognition where you show students how to think about thinking. (Why do we do what we do? How do we know what to do? Why should we take this step here? What can we do to guide us if stuck?)
High levels of intervention for students who are struggling to work independently
Coach, model and reflect on the independent learning habits required for efficient self-regulation.
Self-Quizzing and testing is useful because we can only self regulate accurately if we can assess our own understanding
When students feel demotivated by the struggle and challenge of desirable difficulty how can we encourage them to work through this?
Feedback on and praise effort and improvement towards ‘the top’ to avoid false confidence through under-challenge.
Feedback on and praise small successes to build confidence to tackle harder work
Getting students to embrace difficulty and feel safe to make mistakes and manage misconceptions is hard. No significant learning can occur without..?
a significant effort.” (Dr Comer—Yale)
a significant relationship.” (Dr Comer—Yale)
a significant risk.” (Dr Comer—Yale)
