How People Learn: Chapter 1
From Eduwiki
Bransford, John D., Brown, Ann L., Cocking, Rodney R., Eds. (1999) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC. http://books.nap.edu/html/howpeople1
Chapter 1 Learning: From Speculation to Science
How People Learn is a book on the current (1999) thinking about the psychology and sociology of learning. It has become a standard reference text for teachers and researchers. Chapter 1 introduces some of the themes of the book: active learning, prior knowledge and developing understanding and begins to connect these ideas to teaching.
Development of the Science of Learning
The book points out that the definition of learning has changed in the last 100 years (as if this needs to be pointed out!). Where before learning primarily meant the ability to recite memorized phrases, students are now expected to think critically and apply knowledge in new ways. This evolution in the demands upon students coincides with a better understanding on learning. The section on "Development of the Science of Learning" describes how the behaviorist school of thought gave way to cognitive science - an interdisciplinary field looking at how people think.
Prior knowledge plays a crucial role in how people learn. The authors use the example of the children's book Fish is Fish (Leoni, 1970) in which a fish learns about life on the land - but always imagines creatures with scales and fins. We interpret new knowledge based on what we know. The book uses the term active learning to emphasize that it is the student's role in the learning process that is critical (rather than the teacher's).
The chapter continues with topics that bring about interesting ideas and will be discussed throughout the book. The author phrases the understanding of learning as an "evolving science" and that our own scientific achievements have gain knowledge in the following areas: 1. Memory and the structure of knowledge 2. Problem solving and reasoning 3. The early foundations of learning 4. Regulatory processes that govern learning, including metacognition 5. How symbolic thinking emergesfrom the culture and community of the learner.
The chapter further discusses aspects that affect education such as key findings that have been presented by researchers, the implications from these findings for teaching, ideas about bringing functionality to the classroom, as well as designing classroom environments to maximize achievement level for students. The final section of the chapter points out that the same principles presented in the design framework can be used on adults as well but unfortunately, not too many professional development programs realize that (shhh... think of all those professional development companies that would lose money if this got out!).
