Learning isn’t something that is easily definable. The study of learning and how individuals learn has greatly changed throughout time. What previously was thought of as “learning” or mastering material is now not the case at all. It was previously considered that someone had learned material when they were able to reproduce certain facts or critical pieces of information. However, with the study of cognitive sciences, it has been found that while having a substantial and solid knowledge base is important, “one of the hallmarks of the new science of learning is its emphasis on learning with understanding” (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000, p. 9). It is how one applies knowledge moving forward that demonstrates learning and understanding and becomes a critical piece of the learning process. To simply possess knowledge isn’t enough. This concept has been something I have been grappling with for a few years now. I am a Spanish teacher and the World Language department in my district has been undergoing the beginning process of reworking and realigning our curriculum. The way some of our current assessments are set up are frustrating, because they are designed to work within the old framework of learning” On these assessments, I have many students that can adequately prove that they have mastered the facts that we discussed in class. However, if I ask them to apply their knowledge in a more “outside the box” manner or demonstrate their knowledge and applicable concepts, they are unable to reach this next step. It is also apparent that defining and assessing learning is dependent on each person as an individual. Students “come to formal education with a range of prior knowledge, skills, beliefs, and concepts that significantly influence what they notice about the environment and how they organize and interpret it. This, in turn, affects their abilities to remember, reason, solve problems, and acquire new knowledge. (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000, p. 10) Learning might look different for a Spanish 1 student at the end of their first year of language study versus a heritage Spanish speaker at the end of their first year of Spanish study. We need to make sure we engage these students and really see and understand them. If you gloss over students and treat them all the same and not as individual learners, they will not take an interest in what they are supposed to be learning and might only learn for the sake of a test (if they bother to learn it at all.) Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) provided their opinion on how an expert teacher would function within a classroom, guiding novice students stating “expert teachers know the kinds of difficulties that students are likely to face, and they know how to tap into their students’ existing knowledge in order to make new information meaningful plus assess their students’ progress.” (p. 49) An expert teacher will acknowledge each student individually and be willing to work with their prior knowledge and preconceived notions to help them be successful. Expert teachers can see the bigger picture, even if the student can’t. The framework for an expert and novice educator is no different than that of an expert and novice learner. At the surface level, novices and experts are not that different. When being assessed over basic content area knowledge, there would be very little difference in the factual recall of both learners. However, experts push their learning deeper and can use and apply their knowledge and learning in different areas. Experts can take in the bigger picture of what is happening and make connections between their pieces of knowledge, whereas novices will have substantial information, but might not fully comprehend how it works together or what it is connected to. In my mind, an expert’s view of a situation would look like a concept map where everything is interconnected, whereas a novice might have a lot of the individual pieces, but is lacking the ability to make those connections. Achieving this expert level comes from long-term experience in an activity or content area and an expert learner’s ability to be metacognitive about their experiences. Educational technologies are new and ever changing, similar to learning itself. This is a relatively new, but important facet of education that is still in its early stages. What we know currently about innovative ideas in educational technology could be completely different again in another decade. Studying the theories and science of learning as well as what defines an expert and novice in a field are excellent topics as we delve deeper into these concepts. In our own right, we are all experts in some ways and as we discussed in class might even be “experts at being novices”. As we are learning about this new field of study, it is important to keep that idea in mind. Similar to how the study of learning has evolved, so should our teaching practices. Educators should never be stagnant in their teaching practice and should be pushing for deeper learning and understanding. References Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. |
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