Principles of Learning

My method for analyzing existing theories to identify principles of learning: 1) Select appropriate theories and sources of literature for review (justification for selecting sources to be analyzed) 2) Method of analysis (described in detail)

"a combination of the intensity of the mental effort being expended by the learners and the level of performance attained by the learners, constitutes the best estimator of instructional efficiency" (p. 266) (Sweller, van Merrienboer, Paas)

A heuristic is a way of thinking about a topic which is convenient even if not absolutely true. We use a heuristic when we talk about the sun rising and setting as if the sun moved around the earth, even though we know it doesn't. "Heuristic" is both a noun and an adjective; to use a heuristic is to think in heuristic terms. The previous examples can be used to illustrate a useful distinction--between absolute and heuristic uses of factor analysis. Spearman's g theory of intelligence, and the activation theory of autonomic functioning, can be thought of as absolute theories which are or were hypothesized to give complete descriptions of the pattern of relationships among variables. On the other hand, Rubenstein never claimed that her list of the seven major factors of curiosity offered a complete description of curiosity. Rather those factors merely appear to be the most important seven factors--the best way of summarizing a body of data. Factor analysis can suggest e

The principles of learning I have identified can be grouped as follows: Principles of PROGRESSION 1) direction---by definition one can only progress if he is moving towards some destination 2) potential---one can only progress if he possess the possibility of extension 3) opposition---in order to move toward some destination one must be moving away from some alternative (not sure about 1 and 3 but solid on 2) Principles of CHANGE 1) repetition 2) time 3) sequence 4) step-size 5) significance 6) contrast 7) feedback Principles of PRACTICE Principles of ENGAGEMENT 1) motivation 2) confidence Principles of CONTEXT 1) content providing 2) performance enabling Principles of AGENCY 1) learner 2) teacher 3) peers

Unlike many theories of learning the goal of this research is not to describe the psychological or biological workings of the mind and body that facilitate learning but to identify fundamental and universal principles that govern the learning process. Without knowing the details of how the mind works or how the cells of the human organism adapt to facilitate learning we can still understand the process of learning and come to understand the principles by which it is governed.

In conducting my observational studies of learning I felt that objective observation alone provided insufficient sensory and experiential data to truly understand what was happening in the learning process. For this reason I revised my approach and adopted a duality of perspective. Rather than simply observe students involved in the learning process I subjected myself to the very same process, thereby experiencing a richer influx of data, simultaneously interpreting the events that unfolded before me with the perspectives of both a bystander and a participant.

An example of changing the beliefs of one person regarding another.... The wife frequently says to her husband, "You never help out around the house." The husband knows this isn't true. He often helps with the dishes, homework, and chores. To change his wife's belief about him, he engages in a concetrated effort to do the dishes every single night, to sweep and mop the floors, and clean the bathrooms. After 3 months of doing this, his wife begins to say things like, "You're super husband." At the end of the 3 months, the husband tapers off his efforts returning to doing the dishes and chores on occasion. Although the wife occasionally says, "you used to do the dishes every night" she no longer says or believes that he never helps out.

A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive By John Stuart Mill http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=IzIIAAAAQAAJ&dq=A+system+of+logic:+Ratiocinative+and+Inductive&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=7T1Ip-Uidg&sig=6ysXVgNWR4M5To_61Re4EHarBO4&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPR7,M1

http://webpub.byu.net/ddw/qualitativebook/chapter5.html Credibility Transferibility Dependability Confirmability really good list here (I especially like ideas under the credibility section)

The online book Dr. Williams asked me to read.

http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/methodsofinq/index.htm

The methodology I used for my research is qualitative in the following ways: - smaller, but focused, samples - purposive sampling (cases are chosen based on the way that they typify or do not typify certain characteristics or participate in a certain class) - methods: 1) participation in the setting 2) direct observation 3) in depth interviews 4) analysis of documents an materials - focus groups and key informants - coding data - exploratory (hypothesis generating) - investigates why and how (rather than what, where, and when) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_research It also seems that the Case Study approach is very related to what I have used http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/methodsofinq/index.htm (see the tree diagram)

Ideas related to exploring various areas and types of learning: Observed and experienced learning situations: gymnastics skiing swimming spanish 101, 102, 201, 211, 202 spoken interpretation second language vocabulary building paired associate learning scripture learning change of attitude - children learning to appreciate work change of behavior - children learning to do their chores change of desire - wanting to be more like the Savior programming - children programming - self project management running a booth at the latin american festival guitar piano singing brushing teeth with left hand Possible Categories: Simple mental process Simple physical process Simple behavioral change Simple affective change Simple connative change Complex mental process Complex physical process Complex behavioral change Complex affective change Complex connative change

From Kelly (1963): "A range of convenience is that expanse of the real world over which a given system or theory provides useful coverage." [p. 17] "There are, of course, various psychological construction systems. These systems differ primarily because the people who developed them were focusing their attention upon somewhat different events ." [p. 18] "Psycological systems have not only ranges of convenience but also characteristic foci of convenience: points at which they are particularly applicable." [p. 18]

From Kelly (1963): "If it were a static world that we lived in, our thinking about it might be static too. But new things keep happening and our predictions keep turning out in expected or unexpected ways. Each day's experience calls for the consolidation of some aspects of our outlook, revision of some, and outright abandonment of others." [p. 14] I'm calling for the abandonment of the pursuit of a generic learning theory. "A scientist formulates a theory --- a body of constructs with a focus and a range of convenience. If he is a good scientist he immediately starts putting it to test. it is almost certain that, as soon as he starts testing, he will also have to start changing it in the light of the outcomes. Any theory, then, tends to be transient. And the more practical it is and the more useful it appears to be, the more vulnerable it is to new evidence. Our own theory, particularly if it proves to be practical, will also have to be considered expendable in

- predictive efficacy (support more precise and more accurate predictions about more events) (Kelly, 1963)

From Kelly (1963): "The same events can often be viewed in the light of two or more systems [theories]. Yet the events do not belong to any system." [p. 12] In my case I'm proposing a system that spans both learning and instruction, rather than focusing on one or the other.

From Kelly (1963): "In general man seeks to improve his constructs by increasing his repertory, by altering them to provide better fits, and by subsuming them with superordinate constructs or systems. In seeking improvement he is repeatedly halted by the damage to the system that apparently will result from the alternation of a subordinate construct . Frequently his personal investment in the larger system, or his personal dependence upon it, is so great that he will forego the adoption of a more precise construct in the substructure. It may take a major act of psychotherapy or experience to get him to adjust his construction system to the point where the new and more precise construct can be incorporated." [p. 9]

In his introduction, Kelly introduces some interesting ideas about the presentation of a new theory: "...it is only fair to warn the reader that he will find missing many of the familiar landmarks of psychology theory." [p. xi] "...this new way of thinking about psychology..." [p. xi] "It is not only these terms that are abandoned; what is more important, the concepts themselves evaporate." [p. xi] "...a different approach calls for a different lexicon." [p. xii] "It may be unreasonable, merely on the basis of a few pages of academic prose, to ask a reader to reconsider his notions of why man does what he does. yet that is the burden of this invitation. To respond, one should prepare himself as best he can to surmount some formidable barriers---bariers raised high by more than two thousand years of constructive thought and held rigidly in place by the only languages we speak aloud." [p. xii] "...this may come as a frightening invit

I think this blog post by Seth Godin is relevant to theory development: "Just got some work back from a new copyeditor hired by my publisher. She did a flawless job. She also wrecked my work. Totally wrecked it. "By sanding off every edge, removing every idiom, making each and every fact literally correct, she made it boring and dry and mechanical. "If they have licenses for copyeditors, she should have hers revoked. "I need to be really clear. She's not at fault. She did exactly what she was supposed to do. The fault lies in the job description, not the job. If the job description of your lawyer or boss or editor or client is to make sure everything is pure and perfect and proven and beyond reproach, they are making things worse, not better. (Unless you're in the vaccine business). "Almost everything you do has some sort of copyediting filter. It might be the legal eagle or the graphic supervisor or the customer service police. They're excellent at

The questions guiding my study are: 1) What causes learning to happen? 2) By what principles shall we teach? Combining 1 and 2: 3) What are the fundamental and universal principles of learning? 4) By what vehicle are the principles made manifest in learning? (practice) There are additional questions that I've been working from implicitly. I need to state them explicitly here...

- Learning may or may not involve an instructor - Learning may be formal or informal - Learning may be intentional or incidental

"What are instructional events? These are the classes of events that occur in a learning situation. Each event functions to provide the external conditions of learning." (Aronson and Briggs 1983, p. 89) pg. 90 1. Gaining attention 2. Informing the learner of the objective 3. Stimulating recall of prerequisite learnings 4. Presenting the stimulus material 5. Providing learning guidance 6. Eliciting performance 7. Providing feedback about performance correctness 8. Assessing the performance 9. Enhancing retention and transfer

There is an ongoing debate between practicing part skills and then combining them into whole skills, once each part is mastered, to work on sequence, flow and smoothness versus practicing whole skills. I have seen this manifest as a person preference. My two sons chose to learn breaststroke differently. The oldest wanted to practice the whole skill. The second chose to practice kicking first, then pulling, and then later combining the two.

It is sometimes useful to teach similar and contrasting concepts at the same time, such as: north and south, longitude and latitude, up and down, subject and predicate). This does not seem to me to be true of teaching skills (such as motor skills). Perhaps this is because of the complexity involved in learning a skill or processes. Aha... I just thought of a counter example where it does make sense to teach similar or contrasting skills: pronunciation. It is useful to juxtipose two similar sounds in teaching and practice to help the learner differentiate between the two in recognition and production. - Gagne's instructional event "stimulating recall of prerequisite learnings"

Subsumes: - prerequisites (two kinds: essential, supporting -- from Aronson and Briggs 1983 p. 85) ex. Pole vaulting (essential: strength and coordination; supporting: positive attitude (something subsumed in my model of learning by principles of engagement) - learning hierarchies, Gagne (Aronson and Briggs 1983, p. 86); terminal skill is at the top and below it are all the essential prerequisites (note: I disagree with the poitn Aronson makes about learning hierarchies being only pertinent in the intellectual-skills domain; it seems like they also apply to motor skills and attitude and other types of learning) - Gagne's instructional event "stimulating recall of prerequisite learnings"

From Aronson and Briggs (1983) p 83 Gagne described two kinds of conditions of learning: internal and external. 1) Internal conditions (primarily recall) - acquisitioni and storage of prior capabilities tha the learner has acquired that are either essential to or supportive of subsequent learning. 2) External conditions - various ways that instructional events outside the learner function to activate and support the internal processes of learning. ::Type of Learning Internal Conditions External Conditions :: Cognitive strategy I - recall of relevant rules and concepts E - successive presentation (usually over an extended period of time) of novel problem situations with class of solution unspecified; demonstration of solution by student :: Verbal information I - recall of larger meaningful context E - present new informatioin in larger context :: Attitude I - recall of information and intellectual skills relevant to the targeted personal actions E- establishment or recall of respect for

From Aronson and Briggs (1938) p. 81-82 1) Intellectual skill Using concepts and rules to solve problems; responding to classes of stimuli as distinct from recalling specific examples 2) Motor skill Executing bodily movements smootly and in proper sequence 3) Verbal information Stating information 4) Cognitive strategy Originating novel solutions to problems; utilizing various means for controlling one's thinking/learning processes 5) Attitude Choosing to behave in a particular way "For Gagne, learning occurs when an individual acquires a particular capability to do something." "The capability that one acquires when learning verbal information (e.g., a spouse's birthday) is stating the information. On the other hand, the capability that one acquires in learning an attitude is choosing to act in one way or another...When a person has learned a concept, which is one type of intellectual skill , the person has the capability to correctly identify or classify any pr

" Learning theory is a descriptive theory used in guiding the initial creation of prescriptive principles of instructional design. Learning theory as it has been developed and is now taught is not specific to particular subject-matter domains. Thus there is a need for a 15 domain-specific learning theory. Such a theory could be called a learning theory of progressive attainments in a specific domain of learning. This article uses the term domain theory to refer to a descriptive theory of the contents, substantive processes, and boundaries of a domain of human learning and growth that gives an account of construct-relevant sources of task difficulty; and conjointly, an account of the substantive processes operative at different levels of growth along the scale(s) that span the domain." Bunderson 2003, p. 15-16

" In the field of research on human learning and growth, one-time snapshots of learning effects are not enough. They do not test each of the several theories involved. They may be too artificial and contrived actually to allow the key constructs to exert their effects. Design experiments over repeated cycles in live settings offer a powerful alternative solution to these problems." Bunderson 2003, p. 14 pdf

" The current dominant philosophy of science apparently favored by most practitioners in educational measurement is logical empiricism. Trout (1998) gives an extensive treatment of logical empiricism and contrasts it to a newer philosophy, Measured Realism. Logical empiricism, a descendent of logical positivism, does not privilege theory equally with data. Data rules, and theory to the logical empiricist brings with it shaky, speculative, and metaphysical content." in Bunderson 2003, p. 14 pdf

From Bunderson 2003, pp. 12-13 USER CENTERED DESIGN 1. Overall appeal. 2. Usability. The instrument will be easy to use, understandable, quick and efficient. 3. Perceived value to the target users, perceived positive consequences. CONTENT and CONSTRUCT evidence of validity 4. Content coverage and appropriateness. 5. Substantive processes -- The important but typically invisible mental processes used by those whom we would wish to score as more successful on an instrument, or affective attributes of persons such as their beliefs, attitudes, and values. It is only through theories of the cognitive, linguistic, affective or perhaps psychomotor processes that we can design appropriate questions or performance tasks to get at different degrees of these usually invisible processes. 6. Structure of the constructs. The starting number of questions or tasks is expected to collapse into a smaller number of separate unidimensional measurement scales. The scales we design should correspond with an

" Quantitative psychologists have been quite happy with the idea of experimental design. Perhaps more of us can become comfortable with the principled design of both instruments and theory. Why not forthrightly seek to design and revise and experiment until we have evidence for all six aspects of construct validity, as well as evidence for desirable values, positive consequences, utility as ease of use, and all aspects of the unified validity model?" " Validity centered design as its current practitioners understand and use it is the beginning of a principled design process for designing and developing improved domain theories, the construct-linked measurement scales associated with them, and documenting the evidence for a validity argument. The validity argument is not accomplished all at one (and indeed, never ends), but is improved step by step as we complete work on each aspect of validity. It also includes planning for future activities to improve other aspects of t

" Cronbach (1988) introduced the term “Validity Argument” after analogy to House’s (1977) notion of “the logic of evaluation argument”. Cronbach was in agreement with the complex but unified nature of validity, and its inseparable connection to values and consequences. Instruments cannot be validated themselves, and interpretations and uses change constantly. As a result, an instrument (and, we add, its associated theories), are never validated once and for all. There is an interplay between evidence and instrument features, and the instrument and theory evolve and are improved to reflect evidence and the correction of identified inadequacies. All we can do is continue to improve the argument for the theory, the construct-linked scales, the instrument, and its delivery system. We do this as Messick stated, through evidence and theoretical rationales.' (Bunderson 2003, p. 11 (pdf))

" Extensive research is often needed to understand the nature of the substantive process constructs that explain the ordering from lesser to increasingly able learners. This research may start with qualitative probes to get an initial idea of the domain constructs, followed by the discovery of qualitative order relationships, eventually leading to a qualitative model of the domain. The construction of many tasks – items, testlets, performance rubrics – is necessary, as it provides confirming evidence of theoretical 6 propositions about how many essentially unidimensional scales are needed to span the domain. An increasingly mature domain theory identifies a set of unidimensional scales that approximate equal interval scales, each giving a precise parameterization of the expertise space of a specific knowledge domain. It has a pool of real and possible tasks calibrated on the scales that can be used to measure accurately learner progress within the domain. When a domain theory is a

" the general boundaries of the domain are initially established, but the process is not complete until a set of essentially unidimensional measurement scales is developed, which together define the scope and boundaries of the domain of learning and growth. Because perfect unidimensionality is impossible to achieve, we must settle for essential, or near, unidimensionality. Delineating a domain to a point where essential unidimensionality in each of a small set of domain-spanning scales is achieved is not always accomplished in practice, as it is often a time-consuming and lengthy process. Constructing a set of domain-spanning measurement scales elevates a good qualitative model of a domain to a theory." (Bunderson 2003, p. 5)

" Instruments are developed to assess learning progress and performance in domains of human knowledge, proficiency, and accomplishment. Domains are usually signified by familiar content or topical names, like calculus, American history, accounting, network engineering, and nursing. Topics signify categories of what people may know, but they do not describe what people can do, so other uses of language, such as objectives or work-models are needed." (Bunderson, 2003, p. 5 (pdf)

"A domain theory is a descriptive theory of the contents, substantive processes, and boundaries of a domain of human learning and growth that gives an account of construct-relevant sources of task difficulty; and conjointly, an account of the substantive processes operative at different levels of growth along the scale(s) that span the domain. Based on the constructs that account conjointly for difficulty and level of processing, and using measurement instruments linked to the constructs in the domain theory, testable predictions can be made about the relationships between tasks, processes, and locations along the scale(s)." (Bunderson 2003, p. 5 (PDF))

"...we need a domain theory to explain what is easy, what is somewhere between easy and hard, and what is hard. When we understand these things, we can measure, give meaningful feedback, and can teach people who desire to do so how to rapidly progress from lower to higher levels in either type of domain. These lead to the construction of learning maps that reflect progress up the domain scales, or reveal standing on a map of individual difference variables." (Bunderson, 2003, p. unknown --- pdf available online at http://www.edumetrics.org/papers/How_to_build_a_Domain_Theor.pdf )

Landa (1983) also claims that instructional theories may not be derived from learning theories (p. 65). This is because a given proposition of a descriptive learning theory (such as "if a person better understands a text, then he or she remembers it more easily" may not be true and complete when phrased as a prescriptive instructional rule such as "In order for a learner to better memorize the text, it is necessary (or sufficient) to teach him or her how to understand it (or bring him or her to understanding it)." "Of course, in order to secure that a learner memorizes a text better, it is important to make sure that he or she understands it or to teach him or her how to understand it. But understanding is just one of the conditions leading to better memorizing, and to secure (or teach) the understanding is not sufficient for gaining the best results in memorization. Other factors not mentioned in these propositions of a learning theory (both descriptive and

Landa (1983) states that "prescriptive instructional theories cannot be automatically derived from descriptive instructional theories." He gives an example to illustrate why this isn't so: "Suppose we have a descriptive proposition: 'If a student repeats a statement many times, he or she memorizes it better." This is a 100 percent true proposition. Let us convert it into a prescriptive proposition: 'In order to memorize a statement better, one has to repeat it many times.' This proposition is not as true as the first one because the state of 'memorized' is determined by many factors, not just repetition. For example, for a particular student to memorize a statement, it may be more important to understand it rather than just mechanically repeat it. Some students, due to the specific characteristics of their memory, the personal significance of the proposition for them, and some other factors, may not need to repeat it at all." [p. 60] He

T / / /---\____/ C ----/ - Forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus) - What can be done, felt, recalled, believed, or values with assistance - Approximations of T (parts of, imperfect instances of)

Intensity Effort Uniqueness Appeal

Knowledge Skills Values Beliefs Capacity Potential Instinct Passions Drive Desires Light Purity

I disagree with Landa's distinction between instructional and learning theories: "The major difference between them is that instructional theories...deal with relationships between teachers'...actions as causes and students' psychological and/or behavioral processes as effects (outcomes), whereas learning theories and programs deal with relationships between learners'...actions as causes and [their own] psychological and/or behavioral processes as effects (outcomes)." (Landa, 1983, p. 62) I see learning theory as dealing with how, or the conditions under which, people learn.

From Landa (1983): "in order to teach effectively (and to teach at all), a teacher should be provided either ith a set of programs for solving particular instructional problems or with a method as to how to independently develop an instructional program (algorithmic or nonalgorithmic) on the basis of known descriptive and prescriptive instructional theories" [p. 61] "A necessity to pass from a theory (even prescriptive) to a program for solving individual problems explains why the knowledge of an instructional theory in itself (even if it were comprehensive and coherent) does not provide a teacher with an ability to teacher. The latter ability is based on a knowledge of programs for solving particular problems (or classes of problems) or the ability to pass from theoretical propositions to programs and be guided by them." [p. 61, footnote]

I believe that chaos theory is helpful in understanding the complexity, and apparent but not actual lack of predictability, in learning. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

"All the notions used in the preceding description are relative . For example, one desired state of the object may represent the final goal with respect to one activity and a subgoal with respect to another. Moreover, a state that emerges as a final goal for one activity may turn into an initial condition or achieving a subsequent goal. "Each goal itself may be simple (unitary) or complex (multiple), the latter consisting of a set of component goals. the final goal (or state to be achieved) often represents a set of component goals (or states)." (Landa, 1983, p. 56)

"A frequently cited desideratum for a theory of instruction is its compatibility with a theory of learning. If the proposed metatheory [referring to Gropper's theory presented in this section] is on target in its emphasis on learning requirements and obstacles to their being met , then 'compatibility' is the wrong word. An instructional theory needs to build on a theory of learning." (Gropper, 1983) desideratum - "something needed or wanted" diserata - a want list; a list of wants

Aspects of learning that vary from one learner to another: - the instructional strategy used (learners learn through different types of presentation) - the content (some learners will know things others do not); the initial state of the learner is an important basis for prescription of content as well as strategy

"the 'learner control' metatheory (Merill, 1975, 1979, 1980; Reigeluth, 1979)...emphasizes training the learning to make the decisions about which strategy components to student when and for how long...For example, rather than presenting 'visual' instruction to some students and 'verbal' instruction to others, learner control prescribes making both representations available to all students, along with some brief training about what to pick and choose when, rather than studying everything." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 33)

"A useful distinction in the discussion of student characteristics is trait versus state. Traits are student characteristics that are relatively constant over time...whereas states are student characteristics that tend to vary during individual learning experiences, such as level of content-specific knowledge." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 32) Reigeluth also states that "many strategy components have been shown to help students with all kinds of traits to learn" [p. 32]. My position is that we do not know a priori which aspects of our instructional strategies, learning environment, motivator, etc... will generalize across many or all students. However, with a localized learning theory we can learn over time which do and which do not. At the same time, we will likely find ways of grouping students that we never would have before imagined.

"There has been some controversy over the useful breadth of instructional-design theory. Richard Snow is well known for his work on individual differences under the rubric of ATI, or aptitude-treatment interactions...ATI is a metatheory that in effect states that theories of instruction should prescribe methods (called treatments ) on the basis of student characteristics (called aptitudes ), because the effectiveness of those methods varies depending on student characteristics. Snow (1977) has stated that ATI (aptitude-treatment interaction) 'makes general theory impossible [p. 12]'---that instructional-design theories must be narrow and local to be of value. On the other hand, Scandura (1977) represented the view of many when he stated that instructional-design theories must be broad and comprehensive to be useful." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 31-32) Reigeluth sias the different of opinion can be traced to a focus on management vs organizational strategies.

Reigeluth (1938, p. 30-31) includes a section on how to build an instructional design theory that contains four steps which roughly correspond to Snow's different levels of theory (1971). Reigeluth's steps are: "1) Develop formative hypotheses about instructional design on the basis of data, experience, intuition, and/or logic. These hypotheses may be fairly narrow and local (the start of a basically inductive---or bottom up---approach to theory construction) or fairly broad and comprehensive (the start of a basically deductive---or top-down---approach to theory construction). "2) Develop a taxonomy of variables related to instrucitonal design...identifying, describing, and classifying variables that may be of importance to instructional-design theory. "3) Derive principles of instructional design. These principles usually describe cause-and-effect relationships among the variables identified in stage 2, and many of them are derived from the formative hypotheses

"Crowder (1960, 1962) helped make considerable advances in the programmed instruction model of instruction by simultaneously relaxing its errorless-learning requirement and introducing branching sequences in the instruction. Thus, student errors provided the basis for individualizing the instruction. " (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 29)

"The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) formed a commissio in 1964 (Snelbecker, 1974) 'to delineated scientifically based theories from the more intuitively based and somewhat speculative 'theorizing' which had been so characteristic of educaiotn previously [p. 141].' This commission did much to focus attention on the need for 'scientifically based' instructional theories, and it provided guidelines as to the characteristics of such theories in the form of its Criteria for Evaluating Theories of Instruction (Gordon, 1968)." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 27-28)

Criteria for evaluating theories of instruction (which mine is not, but the criteria are still relevant): from Gordon (1968, as cited in Reigeluth, 1983, p. 24-25) 1) Internal consistency - the theory should not contradict itself 2) Explicit boundaries and limitations 3) Not contradicted by empirical data (caution: apparent contradictions may be overturned with a reanalysis of the data) from Snelbecker (1974, as cited in Reigeluth, 1983, p. 24-25) 4) Parsimoney (i.e. simplicity) from Snow (1971, as cited in Reigeluth, 1983, p. 24-25) 5) Usefulness "The primary criterion for the evaluation of theory is usefulness, not truthfulness [p. 103]." and Hebb (1969, as cited in Reigeluth, 1983, p. 24-25): "A good theory is one that holds together long enough to get you to a better theory [p. 27]." Snow also says that a theroy should be useful for organizing existing data meaningfully and for producing useful hypotheses. (George Kelly also said something to that effect). from

"Knowledge of learning processes may be useful in developing an instructional theory, but it does not constitute any part of an instructional theory." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 24) I disagree with this statement. Knowledge of learning processes are critical to the development of as successful learning theory. The assumptions about how learning happens maybe be implicit, rather than explicit, but they must be part of the instructional theory.

This theory is not: - an instructional design theory (an instructional design theory must focus on methods of instruction rather than learning) - an instructional strategy - a learning theory This theory is: - a conceptual framework centered on universal and fundamental principles of learning upon which specific learning theories can be constructed - a foundational theory that provides a framework for growing domain specific theories - a theory about how to design local learning theories (which is similar to what was called by Landa (1983) an instructional metatheory, a theory about how to design instructional theories),

"Instructional models and theories should be as comprehensive as possible." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 18)

1) methods - different ways to achieve different outcomes under different conditions 2) conditions - factors that influence the effects of methods and are therefore important for prescribing methods 3) outcomes - the various effects that provide a measure of the value of alternative methods under different conditions (actual or desired) (kinds: efficiency, effectiveness and appeal of instruction) "Something that is a method variable in one school (because the teacher can change it) may be a condition variable in another school (because the teacher cannot change it)." Reigeluth, 1983, p. 14-15

They are: 1) analyzing the subject matter 2) diagnosing preinstructional behavior 3) carrying out the instructional process 4) measuring learning outcomes Glaser (1965, 1976) as cited in Reigeluth 1983, p. 14

"A principle describes a relationship between two actions or changes. This relationship may be correlational, in which case it does not state which action influences the other, or it may be causal, in which case it does state which action influences the other. . . .It also may be deterministic, in which case the cause always has the stated effect, or it may be probabilistic, in which case the cause sometimes (or often) has the stated effect. . . .the term principle is used here regardless of the degree of certainty of the relationship. Hence, it includes everything from pure conjecture or hypothesis (having little or no evidence for its truthfulness) to scientific law (having much evidence for its truthfulness). (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 14)

"...another factor taht will influence the predictive usefulness of a classification scheme is the level of generality of the concepts, especially of the methods. Many methods that have been investigated in the past are not very useful because they are too general (and often too loosely defined). . . .If progress is to be made in improving methods of instruction, then it is essential to break down such general methods into more elemental strategy components ---which are more precise, clearly defined, elemental, building blocks." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 13)

"Practically all classification schemes will improve our understanding of instructional phenomena, but concepts are not the kind of knowledge for which instructioal scientists are looking, except as a stepping stone. Instructional scientists want to determine when different methods should be used--- they want to discover principles of instruction ---so that they can prescribe optimal methods. But not all classification schemes are equally useful for forming highly reliable and broadly applicable principles." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 12)

"Because our methods of instruction are generally ineffective, educators have not been able to devote much time and effort to the whole child. If we can develop highly effective instructional resources (whether in books or in computers), then we can free some (more) of the teacher's time to work on the social, psychological, emotional, and moral development of our children." "Rather than having primary responsibility for a subject, the future teacher will have primary responsibility for a number of children. The teacher will become an advisor, a motivator, and someone whose major interest is the child---the whole child. The teacher will be liberated from the more routine, boring aspects of his or her profession by well-designed instructional resoureces...by better testing methods, and by better record-keeping systems. But such improvements in education cannot occur before we improve our knowledge about how to design more effective, efficient, and appealing methods of

"Instructional design is a discipline that is concerned with understanding and improving one aspect of education: the process of instruction. The purpose of any design activity is to devise optimal means to achieve desired ends. Therefore the, the discipline of instructional design is concerned primarily with prescribing optimal methods of instruction to bring about desired changes in student knowledge and skills. " (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 4)

"It is important that we examine the bases out of which a field of knowledge developed, the theories of the field that have operated with some success, and how current work can be consolidated into new models pointing the way to further development . That is what Dr. Reigeluth and his authors have attempted with respect to their field of instructional design." "Can we really claim to have a base for solidly designing instruction? It seems only a short time ago that learning theorists were telling us that they did not think they had anything substantial to tell us about the practice of instruction. Of course, shortly after that, such modesty faded when behavioristic psychology was translated into teaching machines and into programmed learning. Education was to be revolutionized. But that has not happened. Though the tantalizing promise of these ideas remains, both teaching machines and programmed instruction have yet to achieve substatial educational roles. This suggests

"One can envision a time when there will be a variety of different models of instruction, each prescribing the best available methods for achieving a different kind of learning goal under different kinds of conditions. One can also envision researchers all over the world building upon this common knowledge base, continually improving and refining those models. it is my hope that this book will contribute in some small way to forming that common knowledge base." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. xii)

"This book is dedicated to increasing our knowledge about how to improve instruction. It is founded on the premise that the process of learning can be made easier and more enjoyable." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. xi)

::Gymnastics Learning to do a back flip Learning to do a pull over ::Skiing Skiing down a steep slope Jumping off a cat track Skiing with good form ::Music Learning to play a song on the piano ::Programming Learning a new programming language Solving a real-world problem (i.e. a bi-directional scrolling pane) ::Other Learning someone's name Learning a phone number

- Repetition > focus (required for repetition -- requires multiple encounters with the same thing) - Time - Sequence - Step Size - Constrast - Feedback - Significance (Intensity/Effort) Changes: - reducing Similarity/Contrast -> Differentiability to just Contrast

I believe it is useful to distinguish between different types of (or reasons for) practice: 1) Practice, or exercise, to increase one's mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual capacity to make it possible to know, understand or perform some desirable thing 2) Practice to get it. Example: learning to do a backhip circle is difficult, and the first time you make it around the bar, you got it. It may not be pretty, but you got it and then you can start working to perfect it. Another example: learning a song on the piano. Once you're able to play the song through, there may be some mistakes and the timing and rhythm may not be great, but you've got it. 3) Practice to perfect it. Once you're able to manage the basic thing, you can start working on the details of it to perfect it. Example: learning to point the toes and keep the body straight on the back hip circle; adding the dynamics to the song. 4) Practice to make it permanent. Once you've got it, and once you'v

Where there is a measurable or perceivable difference between a person's current state of attainment---in regards to some portion of knowledge, understanding, capacity, persuasion, or ability---and the possibility of some greater level of attainment there exists a learning potential. To have knowledge is to possess an awareness and a mental representation of some fact, model, relationship, process, etc... Knowledge - an awareness and mental representation of Undertanding - an explanation for why or how Capacity - the size of load one is able to comprehend or bear physically, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally Persuasion - one's personal system of values Ability - a combination of knowledge, understanding and capacity that enable one to perform some task or process

Another great resource for instructional designers: http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itcon.html

This is a great resource for instructional designers or anyone else interested in instructional design, learning, education and technology. It's published by San Diego State University, with general editor Bob Hoffman. From the site: The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology (EET) is a collection of short multimedia articles on a variety of topics related to the fields of instructional design and education and training. The primary audiences for the EET are students and novice to intermediate practitioners in these fields, who need a brief overview as a starting point to further research on specific topics. Authors are graduate students, professors, and others who contribute voluntarily. Articles are short and use multimedia to enrich learning rather than merely decorate the pages. http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/

- Repetition - Time - Sequence - Step-size - Similarity/Constrast -> Differentiability - Feedback - Intensity/Effort -> Significance Removing: - Focus: this is subsumbed by repetition - Target: the target is the "desired state"

Self-efficacy is really faith. There are two types of faith: faith as a principle of action and faith as a principle of power. Although both apply to learning, it is primarily the first type that relates to self-efficacy. When we believe we can do it we will try.

I may want to reference the ideas of Walter Gong in my discussion on practice. (The three personal model of learning and teaching in which learners become teachers.)

Paul Merrill took a piano class at BYU in which the students were required to give recitals periodically. One day the instructor said to him, "the difference between you and me is that you practice until you can get it right, I get it right and then I practice." Related idea: practice with feedback makes it perfect, then perfect practice makes it permanent.

"Learning isn't much good unles it persists. The problem with our educational system is that most of what we spend our time learning in classrooms doesn't stay with us." Paul Merrill

The other day my chair, Dr. Paul Merrill, described to me Dr. Dave Merrill's "push-down" principle---the idea that as things become learned more deeply they require less effort and can be applied more broadly (or something like that). I'll need to look this up in the literature to understand it better.

In talking about learning potential, I may want to reference the ideas of Thomas Gilbert.

Ok, this is subject to change but here is my current title and central premise: Principles of Learning - A conceptual framework of learning on which domain-specific, individualized, theories of learning can be constructed. The central premise of this work is that there does not now exist, nor will there ever exist, any single theory of learning sufficiently broad to apply to all learning situations and yet specific enough to be effective. However, there does exist a relatively small set of principles, fundamental and universally applicable in their nature, upon which all learning is predicated. Set in the broader context of a conceptual framework of learning these principles serve as a foundation upon which domain-specific, individualized theories of learning might be constructed.

"Several people who have written about the process of theory construction have advocated the use of paradigms or metatheories as useful for providing a framework within which to build one's theory (e.g., Snelbecker, 1974; Snow, 1971), and such frameworks can be very useful for both understanding and evaluating a theory or model as well." (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 14) Snelbecker - paradigm Snow - metatheory Reigeluth - "For our purposes, we use the term framework as synonymous with both paradigm and metatheory."

Although I feel that this work is of value it seems so insignificant compared to what I have learned in producing it. If only I could give that to the world, then I would feel my contribution is truly great. However, that progression is not something that can be given, but rather something that each person must discover and attain individually. Hopefully this work will, at least, give a good strong nudge in the right direction. (me, 2008)

In 300 BC, Socrates (470-399BC) engaged his learners by asking questions (know as the Socratic or dialectic method). He often insisted that he really knew nothing, but his questioning skills allowed others to learn by self-generated understanding. Plato (428-348 BC), who was a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. Plato founded what is said to be the first university - his Academy (near Athens) in around 385 BC. He also believed that all knowledge is innate at birth and is perfectible by experiential learning during growth. This was an early suggestion to the current theory of constructivism . Along with many others in his time, Aristotle (384-322 BC) placed a strong emphasis on an all-round and balanced development. Play, physical training, music, debate, and the study of science and philosophy were to all have their place in the forming of body, mind and soul. Like Plato before him, he saw such learning happening through life - although with different emphases at differen

In the 5th-century BC, the philosopher Lao-Tse (also Lao-tzu) wrote "If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will see. But if you let me experience, I will learn." And so began one of the first active learning philosophies. Other Chinese philosophers, such as Kung Fu-tse (Latinized as Confucius) and Han Fei-Tzu, followed Lao-Tse by using a method that closely resembles what we now call the case method or case study. A member of the study group would present a paradox, which would be in the form of a parable. They would then discuss it and explore possible resolutions. (Clark, 2008)

This is a list of people, ideas, models, theories, etc... that I should consider including in my literature review. ------------------------------------------ From Clark (2008): Lao-Tse (5th century BC) - "If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will see. But if you let me experience, I will learn." ; Kung Fu-tse (Latinized as Confucius) and Han Fei-Tzu, followed Lao-Tse by using a method that closely resembles what we now call the case method or case study Socrates: the socratic method Plato: the dialectic (the socratic method); first university 385 BC; knowledge innate at birth and perfectable by experiential learning during growth Aristotle: association of ideas, balanced develoment (music, sports, play, debate, science, ...); recall Organized apprenticeship in Egypt around 2000 BC Schools organized around the 10th century Teaching: transmitting content from teacher to student; students are "empty vessels" and teacher can "pour" content into t

This is a list of all the things I come across in my thinking, and especially in my review of the literature, that I need to consider in developing my descriptive model of learning an teaching. Association Memory On the job training (OJT) Apprenticeship Observational learning (Albert Bandura)

(And a ton of other useful and interesting stuff for Instructional Designers and others interested in learning, teaching and training.) http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/history2.html

Select from a list of 441 works of classical literature by 59 different authors, including user-driven commentary and "reader's choice" Web sites. Mainly Greco-Roman works (some Chinese and Persian), all in English translation. http://classics.mit.edu/index.html Search and other features of the site don't work, but the writings are available online for reading.

Also from Freeman (1813), "...the learning of the letters in their detached situation, is a dry, tedious, discouraging process. But learning them, in learning words, is, it is presumed, much more tolerable. Indeed, the difference resembles that which is experienced by two travellers engaged in a toilsome journey, one of whom is amused with a variety of objects that attract his notice, and thus beguile the tediousness of the way; while the other sees no beauty in the surrounding scenery, but is perpetually poring over his present toil, and the disheartening distance that separates him from the end of his journey. We always like to observe too, that we are making a progress; and this animates us, in encountering difficulties. On the other hand, if we seem to make no advances, we are in great danger of abandoning our pursuit." (pg. 17)

Way back in 1813, John Freeman described a method of teaching adult persons to read in which printed cards were used. The first card contained 7 lessons. The first six lessons, together, contained 100 words (like an, can, man, than, as, has, on, up-on, ...). The seventh lesson was made up of words selected from the previous 6. (Freeman, 1813, p. 12) Additional repetition was built in as follows (from pg. 14): The first line of the first lesson, should be repeatedly gone over, till it be perfectly known; and then be dismissed, and the second learned in the same manner. Afterwards, the remaining lines in this lesson, should be learned, one at a time. When this is accomplished, the whole of the first lesson is to be repeated, the words being spelled before they are pronounced. The second lesson should then be learned in the same manner as the first. When that is done, proceed to the third, and then to the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh; taking one at a time, in the order in which they

"And so the learner takes what is objective to his teachers, fuses it with his own peculiar thought in this subjective state, and then puts it in the form of words and gives it back as his own objectification of his own experience." (Boggs, 1907)

If we return to our observation of the child, I think we will find that imagination is the prevailing organization, and in the man of genius also, whether poet or scientist, there is just this ability to make new, free associations. The wise teacher, then, will be a person who, instead of doling out objective truths with one hand and with the other receiving back from the pupil the same idea stamped with the pupil's brain trade mark, shall rather be an interesting personality, a psychical and moral object in the pupil's environment from which the pupil can enlarge his own subjective experience. He is not to dictate the conditions of learning, but be on hand to supply the ideas which will be food for the already interesting ideas of the child, or even to help the child find his own interesting ideas. He must serve as the model for the 'trying on,' as Dickens's dolls' dressmaker, Jenny Wren, would say, of halfsubjective, half-objective ideas; and he must be on han

Aronson, D. T., & Briggs, L. J. (1983). Contributions of Gagneì and Briggs to a prescriptive model of instruction. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-design theories and models: An overview of the current status (Vol. 1, pp. 75-100). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Boggs, L. P. (1907). "The Psychology of the Learning Process." The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods 4(18): 477-481. Bunderson, C. V. (2003). How to build a domain theory: On the validity centered design of construct-linked scales of learning and growth (pdf). In M. Wilson (Ed.), Objective Measurement: Theory into Practice: Ablex Publishing Co. (PDF available online at: http://www.edumetrics.org/papers/How_to_build_a_Domain_Theor.pdf ) Calkins, M. W. (1907). Psychology: What is it About? The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, 4(25), 673-683. Clark, D. R. (2008), A Time Capsule of Training and Learning. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd

Too often pedagogy has taken it for granted that consciousness is dealing with exactly the same material in the same form while learning that it does later when the subject is learned, and hence it has given rules for the arrangement of definite ideas instead of for forming the clear, definite ideas out of the vague, confused state popularly called feeling, through a transition stage which we call interest, until the ideas stand out clear and well defined and expressible in words. (Boggs, 1907)

This is a descriptive model of learning on which domain-specific prescriptive theories of learning can be built. These domain-specific prescriptive theories of learning are my interpretation of what C. Victor Bunderson has called "domain theories".

Practice includes: tasks, activities, exercise, experience, and experimentation. The principles that will make a given learning experience effective are captured in (or at least, they should be capture in) the practice activity. Practice can be defined by the learner, the instructor, a peer, an activity in a textbook, an instructional video, an exercise routine. Practice also happens informally in the everyday experiences of our lives. Practice, in my use of the term, also includes one-time learning experiences like burning yourself on a hot stove and saying, I'll never do that again. And then never doing it again.

Suppose we say that all learning is "progression." This implies that there is a goal, or a destination (i.e. we progress toward some end). Is building muscle learning? Is developing coordination learning? Is adding neural synapsis learning? How about this: Learning is a relatively permanent change in the learner that makes the learner capable of doing something beyond, or outside of the bounds of, what they were previously capable of.

The learning environment can be one or both of the following: 1) Content providing: e.g. other skiers provide good and bad examples, mountain provides visual input to understand skiing (compared to talking about skiiing in a classroom, chalkboard drawings, pictures, video, etc...) 2) Performance enabling: e.g. the mountain, snow, a ski lift, provide a place to ski; skis, boots and poles provide equipment to ski. e.g. a harness can help a diver safely learn a new dive, e.g. a foam pit can help a gymnast safely learn a new move

- All learning experiences have at least one agent: the learner. - If learning is guided by another individual, a second agent is present: a teacher or mentor. - Learning might also include a third type of agent: peers. Interaction with peers can provide practice, feedback, motivation, examples, etc...

The process of learning is the process of crossing the gap between Current State and Desired State. The successful process of learning is contigent upon the fundamental Principles of Learning . The Principles of Learning are manifest through practice/exercise/experience/experimentation (hereafter referred to as simply Practice). Practice does not happen unless there is sufficient motivation and confidence. Practice is most meaningful in the proper context or environment. The context is created through physical surroundings, other people, multi-media resources, projects, on-the-job integration, etc... Learners or Instructors, or both, can drive practice. Practice can also be driven from instruction that is captured and presented in media resources (videos, audio, textbooks, etc...).

These principles of learning are fundamental (they are the foundation for learning) and universal (they are applicable in all learning situations). - Repetition - Time - Sequence - Step-size - Similarity/Constrast -> Differentiability - Feedback - Focus - Target - Intensity/Effort -> Significance

Current state (of being, knowing, doing, feeling, thinking, ability, ...) Desired state The difference between the Desired State and the Current State is Learning Potential. Learning is the change (the delta) from current to desired state. Fundamental Principles of Learning describe what is needed to close the gap.

- "a 'jumping together' of knowledge by the linking of facts and fact-based theory across disciplines to create a common groundwork of explanation " Wilson 1998, p. 8 as cited in Driscoll (2000, p. 9) - "we are approaching a new age of synthesis when the testing of consilience is the greatest of all intellectual challenges" Wilson 1998, p. 11-12 as cited in Driscoll 2000, p. 10)

The study of learning is not itself a discipline and is therefore approached in many different ways: Behaviorists -> observable events Cognitivists -> memory processes Socialists -> interactions "two apparently competing theories may not be directed at even the same phenomena" (Driscoll 2000, p. 8)

- the "process of theory building is recursive" (Driscoll 2000, p. 7) - is not necessarily orderly or objective - in development of a particulary theory, research tends to be cumulative (Driscoll 2000, p. 8) - Normal Science (Kuhn 1970 in Driscoll 2000, p. 8) - logical next steps to account for unexpected or contradictory findings - Extraordinary Science - propose an alternative, truly competing theory; a real breakthrough in scientific progress and knowledge development (Driscoll 2000, p.9)

- a dissenting view to the associative view of memory - insight: not just simple connections between stimuli and response; but perceiving stimuli in new ways (e.g. apes solving puzzles to get food) - knowledge comes from more than just experience -> the knower imposes organization on sensory data - Gestalt: configuration, organization - Four characteristics of insightful learning (Driscoll 2000, p. 24) 1) After a period of inactivity or trial and error, the learner suddenly and completely grasps the solution. 2) The learner performs the solution in a smooth and errorless fashion. 3) The learner retains the solution for a very long time. 4) The learner can easily apply a principle gained through insight to other, similar problems.

- Pavlonian or classical conditioning - learned reflex Unconditioned Stimulus (US) -- e.g. bell ringing Natural Stimulus (NS) -- e.g. food Response (R) -- e.g. salivating NS -> R NS + US -> R US -> R - Human conditioning -- Baby Albert (Watson and Rayner 1920) NS - hammer hitting steel bars US - white rat R - crying - Stimulus generalization -- also cried with white rabbit or fur coat - Higher order conditioning (Driscoll 2000, p. 22) - Systematic desensitization (Driscoll 2000, p. 22) - Wolpe 1958, 1969; Brewer 1974 (cited in Driscoll 2000, pp. 22-23) only subjects told about UCS - CS pairings tended to acquire the conditioned response Leahey and Harris 1997 p. 23

- Association btw Sensation and Impulse - Animals (cats and chickens) in puzzle box experiments - Association made when actions result in satisfying consequences

- Provided a foundation for later investigations in cognition. - Ushered in new era of interest in the study of learning (Hernstein & Boring (1965) as cited in Driscoll, 2000, p. 18) - Associationism - ideas become connected through experience; higher frequency -> stronger bond; therefore, learning should be predictable based on the number of times a given association is repeatedly experienced (Ebbinghaus [1885] 1913, as cited in Driscoll 2000, p. 18) - Provided experimental verification of some obvious facts about memory - The Forgetting Curve (Driscoll 2000, p. 19) - Note: forgetting of other learned experiences may follow different curve (e.g. personally traumatic events) (Bourne et al 1986 as cited in Driscoll 2000, p. 19)

(in Driscoll 2000) Ebbinghaus: Principle of association (1850-1909) Thorndike: Law of effect (1874-1949) Pavlov: Classical conditioning (1849-1946) Gestalt theory: Insightful learning (Early 1900s)

I will not include a discussion on epistomology or philosopy. Nor will I discuss how knowledge is represented in the mind.

"a set of constructs linking results (changes in performance), means (hypothesized structures and processes responsible for learning) and inputs (resources or experiences that trigger learning)" (Driscoll, 2000, p. 3)

"a persisting change in performance or performance potential that results from experience and interaction with the world" (Driscoll, 2000, p. 3)

Rough outline: Intent, Values, Range of Convenience The Descriptive Model Method of Application Other Applications

Questions to answer: What is a theory? How do new theories come into existence? How do they come into popular use? What makes a theory valid ? By what criteria should a theory be evaluated?

Questions to answer: What is it? What are the major theories? How are the theories similar and different? Can they be unified in one model? What themes emerge in the literature? What's missing from the theories?

Questions to answer: What is it? What are the major theories? How are the theories similar and different? Can they be unified in one model? What themes emerge in the literature? What's missing from the theories?

Language teaching history and tradition Methods Post-methods (informed ecclectacism, principle-based teaching) But WHAT principles? Fundamental PRINCIPLES of LEARNING

This work reviews and synthesizes what we know (as recorded in the literature) about learning and instructional design with my own experiences and original ideas. It presents a combined instructional design and learning theory in the form of a descriptive model of learning and teaching, along with a prescriptive method for applying the model to develop new instruction or otherwise enable successful learning experiences.