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.