Thinking about... what really makes a difference to learning (part four)

This blog is the fourth and final part in the series; 'what really makes a difference to learning'. Read part one here.

This series outlines the research I have conducted into learning. I have collated and summarised the research into eight easily digestable 'rules for learning'. This blog outlines the final two, rules 7 and 8.

Rule 7 - Pupils remember (learn) what they think about 

Pupils remember what they think about and therefore the best teachers ensure pupils spend time thinking about the meaning of what they are learning.

One way to ensure pupils spend time engaged in thinking about what they are learning is through elaboration. Elaboration involves pupils giving new material meaning by expressing it in their own words and connecting it with what they already know.

The more an individual can elaborate on how new learning relates to what they already know, the stronger the grasp on new learning will be, and a greater number of connections will be created to remember it later. Simply strategies that can be employed within the classroom include:

•  Making links to other previously leant material.
• Pupils explaining concepts in their own words. 
• Asking pupils to relate concepts to their life outside of the classroom
• A powerful form of elaboration is creating a metaphor or visual image. 

Generation is another effective strategy as it makes the mind more receptive to new learning. It is attempting to answer a question or solve a problem before being shown the answer or solution. The following are generation tasks: 

•  Reading and filling in the blanks (more effective than simply reading)
• Experimental learning/problem solving.
• Skim reading and followed by explaining the key ideas that you expect to find, why it is useful to read it and how it might link to prior learning.
• Homework – solve problems before getting to class. 

Reflection - Is a combination of elaboration and retrieval practice that adds layers and strengthens skills.

Taking the time to review what has been learnt through metacognitive questions and ‘writing to learn’. Following lessons or topics pupils might be required to ‘write to learn’ by generating their own written summaries of the key ideas they have learnt.  For example; restating concepts in their own words and elaborating on the subject by generating examples of them.

One final suggestion to ensure pupils think about what you want them to learn is to organise learning by creating a conflict around a conflict. In other words, the material we want pupils to know is the answer to a question and the question generates that conflict. Start with the material you want pupils to learn and work backwards to the intellectual question it poses. This can become a real aid to learning because if it is done successfully you are engaging pupils with the actual substance of the discipline. Simple, yet effective, strategies can be used to create a conflict:

• Replace learning objectives with a key question. 
• Planned questions.
• Dialogic questioning.

Rule 8 - The pupils don’t know when they are learning

Individuals are poor judges of when they are learning and when they are not. When learning is hard, slow and feels less productive pupils tend to resort to strategies that feel more beneficial, unaware that these are temporary.

Poor study techniques such as re-reading and highlighting text provides the illusions of mastery. Pupils read a text and because they can fluently follow it gives them the illusion that they know it. However, when put to the test they cannot recall the critical ideas or apply them in a new context.

Pupils prefer reading and highlighting because it feels more fluent and it ‘feels like learning’. However, the struggles experienced with trying to recall information is far more beneficial. It can, for pupils, feel frustrating but the effort actually increases your ability to recall in the future. Also, studying something after trying to recall it helps an individual learn it better than if they had not tried to recall it.

Having established what doesn’t work, pupils need to engage in more effective revision strategies that work well and make a difference to learning. These could include:

• Retrieval Practice - Pupils should engage in practice testing and regular low stake self-quizzing.
• Self-testing should be spaced out and interleaved with different topics.
• Why? Should become the main form of studying in place of re-reading. It arrests forgetting, improves storage strength and helps recall in the future (increases retrieval strength).
• Self-explanation – pupils should consider how new information can be linked to what they already know. This is where mind maps – might come in useful. The process of creating the mind map is probably more useful than the finished product itself.
• One of the most effective strategies for improving pupils’ ability to retain information is explicitly educating students about the research on effective learning strategies.  Educators are encouraged to be transparent about the frustrations but the importance of the ‘testing effect’ and the principle of ‘desirable difficulties’ whilst warning them of the ‘illusions of knowing’.