CHAPTER 4
PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING
INTRODUCTION
Learning is a change in behavior as a result of experience. As a Navy instructor, you want that change to go beyond your influence in the classroom. You want your students to apply their learning on their jobs.
The objective of any act of learning is that it should serve us in the future. That is especially true in the technical training fields. To cause this behavior change in your students, you must understand what causes learning to occur. This chapter examines some practical, time-proven basic principles of learning and your responsibilities in using them.
WAYS OF LEARNING
All learning should be meaningful. To make learning as meaningful as possible, you need to understand how students learn. Of the five different ways of learning addressed here, no one particular way is necessarily better than the others. Your students will use some combination of these ways of learning in every class you teach. Your understanding of the ways people learn will assist you in helping your students learn and retain the information presented.
IMITATION
A significant part of what a person learns occurs through imitation. This way of learning begins early in people's lives and lasts throughout their lifetime. In (primarily the instructor) and to imitate their behavior is natural. Learning takes place even without direct reinforcement of the repeated behavior. Therefore, as the instructor, you must a training environment, for students to observe others always strive to set the proper example because you are the role model. Additionally, you need to provide positive reinforcement to students for properly imitated behavior.
TRIAL AND ERROR
Sometimes referred to as discovery learning, trial and error is learning by doing. Students can achieve success sooner if you set a proper example for them to imitate. A proper example reduces the number of errors students make and thus helps to develop their self-confidence. Although the mastering of most skills requires this way of learning to some degree, it does involve some hazards. Think back to when you learned how to ride a bicycle to help you visualize some of the hazards of this way of learning. It can be dangerous to the students and the equipment. It can also become frustrating if repeated trials don't lead to some success. The Navy Instructor Training School is a good example of where this way of learning is currently used as students present lessons during performance exams. Students receive proper supervision, reinforcement of acceptable performance, and get immediate feedback on how to correct errors.
ASSOCIATION
Association is a comparison of past learning to a new learning situation. It is a mental process that serves as a reference point for students. Learners can confront new problems more easily if those new problems contain elements similar to those previously mastered. For example, to help students more easily understand electricity flowing in a circuit, you might compare it to water flowing through a pipe. Use comparisons, contrasts, and examples to reinforce your explanations. Although you will have many opportunities to use association during your lessons, remember that you will have students with different experience levels in your class. Make sure you use associations to which all students can relate.
INSIGHT
Insight is the understanding that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. Learning by insight occurs when the learner suddenly grasps the way elements of a problem situation are connected. The term describes a person's unplanned discovery of a solution to a problem-- often referred to as the "ah-ha" phenomenon. That phenomenon results from a mental reorganization of ideas and concepts rather than from simple trial and error. Some individuals gain insight more rapidly than others. Individual backgrounds affect each learner's ability to gain insight, as does the sequence in which you present basic learning experiences. To help students gain insight, you must stimulate thinking. Use appropriate questions to get their minds working. Encourage thought rather than rote memorization by using questions that require associations, comparisons, and contrasts.
TRANSFER
Transfer is the process of applying past learning to new but somewhat similar situations. This process is important in Navy technical training because the training environment can rarely duplicate the actual job environment. Your goal is to teach students the importance of applying their learning on the job. If possible, provide realistic exercises by using the actual (or the same type of) equipment students will use on the job. The Navy's damage control team training is a good example of how this type of learning takes place.
LAWS OF LEARNING
Laws and principles of learning are attempts to define the fundamental conditions of the learning process. In general, we have five almost universally accepted laws of learning. Each of these laws has common sense applications based on lessons people have learned over the years. Your mastery of these applications will greatly enhance your ability to influence your students to learn and perform at a high level.
LAW OF READINESS
According to the law of readiness students learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to learn. Since learning is an active process, students must have adequate rest, health, and physical ability. Students who are exhausted or in ill health obviously cannot learn much. Although these areas are beyond your control, you must know how to address them in your classroom. For students to be mentally ready to learn, they must master certain knowledge and skills at one level before they can learn those required at the next higher level. For example, students who have not learned the basic application of a law have little chance of applying that law to more complex situations. Just as students must be ready to learn, you must be ready to teach. Always prepare your lesson plans, training materials, and classroom or laboratory before you begin to teach. Your readiness is an important step in gaining the confidence and attention of your students. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression.
LAW OF EFFECT
An individual learns best those things which result in satisfying consequences. Since the law of effect has a direct relationship to motivation, it has many practical applications for you in the training environment.
One of the most basic applications is in your relationship with adult students. Adults want immediate benefits from training, so begin your instruction by presenting the benefits of the lesson. Continue to remind students of these benefits throughout the training. Point out the value of the training in meeting the needs of your students: self-satisfaction, self-confidence, improved skills, and so forth. Begin each lesson with a statement of objectives to help students establish goals, and let them know you expect them to meet those goals. Motivate students by providing positive reinforcement as they proceed from success to success. That is the basis of the law of effect.
LAW OF PRIMACY
Based on the law of primacy, students retain information they learn for the first time longer than they retain information they must relearn. Unlearning incorrect procedures (or bad habits) is always more difficult than learning the correct procedures in the beginning. Therefore, the law of primacy plays an important role in Navy training. Navy training courses allow a limited amount of time for learning do not include time for students to relearn improperly taught information. Make sure you teach the correct information and procedures the first time; proceed from the simple to the complex, from the known to the unknown. Clarify misunderstandings and errors before moving on. Remember, your students must be ready to learn new material.
LAW OF EXERCISE
This law is based on the old maxim that practice makes perfect. It has been proven that students learn best and retain information longer when they have meaningful practice and repetition. The key here is that the practice must be meaningful. It is clear that practice leads to improvement only when it is followed by positive feedback. That means that as an instructor, you need to follow upon every homework assignment, every lab exercise, and any other student activities you assign. Students must have supervised practice in applying new skills to reach the required level of expertise to master course objectives. That is how the transfer method of learning takes place; from the information you teach, to the students' use of it.
LAW OF INTENSITY
The law of intensity states that a vivid experience is learned better and retained longer. Make your instruction powerful enough to have a strong, positive effect on your students by getting them actively involved in the lesson. Instruction that allows students to sit passively in the classroom doesn't have much intensity. You can talk about the effects of tear gas all day. But talking will never have the same impact as putting students in a controlled environment and letting them experience tear gas without a gas mask. That is Intensity.
Use the best instructional media available, including the real thing. Use examples, analogies, and personal experiences to make learning come to life. Make learning interactive by initiating and controlling your students' involvement in the learning process.
FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING
Many factors affect learning. Everyone does not learn in exactly the same way or at the same rate. Each is subject to a variety of negative and positive influences in the overall process. You need to be aware of as many factors that affect learning as you can. The more you know, the better chance you have of positively influencing the learning process.
MOTIVATION
Perhaps the single most important factor in a student's educational advancement is motivation. Unfortunately, it is one of the hardest to get a handle on or to channel effectively. Humans basically try to succeed and, conversely, try vigorously to avoid failure. While we need to remember that occasional failure is human, we must do everything possible to organize student efforts toward success. Simple things like word selection in the training environment can add to or detract from the learning effort.
Motivation often has as much or more impact than scholastic ability. Students bring different abilities and experience levels to the training environment. Motivation, or a lack thereof many times determines whether or not a student masters the course objectives. Many times students with the highest ASVAB scores do not make the grade while students who may have entered your course with an academic waiver do very well. Talk to any seasoned instructor and he or she can probably recall at least one special student who "made it" in spite of minimal background or less-than-average ability. Little doubt exists that motivation, either internally or externally stimulated, initiates behavior; directs it; and, when derailed, can reduce or stop it.
THE LEARNING SENSES
Sensory learning is the first that occurs for any human being. Its influence is apparent in children as we watch them grow up. Each sense, either singularly or in various combinations, provides a pathway to learning. With that in mind, an examination of sensory learning and its special considerations can provide insight into the learning process.
Sight is considered the most important sense, accounting for as much as 75 percent of our basic learning. Most early learning comes f r om seeing and imitating. Therefore, you would be wise to consider using appropriate visual aids in your presentations. Remember, however, to recognize and accommodate students with any visual impairment.
Hearing is the second most important sense, accounting for a large percentage of the remaining sensory learning capacity. Experts differ on specific numbers, but the significance of sight and sound together is overwhelming. Just as with sight impairments, you must accommodate students with hearing impairments. Your speech patterns and volume are critical classroom learning factors.
The sense of touch, while important in itself, becomes a major learning factor when combined with other senses. Children do not associate the word "hot" with anything in particular until they associate the word with their sense of touch. Through experience, we become sensitive to temperature, pressure, and the overall feel of things. For instance, an experienced engineer doesn't need a temperature gauge to determine if a bearing is running hot, just as an experienced damage control investigator doesn't need one to decide that the temperature of a watertight door is above normal.
The senses of taste and smell may not seem important in Navy training. In many cases they aren't. Consider if you will, though, the importance of taste to the training of cooks and bakers. The sense of smell, which is closely associated with taste, is very strong and primitive in nature. It is part of our human warning system. For example, electricians immediately recognize the smell of burning insulation. Others become sensitive to the smell of various gases. Therefore, the sense of smell is a valuable learning tool in certain narrow applications.
Although it is not normally identified as one of the senses, the phenomenon of kinesthesia is an extension of sensory learning. Think of it as a sensory perception residing in one's muscles, joints, and tendons that gives people a special awareness of their spatial relationship with their surroundings. Kinesthesia is actually a blend of all senses with psychomotor and perceptual skills. It manifests itself in people's ability to balance or move with coordination.
Remember, students develop their skills through practice. You cannot realistically expect students in a welding class to have the coordination to weld the back side of a pipe in the overhead while using a mirror without some practice to develop that skill.
Retention, with respect to sensory learning, is open to many interpretations and opinions. It has been estimated that people retain only 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, and 30 percent of what they see. When those senses are combined, however, retention takes a dramatic leap forward. Those same estimates tell us that when someone hears and sees, retention jumps to 50 percent. That makes a great argument for incorporating appropriate audiovisual media into your teaching. By asking proper questions to augment sight and sound to stimulate thinking, you can push student retention close to the 70 percent level. Requiring students to use all of their senses in skill training along with procedural steps and principles can increase their retention to as much as 90 percent. That implies a fair degree of mastery learning.
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS
Even though each individual is different in some way from every other individual, the majority of your students share certain common characteristics. Your knowledge and understanding of these characteristics can help you make more intelligent judgments and decisions about training, especially in the counseling and tutoring areas.
One characteristic students share is their belief in their maturity. Your students want to be treated as adults. Appeal to that desire for maturity by holding them accountable for their actions. Demand an adult level of work from each student. Emphasize adult learning techniques that demand "hands on" experience, and treat your students with respect. Regularly emphasize the law of effect.
None of your students come to class wanting to fail. Use their basic desire to succeed to its strongest advantage by striving to help them move from success to success. The adage that success breeds success is certainly true in the learning environment. You must instill self-confidence in students by providing reinforcement that encourages further learning. If students are regularly unsuccessful, they will become frustrated and give up. Always be supportive, interested, and encouraging.
Another common student characteristic is the ability to evaluate. Most students are quick to form opinions. What do students evaluate? Everything; especially you, the instructor. They can quickly detect lack of competence, enthusiasm, and sincerity. It has been said that your students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. You need to be dedicated to doing your best to make each student successful in your class. Students will always evaluate, so do not give them an opportunity for adverse evaluations.
Fallibility is a trait we all have--everyone makes mistakes. Remember that as an instructor so that you don't lose patience when students make mistakes. Most of us take our knowledge and skills for granted; we often forget the difficulties we had gaining those skills. Make sure you have patience and provide encouragement as students move through the various stages of competency. When minor failures occur, and they will, capitalize on them by turning them into positive learning experiences. Nothing can stigmatize and remotivate students quicker than ridicule or the implication that they are "losers." You can be more empathetic toward learners' difficulties by reflecting on your own early trials.
Students have a high regard for instructors who show a sense of fair play. Either favoring or picking on certain students degrades an instructor to the students. Treat all learners fairly, equally, and as adults. Leaning on the expertise or insight of the gifted or experienced student is easy, and isn't wrong. The secret is not to give the impression of showing certain students favored treatment. Conversely, be careful not to give the impression of picking on or badgering slower students. Treat all students by the same standards.
Recognition is a basic human need both in and out of the classroom, That characteristic provides instructors with great opportunities to motivate students to learn. We are not talking about special liberty, but merely the simple recognition for a job well done. Since techniques vary, you must develop your own approach to recognizing special performance. Always give recognition to students who respond to questions or contribute to classroom discussions. Be sure to recognize students promptly and to a degree commensurate with their effort.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
We have already touched somewhat on individual differences among learners. They are many and varied, requiring versatility and insight on your part. The most obvious, of course, are the physical differences. Your major concerns in the area of physical differences, besides those for sight and hearing impairments, are those dealing with physical prerequisites for training.
Students commonly enter the training arena without actually meeting established prerequisites. Learn your students' physical capabilities so that you can prevent them from injuring themselves or other students. More subtle differences exist in aptitude and ability. Aptitude depends on the student's intelligence, inquisitiveness, ambition, reasoning ability, and other mental traits. Ability is somewhat similar to aptitude but deals more with skills in processing information to acquire concepts or to master physical skills.
Training is aimed at the center of our target population, the average learner. Since your job is to keep courses geared to the average learner, you must know as much about the individuals in the class as possible. Slow learners require your patience and understanding, often forcing you to devote extra effort toward tutoring, diagnosing specific difficulties, or motivating them toward success. Fast learners can become classroom assets if you appeal to their superior knowledge and leadership qualities. They can just as easily turn into liabilities if cast adrift in a sea of boredom while waiting for their peers to catch up.
Emotional differences also play a major role in training. Almost every class will have students with personalities ranging from introverted to extroverted. Neither is "bad." Most will be somewhere around the middle of the spectrum. Those at the extremes, however, will require understanding and special attention. The extrovert is sociable and outspoken, usually demonstrating outgoing behavior. You may have some concern of losing control of the class because of the extrovert's "take charge" nature. Learn to recognize and control the behavior without squelching the desirable trait of wanting to take an active part. The introvert, on the other hand, will be shy and nonaggressive. Do not confuse that with a lack of aptitude or ability. Draw these students into class activities by using whatever motivational tools you can muster without giving the appearance of badgering.
Students' experiences and backgrounds also play major roles in the makeup of most classes. Most classes will be made up of students with widely varying backgrounds. As an instructor, you should be aware of some research recently completed by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). In The AAUW Report: How Schools Shortchange Girls, the research discovered gender bias was still prevalent within our school systems from the pre-school through college level. Females are simply not encouraged to participate in classrooms, and in fact, are admonished for behavior such as speaking out or answering incorrectly. Their male counterparts, however, are rewarded for vocal behavior in the classroom through gaining of the teacher's attention and dismissal of inappropriate behaviors with the old axiom of "boys will be boys." Research has shown that when a male answers a question incorrectly, the teacher will coach them to the right answer. When a female provides an incorrect answer, the teacher will give her the right answer. Thus, a female never develops reasoning skills or becomes interested in reaching beyond a right/wrong response.
Gender bias has many implications for those teaching technology-related courses. While the gender gap in mathematics achievement is small and declining, the gender gap in science areas has increased. Boys are not innately superior to girls in quantitative skills. girls' math grades are as high or higher than boys, but boys are likely to outperform girls on standardized math tests. Math confidence has a stronger link to math achievement than any other variable. As girls grow up, they lose confidence in their ability to do well in math. Studies have shown that girls' loss of confidence in their math abilities precedes a decline in achievement. Girls who do well in math tend to have nontraditional views of gender roles.
As you attempt to incorporate student experiences into course material, be aware that males and females tend to have very different experiences in the math/science areas. Girls more often opt for science courses such as advanced biology, while boys will take advanced chemistry and physics. Boys have more out-of-school, science-related experiences than girls. This gap in experience continues in school, where one study showed that 79 percent of all student-assisted science demonstrations were carried out by boys. Boys drop out of math and science courses because they cannot do the work, while girls abandon these fields even when they are performing well.
Using the experiences and backgrounds of students will inject a note of realism into training. By being aware of the gender equity issue, you will be able to avoid the traps of perpetuating gender bias in the examples you use in class.
You will also see differences in the attitudes students bring into the classroom. They will have many different reasons for attending the class. Some will be in the class because they want to be--for all the right reasons. Others will only be in the class because they have to be, and they will resent it. Some might be indifferent, just marking time. Attitudes undoubtedly affect performance since they indicate how students feel about learning at a particular time. You must detect the individual motivation levels indicated by attitudes so that you can channel students' efforts toward success.
LEARNING STYLES
Just as students have different ways of learning new material, they also have different styles of learning. One person's learning style may not be effective for another person. You must be flexible and perceptive enough to use various teaching techniques that appeal to more than one learning style. That increases the chances for all students to master the objectives of the training. You especially need to know a student's learning style when you must provide remediation or tutoring for a student having academic problems. Most people have a preferred or dominant style of learning, but use all of the basic learning styles to some extent depending upon the situation. As an instructor, you need to be aware of the four basic learning styles: concrete, active, reflective, and abstract.
Concrete learners prefer an experience-based approach to learning. They rely heavily on their own feelings and personal judgments. Personal involvement is the key for them. They learn best by imitation after watching others take part in role playing and simulations. They very much like to be involved with the "real thing." For example, suppose you were trying to teach your students how to operate a fire pump. Concrete learners would prefer to watch you demonstrate the operation. They could then operate the pump by imitating your performance.
Active learners prefer to learn by becoming involved with the subject and taking an active step-by-step approach. They learn best from small group discussions, structured exercises, and problem-solving approaches. Active learners are experimenters who prefer to systematically try out new skills. A trial-and-error way of learning appeals to them. To operate the fire pump, active learners would systematically try out several different ways of operation.
Reflective learners like to observe and reflect (make comparisons and contrasts) before drawing conclusions. They learn best from lectures, films, and reading. Reflective learners prefer to play the role of the impartial observer while watching others. To operate the fire pump, reflective learners would watch others operate the pump and reflect (think) about the different ways of operation. They would then analyze their observations before attempting to operate the pump themselves.
Abstract learners refer a theory-based, analytical approach to learning. They learn best from lectures by experts, theoretical reading, case studies, and activities that require solitary thinking. Abstract learners like to find the "theory" behind the subject matter and analyze the approach to discover what concepts are involved. In operating the fire pump, they would prefer to read about its principles of operation and to analyze the concepts involved in its operation before attempting to operate it.
Research has shown that students learn best and retain information longer when they are exposed to learning situations that include all four learning styles. That research found that group retention of information improved dramatically when instruction employed methods designed to involve more than one learning style. This is shown by the following percentages:
. Abstract = 20% retained
. Abstract and reflective = 50% retained
. Abstract, reflective, and concrete = 70% retained
. Abstract, reflective, concrete, and active = 90% retained
REASONS FOR FORGETTING
You can easily understand the problem of forgetting, since we all forget at times. However, as an instructor, you need to know how you can help decrease the forgetfulness of your students.
One of the most common causes of forgetting is disuse. People tend to forget what they don't use. What we forget with ease is factual information. That's why we write down telephone numbers. People have both long- and short-term memories. For example, short order cooks who receive verbal orders from waiters and waitresses place those orders in short-term memory and as they till the orders, forgets them. So, too, we forget the telephone numbers we just looked up a short time ago. However, factual information important to daily functioning goes into our long-term memory, so we usually retain it. Data in that category includes Social Security numbers, personal identification numbers for bank cards, frequently called telephone numbers, certain addresses, and so forth.
Since your students won't remember factual information very long, plan their learning around conceptual bases. Give students a concept and the knowledge of how to research and retrieve facts about that concept and you give them permanent learning. Concentrate on concept building by reviewing frequently, providing examples, and providing time for students to practice what they are learning.
Another cause of forgetting is interference. Interference occurs when the memory of one event hinders the recall of another. It could occur when outdated information students have learned blocks their memory of updated information. For example, former students of French who are trying to learn Spanish may keep recalling a French word while trying to remember its Spanish counterpart. The greatest help you can offer is to make sure learning is complete and conceptual. Once students have had sufficient practice to learn the information as a concept, they will retrieve the information more easily.
SUMMARY
Your practical application of the principles of learning will have a great impact on your students' ability to master course objectives. Knowing about these principles isn't enough; you must use them on a daily basis. To transfer your knowledge and skills as an expert in your field, you must understand what causes students to learn and what can interfere with that learning. Students have enough built-in obstacles to learning without you becoming one also. Learn, understand, and apply the principles of learning and you will be on your way to becoming a master trainer.
|
