Learning and Teaching - National Education …

1 BRIEFL earning and TeachingThis brief is based on an NEAR esearch working paper, Theories of Learning andTeaching: What Do They Meanfor Educators, by Susanne and Penelope (2006). The workingpaper describes in more detailnine seminal ideas drawn fromrecent research on teachingand Learning that have beeninfluential in Education reformand includes evidence andcitations for the ideas summa-rized in this brief. The fullpaper can be ordered by mailor online from the NEA:NEA Professional LibraryDistribution Box 404846 Atlanta, GA 30384-4846(800) 229-4200 FAX (770) 280-4134 For online orders, go the past 20 years,the United Stateshas been engaged in a National schoolreform movement focused on enabling allchildren to achieve high standards.

2 Ideasdrawn from recent research on Learning andteaching have been influential in guidingmany of these reform Ideas About LearningLearning as Active most critical shift in Learning theory dur-ing the past 20 years has been a move awayfrom a conception of Learning as passiveabsorption of information to a conception oflearning as the active engagement of theories of Learning viewed it as a pas-sive process, and much of school Learning hasbeen based on this premise. Teachers havebeen expected to do most of the talking, andstudents have been directed to recent theories of Learning view it as anactive, constructive process.

3 Individuals attemptto make sense of incoming information byinterpreting it in terms of their prior knowl-edge, by questioning its meaning, and byexploring its uses. Such activities play a criticalrole in enabling them to transform incominginformation into usable knowledge. Studentsbring their own ideas or preconceptions to thelearning process. Sometimes, students naivetheories resonate with academic knowledgeand teachers can build on them. At othertimes, students start with misconceptions and,unless teachers are aware of and know how toaddress students common misconceptions,students will not gain an understanding ofacademic knowledge.

4 New knowledge alwaysbuilds on prior knowledge. Therefore, if aca-demic content is to make sense to students,teachers must connect it with students back-ground as second significantshift in Learning theory pertains to the socialaspects of Learning . Traditionally, Learning inclassroom settings has been organized largelyas an individual activity. Students have beenexpected to learn mainly from listening to theThis brief outlines nine leading research-based concepts that have served as afoundation for Education reform. It compares existing ideas about Learning ,knowledge, and Teaching with conceptual benchmarks for best practice thatwould be consistent with current research.

5 The goal is to foster inquiry and sup-port fundamental, long-term improvement by offering promising ideas for read-ers to consider, discuss, and adapt to their 2006 BESTPRACTICESNEA RESEARCH2teacher and working on their own rather thanfrom engaging in meaningful interactions withtheir teacher and classmates about the contentbeing research calls our attention to the impor-tance of social interactions, such as conversa-tions, discussions, joint work, and debate, ininfluencing classroom Learning . Such interactionsprovide opportunities for students to learnthrough observing the performance of others,receiving feedback about their own performance,hearing alternative points of view, and engagingin the exchange of thinking that occurs when students worktogether is not solely the product of one , it comes from different minds in interac-tion with one another.

6 This enables students tohear ideas and make connections that they mightnot be able to make on their own. In a social set-ting, students can assist each other and developjointly constructed ideas. As educators havebecome increasingly aware of how social interac-tions influence Learning , some have begun toargue for inclusion of a wider array of teachingstrategies in American classrooms. These includeincreased opportunities for students to partici-pate in classroom discussions, to work togetherin small-group settings to solve complex prob-lems, and to participate in cooperative Differences as theories offer new perspectives aboutdifferences among learners.

7 One of the self-evi-denttruths of schooling is that learners comewith different experiences, capacities, under-standings, and backgrounds. Although have always had to deal with such differ-ences, today they confront more diverse studentpopulations than ever Learning theories help us under-stand that all students, regardless of their socialand cultural backgrounds, come to school withactive, inquiring minds. Using those theories,researchers have documented how teachers canuse the differences in thinking that studentsbring to instruction as resources for enhancingclassroom studies of mathematics instruction inJapanese classrooms provide a case in point.

8 Inthese classrooms, all students are asked to solvechallenging problems. As they work toward a solu-tion, their teachers encourage them to share theirideas and approaches with their teachers find that such sharing enhancesstudent Learning by providing a range of ideas andstrategies for students to consider and What, How, and fourth andfinal shift in Learning theory involves assumptionsabout the nature of the knowledge students shouldbe expected to acquire in school to function effec-tively as thinkers and problem several decades now.

9 Researchers have beenlooking closely at how experts in various fields( , chess, mathematics, and history) go aboutsolving problems in their own specialized , regardless of their field, draw on a richand well-structured knowledge base. Theirunderstanding of important concepts in theirfields enables themto see patterns and relation-ships that are not apparent to research offers new insights concerning thenature of the knowledge students should beexpected to acquire in school. It suggests that toattain competence in an academic discipline, stu-dents must (a) possess a deep foundation of fac-tual knowledge; (b) understand facts and ideas inthe context of a conceptual framework orschema; and (c) learn how to organize theirknowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval short, teachers can no longer afford to focussolely on Teaching the facts and procedures of adiscipline.

10 They also need to help their studentsunderstand its central ideas and concepts anddevelop competency in using its processes ofinquiry and Implications for Teaching and TeachersTeaching as Intellectual Learning have significant implications forteachers and Teaching . There is a widespreadbelief that the work of Teaching is simple andstraightforward. Follow the textbook, get studentsCopyright NEA pay attention, and they will learn. Now, withfar more challenging goals for students, teachingmust be viewed as complex, intellectual 1 compares typical existing practices withconceptual benchmarks for best practices thatwould be consistent with recent teachers are intellectuals.