John Almarode and Nancy Frey: A Look at How Learning Works
Resumen
TLDRThe webinar, hosted by John Elmerod and Nancy Pry, explores the complex processes of how learning works. They emphasize the importance of a balanced approach between scientific research (the science of learning) and its practical application in teaching (the art of teaching). The discussion covers essential topics such as the definition of learning, cognitive load management, and educational challenges teachers face in effectively conveying content. They aim to dispel educational myths such as learning styles, promoting instead a focus on evidence-based practices. A new concept from Stephen Chu introduces 'chokepoints and pitfalls' in learning, highlighting potential barriers in educational settings. The session also discusses practical strategies to apply these concepts in diverse classroom settings, emphasizing the need for teachers to adapt for individual student needs while remaining flexible and responsive.
Para llevar
- 🎓 John Elmerod and Nancy Pry explore how learning works.
- 🧠 Cognitive load is crucial in processing and retaining information.
- ❌ The myth of learning styles is debunked by the presenters.
- 🔬 Science of learning and art of teaching need to be balanced.
- 💡 Teachers should adapt scientific principles to classroom settings.
- 🚫 Potential classroom pitfalls can hinder learning success.
- 🌐 Effective teaching involves responding to classroom dynamics.
- 📚 New research on 'chokepoints and pitfalls' was introduced.
- 🎯 Practical classroom strategies enhance learning.
- 👩🏫 Teachers are the 'captains' adjusting for optimal learning.
Cronología
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
John Elmerod and Nancy Prye introduce themselves as educational experts in a webinar setting, aiming to explore the complex question of how learning works. Despite not having all the answers, they plan to discuss various perspectives and principles behind learning, emphasizing that teaching and learning are context-dependent experiences rather than fixed methods.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
The presenters propose that learning should not have multiple fragmented definitions but rather organized principles. They invite the audience to define learning succinctly. Elmerod suggests learning is a long-term change involving mental representations, resulting from designed experiences, not mere memorization or random activities.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
Nancy and John discuss the intersection of research and classroom application, considering learning a long-term change caused by designed experiences. They explore the potential science of teaching, which ideally merges research-based principles with classroom realities, challenging the notion of innate teaching talent by highlighting the art and expertise involved.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
The conversation shifts to the complexities of applying research, especially distinguishing between principles and practices in dynamic environments. They use the simple pendulum analogy to illustrate how educational principles must be adjusted for classroom complexities, which are far from the controlled conditions of research labs.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
Elmerod and Prye delve deeper into distinguishing principles from practices, underscoring the significance of teachers’ expertise in adapting subjects like spaced practice from research to real-life classroom settings. They discuss the importance of adaptability and customized teaching strategies to bridge research and actual teaching scenarios.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
John presents historical research on learning curves and spaced practice, questioning the direct application of these findings from lab to classroom settings. They argue that while research presents promising principles, teacher's expertise is crucial in transforming these principles into classroom practices.
- 00:30:00 - 00:35:00
The webinar highlights an interaction between research and pedagogical strategy, emphasizing the importance of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge over mere subject expertise. The presenters argue for professional decision-making in applying research insights like spaced practice effectively in varied educational contexts.
- 00:35:00 - 00:40:00
Discussion of cognitive load theory offers insight into the demands on student working memory. They distinguish between intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive loads, urging teachers to balance these for optimal learning. The conversational style engages participants in identifying cognitive load challenges.
- 00:40:00 - 00:45:00
Cognitive load management is elaborated with hypothetical data, connecting research to classroom solutions. Teachers are encouraged to continuously assess and adjust teaching approaches to maintain an effective balance of cognitive loads, ensuring that learning activities are neither overwhelming nor insufficiently challenging.
- 00:45:00 - 00:50:00
They introduce the concepts of chokepoints and pitfalls in learning, strategies to address mental barriers, and faulty assumptions made by educators. Real-life implications of these concepts are highlighted, connecting them back to practical classroom strategies, reinforcing the critical role of teacher adaptability.
- 00:50:00 - 00:58:34
The webinar concludes with reflections on challenged assumptions about learning, like multitasking and learning styles. It stresses that while everyone has different preferences, fundamental learning processes are similar across humans. Elmerod and Prye express hope that the session sparked deeper contemplation about teaching and learning.
Mapa mental
Vídeo de preguntas y respuestas
Who led the webinar about how learning works?
The webinar was led by John Elmerod and Nancy Pry.
What is the primary focus of this webinar?
The primary focus is understanding how learning works and how principles can be applied in classrooms.
What are some key topics discussed in the webinar?
Key topics include cognitive load, science of learning, promising principles and practices, and educational challenges.
Why is cognitive load important in learning?
Cognitive load is important because it refers to the mental effort used in working memory; balancing this is crucial for effective learning.
Do the presenters agree with the concept of learning styles?
No, the presenters refute the concept of learning styles as effective in teaching.
What role do teachers have according to the webinar?
Teachers are seen as the 'artistic' implementers who adapt scientific principles to the classroom context.
Was there any new research introduced in the webinar?
Yes, new research on "chokepoints and pitfalls" in learning by Stephen Chu was introduced.
Why is teaching compared to sailing a boat in the webinar?
Teaching is compared to sailing due to the need for constant adjustments based on the learning environment and student needs.
Was there a book mentioned that relates to the webinar topics?
Yes, the book 'How Learning Works' was discussed.
Are there opportunities for further learning based on the webinar?
Yes, there are opportunities for deeper learning through institutes and workshops on the topic.
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- 00:00:00john elmerod is an associate professor
- 00:00:03and executive director of teaching and
- 00:00:05learning in the college of education at
- 00:00:07james madison university
- 00:00:09he works with pre-service teachers and
- 00:00:11actively pursues his research interests
- 00:00:14he and his colleagues have presented
- 00:00:15their work to the united states congress
- 00:00:17the u.s department of education and the
- 00:00:19office of science and technology policy
- 00:00:22at the white house
- 00:00:23john has authored multiple articles
- 00:00:25reports and books including clarity for
- 00:00:27learning the success criteria playbook
- 00:00:30and how tutoring works
- 00:00:32and nancy pry
- 00:00:34is a professor in educational leadership
- 00:00:36at san diego state university and a
- 00:00:38leader at health sciences high and
- 00:00:40middle college
- 00:00:42she has been a special education teacher
- 00:00:44reading specialist and administrator in
- 00:00:46public schools
- 00:00:48nancy has engaged in professional
- 00:00:50learning communities for several decades
- 00:00:52building teams that design and implement
- 00:00:54systems to impact teaching and learning
- 00:00:56she has published numerous books
- 00:00:58including the teacher clarity playbook
- 00:01:01the plc plus book series
- 00:01:03rebound and leading the rebound
- 00:01:07and now to get started with today's
- 00:01:08webinar i will turn it over to john
- 00:01:12all right hey
- 00:01:14it's good to see everybody there's nancy
- 00:01:16have you watched the chat the variety of
- 00:01:19places that are chiming in
- 00:01:22it's wonderful to see people from all
- 00:01:25over the world
- 00:01:26and also people that are right down the
- 00:01:28road for me hi janet elko it's good to
- 00:01:31see you at least on uh on chat as well
- 00:01:34i'm sure you're seeing colleagues uh
- 00:01:37that are from your neck of the woods too
- 00:01:39as well as folks that we haven't had a
- 00:01:42chance to meet in other places all
- 00:01:44around the world welcome to all of you
- 00:01:47and i have to tell you there are a
- 00:01:49couple of folks on here from waynesboro
- 00:01:51and then i see a fellow jmu graduate who
- 00:01:54has two daughters at jmu
- 00:01:56so thank you for your contributions to
- 00:01:59higher education it's good to see
- 00:02:01everybody um
- 00:02:02nancy we've got to tackle a tough
- 00:02:05question i think it's one of those
- 00:02:06questions that you we all grapple with
- 00:02:09and we've all thought about
- 00:02:11but we're getting better and better at
- 00:02:13coming up with that answer
- 00:02:15although not perfect but we're getting
- 00:02:17closer to understanding how does
- 00:02:18learning work nancy did this ever come
- 00:02:20across your mind as a classroom teacher
- 00:02:23like pretty much every day how does
- 00:02:26learning work i know john whenever i
- 00:02:29first started teaching many many years
- 00:02:31ago
- 00:02:32and i really did think that learning was
- 00:02:36all about me just finding the right
- 00:02:40combination of activities and that
- 00:02:43somehow or another if i put those
- 00:02:45activities together in the right order
- 00:02:48that somehow learning would occur and it
- 00:02:51took quite a while before i realized
- 00:02:54that i had a very wise mentor teacher
- 00:02:56that said you know we're all brain
- 00:02:59workers i want you to think about the
- 00:03:01fact that we work with brains and it's
- 00:03:04important that we understand that things
- 00:03:07don't just happen randomly but that we
- 00:03:10can create some of those conditions that
- 00:03:12promote actual learning and not just
- 00:03:16behavior not just compliance
- 00:03:20that's right and i i can't help but go
- 00:03:22back to that
- 00:03:24infamous phrase that you doug and john
- 00:03:26hattie uh typed out in the assessment
- 00:03:29capable visible learners book by chance
- 00:03:32versus by design
- 00:03:34and i think about
- 00:03:35when i first started to think about
- 00:03:37changing brains because i was told a
- 00:03:39very similar story i had this vision of
- 00:03:41those those brain images that have all
- 00:03:43the different colors on them the oranges
- 00:03:45and the reds and yellows and i thought
- 00:03:46well wait if i take my students into a
- 00:03:49dark room and have them hold their nose
- 00:03:51and open their mouth do you actually see
- 00:03:53those colors
- 00:03:55right and understanding
- 00:03:57what what the brain science says and
- 00:03:59what its limits are
- 00:04:01in application to our classroom and what
- 00:04:03really does
- 00:04:05uh the research say about how learning
- 00:04:07works and so my hope is alongside you
- 00:04:09this evening and the brief time that
- 00:04:11we're together we can start to unpack a
- 00:04:13couple of ideas behind this question for
- 00:04:16those of you on the webinar just as a
- 00:04:18quick
- 00:04:19hint a preview of coming attractions we
- 00:04:22won't answer this question to completion
- 00:04:24in fact nancy and i are going to share
- 00:04:26some other ways of thinking about it to
- 00:04:29kind of get you to dive into this on
- 00:04:30your own because at the end of the day
- 00:04:32how learning works may have similar
- 00:04:34principles
- 00:04:36but what it looks like in nancy's
- 00:04:37classroom and what it looks like in mine
- 00:04:39is going to be different because they're
- 00:04:41students not widgets and i think that's
- 00:04:43what makes this difficult
- 00:04:46that's a good challenge for all of us
- 00:04:48john
- 00:04:49so hopefully we'll be able to knock out
- 00:04:51a couple of things before we depart
- 00:04:54what is meant by learning i think it's
- 00:04:56important that we move away from this
- 00:04:58idea that uh learning can be defined in
- 00:05:01eight million different ways
- 00:05:03instead
- 00:05:04what is our accepted definition of
- 00:05:06learning so we know what the target is
- 00:05:08um and then i want to share the research
- 00:05:10that we have in the playbook on
- 00:05:12promising principles and promising
- 00:05:14practices and what that means and why
- 00:05:16that is important and then we may look
- 00:05:18at a couple of the uh the ways to to
- 00:05:20explain this out and to work on this so
- 00:05:23nancy let's start with a question for
- 00:05:25them if you had to define learning i
- 00:05:27want you to take 30 seconds nancy and i
- 00:05:29are going to pause for 30 seconds and
- 00:05:31how would you define learning you can
- 00:05:33either use the chat box or think to
- 00:05:35yourself if the chat box is too
- 00:05:36overwhelming with this many folks how
- 00:05:38would you define learning take about 30
- 00:05:40seconds and let's see what pops up in
- 00:05:42the chat box
- 00:05:58hmm
- 00:06:07excellent
- 00:06:08yeah oh i love the joy did you see the
- 00:06:10joy
- 00:06:11that's a major part of it emotion is
- 00:06:14actually a major role of this in fact
- 00:06:16emotion is the fuel
- 00:06:18for learning uh let's look at the
- 00:06:20three-part definition a learning
- 00:06:22scientist as we developed this playbook
- 00:06:25and through our own experiences
- 00:06:27learning can be broken down into
- 00:06:29three-part definition main
- 00:06:31main ideas behind what it means to learn
- 00:06:33and we're going to get you to fill in
- 00:06:34some of the blanks
- 00:06:36on your own here learning is it's not
- 00:06:39brief or transitory um
- 00:06:41or the use of information like
- 00:06:42remembering a phone number we're not
- 00:06:44even going to count if the student
- 00:06:46stands outside our door and memorizes
- 00:06:48the pythagorean theorem comes in and
- 00:06:49takes the quiz nancy i'm not even going
- 00:06:51to count that
- 00:06:53instead
- 00:06:54we need to agree that learning is
- 00:06:56long-term change
- 00:06:58not indefinite change
- 00:07:00so long term doesn't mean indefinite but
- 00:07:03it certainly is more than just cramming
- 00:07:04outside the door and then walking in
- 00:07:07so that's our first big idea is it's
- 00:07:10long-term change
- 00:07:12so what is that change what kind of
- 00:07:14change do we see here
- 00:07:16i'll give you just a second to take a
- 00:07:18guess at these blanks
- 00:07:27in this case we're talking about mental
- 00:07:29representations or associations
- 00:07:32so it's long-term change
- 00:07:35but there has to be some type of
- 00:07:36representation in our minds now this
- 00:07:38part might shock some folks we actually
- 00:07:41don't know yet what these entities take
- 00:07:43in the brain we can't we haven't figured
- 00:07:45that out we haven't gone from neurons to
- 00:07:48numerators
- 00:07:50or dendrites to
- 00:07:52declensions
- 00:07:54we can't make that leap yet and so we
- 00:07:56don't quite understand this but we do
- 00:07:59know
- 00:07:59that learning is long-term change
- 00:08:01results in mental representations and
- 00:08:02associations now nancy this next one's
- 00:08:04my favorite because this is where we
- 00:08:06take out
- 00:08:07the chance part of it
- 00:08:10where does this come from
- 00:08:17and the answer is
- 00:08:20if we're going to talk about how we
- 00:08:21learn as teachers
- 00:08:24then that change needs to come as a
- 00:08:26result of an experience that we design
- 00:08:30that we have a say in that we engage
- 00:08:32learners in
- 00:08:33that learning is a change as a result of
- 00:08:36experience
- 00:08:38and so it's these three big ideas that
- 00:08:40we have to make sure we have down
- 00:08:42somewhere long-term change
- 00:08:44mental representations and associations
- 00:08:47and it's the result of some experience
- 00:08:50and i think it's so important to be able
- 00:08:52to circle around those three ideas as
- 00:08:55well because so much of what all of us
- 00:08:58teach regardless of content area
- 00:09:01is in fact abstract
- 00:09:04there are relatively speaking very few
- 00:09:07things that we that we teach that are
- 00:09:09actually really concrete when you're
- 00:09:11teaching about volcanoes you're not
- 00:09:13hauling a volcano in right you're
- 00:09:16creating a representation of that and
- 00:09:20your goal if you're teaching in science
- 00:09:22for example is to make sure that
- 00:09:25students understand over the long term
- 00:09:28what we mean not only by volcanoes but
- 00:09:31also in understanding the
- 00:09:34ring of fire for example and what all of
- 00:09:37those look like and in order to do so
- 00:09:40we've got to create some meaningful
- 00:09:42experiences
- 00:09:44that help students to be able to
- 00:09:46anchor that information over the long
- 00:09:49term
- 00:09:51absolutely and and that has actually
- 00:09:53been drilled down to a science nancy
- 00:09:55over the last 20 some years when we were
- 00:09:57writing and working on this playbook and
- 00:09:59putting this together
- 00:10:00the amount of research that has been
- 00:10:02generated from what is coined as the
- 00:10:04science of learning is just at times
- 00:10:07overwhelming
- 00:10:09because it's a fascinating area it's
- 00:10:10something we all want to dive into
- 00:10:13but it left me asking
- 00:10:15and i'll pitch this to them if that's
- 00:10:18the science of learning
- 00:10:20do we actually have a science of
- 00:10:22teaching
- 00:10:24can we work towards that and maybe when
- 00:10:26it comes to how learning works if we can
- 00:10:28develop a way to think through that then
- 00:10:31we can have a science of teaching that
- 00:10:33takes away that mysticism that's often
- 00:10:35given to teachers you know those that
- 00:10:37got it the wickedness
- 00:10:39and that's really what motivated us to
- 00:10:41get together and put this book together
- 00:10:42how do we design those experiences so
- 00:10:44that when a seven-year-old asks us
- 00:10:46what's an inference
- 00:10:48we can create an experience based on how
- 00:10:50learning works that gives them the same
- 00:10:53outcome that nancy described the ring of
- 00:10:55fire
- 00:10:57how would you describe a science of
- 00:10:59teaching
- 00:11:04do you think there's a science and art
- 00:11:07to teaching
- 00:11:08and the reason that i say that is
- 00:11:09because and i know you feel the same way
- 00:11:11as well we push back on that idea
- 00:11:15that that there are people who are quote
- 00:11:17unquote born to teach
- 00:11:19um that there really is a science of
- 00:11:22teaching that's around all of that and
- 00:11:24that the art of teaching is in being
- 00:11:27able to assemble this kind of knowledge
- 00:11:29about learning and put it together in
- 00:11:32ways that are likely to be able to
- 00:11:34deliver results
- 00:11:36but i know you want to talk some more
- 00:11:37about the science of teaching so what is
- 00:11:40it john what's the science of teaching
- 00:11:42don't leave what's hanging
- 00:11:44i this is one of my favorite things to
- 00:11:46talk about and as you know as we worked
- 00:11:48on this i just keep going back to this
- 00:11:50because
- 00:11:51one of the things we have to watch out
- 00:11:52for is this research versus applying
- 00:11:55research argument and so this is one of
- 00:11:57the things that i noticed um it came up
- 00:11:59in our conversations over and over again
- 00:12:01that i i'm just dying to share with the
- 00:12:03group here
- 00:12:04basic research what we uncovered in in
- 00:12:07how learning works is that the basic
- 00:12:09research we read and combed through and
- 00:12:11looked through
- 00:12:12was all about discovery we're going to
- 00:12:14look at an example of in just a moment
- 00:12:16it was discovering how learning works
- 00:12:18but then as teachers nancy we spend
- 00:12:22less time on discovery but more time on
- 00:12:24goal-driven research in other words i
- 00:12:26want my learners to learn about
- 00:12:27volcanoes and the ring of fire or
- 00:12:30inferences in other words i walk in with
- 00:12:31a goal whereas a scientist a cognitive
- 00:12:34scientist has the freedom to discover
- 00:12:36and bring about these principles
- 00:12:39so when we talk about a science of
- 00:12:41teaching it's how do we move from
- 00:12:44research on the neural mechanisms of
- 00:12:46memory
- 00:12:47to getting our learners to remember trig
- 00:12:49identities
- 00:12:51and that's really where this playbook
- 00:12:54comes into play and answering the
- 00:12:56question how learning works becomes so
- 00:12:58important what does this step look like
- 00:13:03and you know what i think of too is on
- 00:13:05the medical side of
- 00:13:08the house that there's always this idea
- 00:13:10of bench to bedside how do we make sure
- 00:13:14that the lab bench or in this particular
- 00:13:16case the research end of it is
- 00:13:19translated
- 00:13:20into applicable applicable kinds of
- 00:13:24theories and constructs where we get
- 00:13:26results we need that lab bench we need
- 00:13:29that basic research and we need the
- 00:13:32ability to be able to translate that
- 00:13:34research in order to apply it
- 00:13:37and that's really what we set out to do
- 00:13:39in this work is is there a pathway to
- 00:13:41translate this and at the time we
- 00:13:44started talking through this the answer
- 00:13:45was no
- 00:13:46nancy i want to welcome through a
- 00:13:47thought experiment one of our one of my
- 00:13:49favorite thought experiments and if
- 00:13:51you'll excuse me for a moment i am going
- 00:13:52to go heavy into science because i think
- 00:13:54that's the best way to talk about the
- 00:13:56art and science of teaching and
- 00:13:58understanding how learning works
- 00:14:00so i want us to think back to our days
- 00:14:02in high school or eighth grade physical
- 00:14:04science where we learned about a simple
- 00:14:06pendulum
- 00:14:08the fact of the matter is is that a
- 00:14:10simple pendulum everything that comes
- 00:14:12with it from the frictionless pivot
- 00:14:14that's a word you probably haven't heard
- 00:14:16in a while unless you teach science um
- 00:14:18to the equilibrium position
- 00:14:20the amplitude those all came as a result
- 00:14:24of a vacuum
- 00:14:25laboratory-based study of what happens
- 00:14:28to a massive object oscillating
- 00:14:31harmonically
- 00:14:33well it allowed us to come up with these
- 00:14:34relationships and trig and ultimately
- 00:14:36come up with this mathematical formula
- 00:14:38that describes the behavior of a
- 00:14:40pendulum
- 00:14:41in any of the physics problems that we
- 00:14:43put in students textbooks
- 00:14:46but it was done in a vacuum in a
- 00:14:48laboratory
- 00:14:50so my question then is
- 00:14:53what happens if you take that pendulum
- 00:14:55out of the laboratory and put it on a
- 00:14:58boat
- 00:15:01we remove it from a static environment
- 00:15:04and we put it in a dynamic environment
- 00:15:06in which we have less control
- 00:15:09less predictability
- 00:15:11what then happens to the principles
- 00:15:14that were uncovered with the pendulum
- 00:15:16and i think that's really where our
- 00:15:18discussion is most powerful
- 00:15:20how do we separate
- 00:15:22the principle
- 00:15:24from the practice and so as we dive into
- 00:15:27some examples here in just a second one
- 00:15:29of the things we have to watch out for
- 00:15:31is where is where does the research give
- 00:15:33us a principle but it doesn't give us
- 00:15:36the practice that actually requires us
- 00:15:38as the teacher to have the professional
- 00:15:40expertise in the art to translate what
- 00:15:43that would look like on our boat
- 00:15:46what do you think of that nancy
- 00:15:51sorry i accidentally muted my microphone
- 00:15:54you know i i i
- 00:15:56when we first talked about this and when
- 00:15:58you're first explaining this i'm like oh
- 00:16:00man i'm out of my depth i
- 00:16:02i don't really know the trig and the
- 00:16:05physics and oh my gosh i had flashbacks
- 00:16:07of 11th grade science all of a sudden
- 00:16:09right oh what's the amplitude but
- 00:16:13but i do understand being on a fishing
- 00:16:16boat i do understand what it is that
- 00:16:19that looks like and you know this that's
- 00:16:21a great example of how at times we we
- 00:16:25may not know the exact principles but we
- 00:16:28know how it is that those principles are
- 00:16:30put into practice
- 00:16:33so let's look at another
- 00:16:34example this is one of my personal
- 00:16:37favorites um because you've seen me
- 00:16:39present on this before um and i like to
- 00:16:41do it because of the date i'm in 1885
- 00:16:45evan haas decided he wanted to
- 00:16:47understand
- 00:16:48forgetting and so he thought well you
- 00:16:51know i have nothing better to do with my
- 00:16:52time he may have been uh getting ready
- 00:16:55to quarantine as well and so he decided
- 00:16:58he was going to see how quickly he
- 00:17:01forgot something that he learned but he
- 00:17:02knew two big things he knew number one
- 00:17:05it couldn't be something that he had
- 00:17:06prior knowledge or background knowledge
- 00:17:08around
- 00:17:09because as we know that influences how
- 00:17:12learning works if i know have a lot of
- 00:17:14prior knowledge or background knowledge
- 00:17:15about something it fits better into our
- 00:17:17cognitive architecture so he knew that
- 00:17:19and number two he needed to try to
- 00:17:22create an unbiased experiment
- 00:17:25and i don't know about you my classroom
- 00:17:27was never unbiased
- 00:17:30i liked my students i favored my
- 00:17:32students and that's just the way that
- 00:17:33worked so he decided i'll come up with
- 00:17:34random nonsense syllables and i'll learn
- 00:17:38them
- 00:17:39and then
- 00:17:41i'll test myself over a period of time
- 00:17:43to see how long it takes me to
- 00:17:45forget
- 00:17:46and in 1885 he came out with this
- 00:17:50quantitative relationship between the
- 00:17:52percent of the syllables he remembered
- 00:17:54and the amount of time that had passed
- 00:17:55since the last quiz
- 00:17:59this was published in 1885 and has
- 00:18:01become known as the learning curve um it
- 00:18:04kurt fisher and and some of those
- 00:18:05researchers at harvard have now coined
- 00:18:07it uh the transients curve the idea that
- 00:18:10we do forget things
- 00:18:12but he wasn't done yet
- 00:18:14he wasn't done yet
- 00:18:16he decided then
- 00:18:18well why don't i review this every so
- 00:18:21often to see
- 00:18:24how much i need to review and the review
- 00:18:26spacing to see
- 00:18:28how to help me remember more
- 00:18:32and out comes this data
- 00:18:34which is officially evan haas's learning
- 00:18:37curve
- 00:18:39this is an 1885 study that we latch on
- 00:18:42to as teachers
- 00:18:44and i just kind of want to unpack this
- 00:18:46for a minute because his conclusion was
- 00:18:49humans more easily remember or learn
- 00:18:51items when they're studied a few times
- 00:18:53over a long period rather than studied
- 00:18:55repeatedly over a short period of time
- 00:18:59my question is nancy is this a bridge
- 00:19:01too far
- 00:19:02to go from nonsense syllables to what we
- 00:19:05do in our classrooms
- 00:19:07i think that that's always a really
- 00:19:09interesting question about that as well
- 00:19:12how do we put together strings of
- 00:19:15unrelated information is actually
- 00:19:18different than what it is that we're
- 00:19:20going for in our classrooms which is
- 00:19:22building schema building and linking on
- 00:19:26new information to known information i
- 00:19:28saw someone
- 00:19:29remark on that earlier about going from
- 00:19:31the known to the new all the time
- 00:19:33hopefully we don't have our students
- 00:19:35just memorizing random strings of
- 00:19:38information we're anchoring it we're
- 00:19:39tying it together
- 00:19:42so then my next question is
- 00:19:44um
- 00:19:45so do we just give up on the science of
- 00:19:47of learning
- 00:19:49ebon haas do we just stop doing this or
- 00:19:52is there another way to think about this
- 00:19:58and that's really where we want to go
- 00:19:59with this and that's actually the point
- 00:20:01of the limited time that we have
- 00:20:02together
- 00:20:04what if those syllables were specific
- 00:20:06pieces of content or skills in your
- 00:20:08classroom
- 00:20:09and this is so important and this is
- 00:20:11something that um i know if doug were
- 00:20:14here he would be adamant about sharing
- 00:20:16nancy you are equally as passionate i've
- 00:20:17heard you talk about it but
- 00:20:20at what point
- 00:20:22does the expertise and knowledge of the
- 00:20:23teacher
- 00:20:25play the most important role here
- 00:20:28just like the sailor on the boat is
- 00:20:30going to know more about how the
- 00:20:32pendulum works on the ocean or the sea
- 00:20:35more so than the physicist
- 00:20:38because the physicist studied the
- 00:20:39pendulum in a vacuum ebenha studied
- 00:20:43spaced practice in a lab
- 00:20:45when actually the people who know the
- 00:20:46most about spaced practice
- 00:20:49are on this webinar because we're in the
- 00:20:51classroom each and every day and as
- 00:20:53translators
- 00:20:55we have to make those decisions based on
- 00:20:57who's in front of us
- 00:20:58and so what about the knowledge and
- 00:21:00expertise of the sailor this is where i
- 00:21:02claim
- 00:21:04the art of teaching comes in
- 00:21:06our expertise our professional knowledge
- 00:21:08about our own environment
- 00:21:10that's what allows us to take a
- 00:21:12promising principle
- 00:21:14developed by ebonhoss and turn it into a
- 00:21:16promising practice that nancy you and i
- 00:21:19can use in our classrooms
- 00:21:21on tuesday
- 00:21:24you know john it really causes me to
- 00:21:26think about the
- 00:21:28the findings in the visible learning
- 00:21:30database that john hattie developed and
- 00:21:33that is that the predictor is not solely
- 00:21:38the content knowledge of the teacher
- 00:21:42we've all had experiences with teachers
- 00:21:45who are quite knowledgeable in their
- 00:21:47discipline it's the pedagogical content
- 00:21:50knowledge in other words it's not only
- 00:21:52having that content knowledge but do you
- 00:21:54understand the pedagogy behind it in
- 00:21:58order to be able to build that learning
- 00:22:00experience much like the sailor who
- 00:22:03needs to get on that boat
- 00:22:06that content expertise coupled with that
- 00:22:10pedagogical knowledge that that
- 00:22:12experience is what is going to deliver
- 00:22:15those breakthrough results we're all
- 00:22:17looking for
- 00:22:19and i think that that is one of the
- 00:22:21reasons why uh for me i and i don't want
- 00:22:23to speak for you nancy but i
- 00:22:25but i enjoy spending so much time in
- 00:22:28classrooms
- 00:22:30not just at the university office
- 00:22:32because at the end of the day
- 00:22:34my son's second grade teacher and my
- 00:22:36daughter's fourth grade teacher probably
- 00:22:38have a better grasp on space to practice
- 00:22:41than i do from a laboratory at james
- 00:22:44madison university
- 00:22:47in fact let's go with space practice and
- 00:22:49nancy it's funny you bring up the
- 00:22:50visible learning effect sizes because
- 00:22:52that's exactly where we want to go with
- 00:22:54this let's take evan haas's promising
- 00:22:56principle
- 00:22:57the promising principles there
- 00:22:59uh it has a rather high effect size
- 00:23:02spaced practice matters spaced practice
- 00:23:04works
- 00:23:05but the implementation has to come with
- 00:23:07it
- 00:23:08and we're not
- 00:23:09kind of pushing the science of learning
- 00:23:11aside what we want to make sure we do is
- 00:23:12that findings from the science of
- 00:23:14learning still need us as professionals
- 00:23:17to engage in the art and the science of
- 00:23:19teaching so for example nancy if we were
- 00:23:21going to use space practice in our
- 00:23:22classrooms we have some reflective
- 00:23:24questions we would have to come up with
- 00:23:26on our own
- 00:23:27what does it look like
- 00:23:29in your language arts class versus my
- 00:23:32science class or your math class versus
- 00:23:34my humanities class
- 00:23:37what are the conditions
- 00:23:39what's the spacing
- 00:23:42does it work with my kindergartners the
- 00:23:44same way that it might work with your
- 00:23:45sixth graders
- 00:23:47can this happen in an informal setting
- 00:23:49and should we then try to encourage
- 00:23:51learners
- 00:23:52to engage in space practice oh and by
- 00:23:55the way how much control do i need to
- 00:23:57have over this
- 00:24:00how did you decide in your s we called
- 00:24:02it spiraling how did you decide on those
- 00:24:04things
- 00:24:07well we certainly relied a lot on the
- 00:24:11developers of the curriculum to give us
- 00:24:14at least some insights around
- 00:24:16what we should know what it is that
- 00:24:18students should know and so on but you
- 00:24:20also have to unglue from the curriculum
- 00:24:23as well and look up as you noted um not
- 00:24:27only to look down at the at the manual
- 00:24:30for example and the wrap around
- 00:24:32apparatus that goes with it but to look
- 00:24:34up who are your students what do they
- 00:24:38already know what do they not know yet
- 00:24:41are you clear about what it is that you
- 00:24:43want to know and to understand who they
- 00:24:46are as learners because as you noted
- 00:24:48earlier from child to child from young
- 00:24:51person to another young person there's
- 00:24:53going to be a range of what it is that
- 00:24:56they have the capacity to be able to
- 00:24:59learn how space practice is going to
- 00:25:01work for them
- 00:25:03absolutely and i guess the moral of the
- 00:25:06story and and the slam dunk for this
- 00:25:08part of our time together is
- 00:25:10quite simply spaced practices the
- 00:25:12pendulum in the boat and we're actually
- 00:25:14the boat captains
- 00:25:16where we have to really make those
- 00:25:18adjustments i'm keeping in mind that
- 00:25:21our environment is our classroom and it
- 00:25:23changes day to day it changes
- 00:25:25minute by minute in some cases
- 00:25:28i know you've heard me talk about my
- 00:25:29children they've already had to be
- 00:25:31benched uh this year because of covet
- 00:25:33exposure already and so there's this
- 00:25:35constant adjustment in giving and taking
- 00:25:39so let's go with based practice as a
- 00:25:41starting point in the chat box
- 00:25:44what are some other findings from the
- 00:25:46science of learning
- 00:25:47that you've heard about read about or
- 00:25:49familiar with
- 00:25:51just put those in the chat so that nancy
- 00:25:52and i can see where you're coming from
- 00:25:54in terms of your prior knowledge about
- 00:25:56what we mean by the science of learning
- 00:25:58what are some other things
- 00:26:02student engagement yes absolutely good
- 00:26:05sandra thanks for getting us started
- 00:26:09emotion yep
- 00:26:11prior knowledge interleaving good
- 00:26:16prior knowledge emotions attention
- 00:26:20excuse me student discourse
- 00:26:23student agency
- 00:26:27social emotional learning yep
- 00:26:30ah dual coding gradual release
- 00:26:37trauma-based instruction
- 00:26:39retrieval practice
- 00:26:43cooperative learning good
- 00:26:45now the cool part is um i love the
- 00:26:47cognitive load showing i've been
- 00:26:48processing speed feedback is one of them
- 00:26:50yep absolutely
- 00:26:52we don't have the time this evening to
- 00:26:54go through all of the seven major
- 00:26:57principles that we dove into in the how
- 00:27:00learning works playbook
- 00:27:02but one of the things that we want to
- 00:27:04point out much like the pendulum in the
- 00:27:05boat
- 00:27:06is the idea that
- 00:27:08there's no one way to take a promising
- 00:27:11principle and turn it into a promising
- 00:27:13practice
- 00:27:15we have to make those adaptations based
- 00:27:17on the local context of our classroom
- 00:27:20and so that's really what we want to try
- 00:27:22out nancy do you want to try an
- 00:27:24experiment
- 00:27:26i would love to
- 00:27:27so we're good nancy i are going to pitch
- 00:27:29three questions to you and what we'd
- 00:27:32like you to do is to trial three we'll
- 00:27:33give you about two minutes uh to try to
- 00:27:35figure out
- 00:27:36three of them it's just for fun and
- 00:27:38we're not gonna collect it you don't
- 00:27:39have to submit a flip grid when we're
- 00:27:41done and there's not gonna be a google
- 00:27:43form you have to fill out this is just
- 00:27:44for fun and take just a moment
- 00:27:47and look at those three questions and
- 00:27:50take a shot at them but the catch is you
- 00:27:52can't write anything down
- 00:27:54you have to do it all by mental math as
- 00:27:57it's called
- 00:28:07this is already causing me stress john
- 00:28:19hmm
- 00:28:27so some folks are putting answers in the
- 00:28:29chat box
- 00:28:37ah so we do have some okay
- 00:28:47laura i appreciate your bold honesty no
- 00:28:50idea
- 00:28:52i would like to i would like to second
- 00:28:54that
- 00:28:57so here's the funny thing about these um
- 00:29:01these actually tested whether you know
- 00:29:03it or not um one of the concepts that we
- 00:29:06unpack in the how learning works
- 00:29:07playbook
- 00:29:08um and and some of you may have have
- 00:29:11struggled with a couple of these for
- 00:29:12example
- 00:29:13number two you likely were able to
- 00:29:16fumble around and get to an answer on
- 00:29:18that one
- 00:29:20you could work backwards in your mind
- 00:29:21and there were a few enough steps
- 00:29:24and the numbers were such that you were
- 00:29:25able to take care of that um number one
- 00:29:28now let me ask you this and nancy number
- 00:29:30one is is long division
- 00:29:33while it's something we often get in the
- 00:29:34primary grades or the elementary grades
- 00:29:37um
- 00:29:38without scratch paper number one's a
- 00:29:40tough ask
- 00:29:44and so
- 00:29:45what do we do with this number three is
- 00:29:47another example where you know what um
- 00:29:54the chat box those of you that are in
- 00:29:55the chat box concerned about screens
- 00:29:57they are working behind the scenes to
- 00:29:59adjust adjust that
- 00:30:01um
- 00:30:02they're they're working on it we're
- 00:30:03getting messages private messages that
- 00:30:05they are working on that so um you
- 00:30:08aren't being ignored it's just a matter
- 00:30:09of trying to get in and figure out how
- 00:30:11to make that uh so that the switch
- 00:30:13occurs
- 00:30:15um but they are indeed working on it um
- 00:30:17number three on the other hand it could
- 00:30:19be just overwhelming what's the point
- 00:30:20we're actually introducing a concept
- 00:30:22known as cognitive load
- 00:30:24cognitive load um and nancy it's
- 00:30:27probably easier to explain cognitive
- 00:30:29load
- 00:30:30by looking at something like a surge
- 00:30:32protector isn't it
- 00:30:35oh that's a great way to think about it
- 00:30:37i love that you mean in other words when
- 00:30:39there's too much
- 00:30:41that's coming in there's too much energy
- 00:30:43in this particular case that's coming in
- 00:30:45that surge protector says oh you know
- 00:30:47what we gotta shut down just for a
- 00:30:49little bit
- 00:30:50we gotta push the pause button and let
- 00:30:53that sort of cool down just a bit i love
- 00:30:56that idea
- 00:30:57that's right
- 00:30:58um and so you ran into cognitive load
- 00:31:01issues with some of these questions but
- 00:31:03the cognitive load issues depending on
- 00:31:05lots of different factors right
- 00:31:07uh for example number one
- 00:31:10was relatively easy we all do long
- 00:31:13division we know the algorithm we know
- 00:31:14how to do it we just couldn't keep track
- 00:31:16of that many steps number two we could
- 00:31:19kind of hunt and peck and figure out but
- 00:31:20as somebody also pointed out number
- 00:31:22three involved some vocab issues
- 00:31:24you had to understand what coefficients
- 00:31:27were and what expanded polynomials were
- 00:31:29and oh by the way
- 00:31:30if you had access to pascal's triangle
- 00:31:33you could just simply fill those in
- 00:31:35quicker than you could probably do
- 00:31:36number two but i digress what's the
- 00:31:38point
- 00:31:41the cognitive load refers to the weight
- 00:31:42of the source of pressure put on our
- 00:31:44students working memory
- 00:31:48and so
- 00:31:49what does this really involve well there
- 00:31:52are three types of cognitive load three
- 00:31:55types of cognitive load i'm going to
- 00:31:56give you just a moment
- 00:31:59to take those in
- 00:32:07there's intrinsic cognitive load
- 00:32:10there's extraneous cognitive load or
- 00:32:12extrinsic as it's sometimes called and
- 00:32:14there's germain cognitive load now this
- 00:32:16is just one of the seven principles
- 00:32:18unpacked in the playbook and nancy and i
- 00:32:19wanted to kind of share this with you so
- 00:32:21let's look at an example of how these
- 00:32:23all play out
- 00:32:25um intrinsic cognitive load
- 00:32:27is how many novel things does the
- 00:32:29learner have to complete in other words
- 00:32:30it's it's the nature of the actual
- 00:32:32content the skill or the understanding
- 00:32:36so how difficult is this really in and
- 00:32:38of itself that's intrinsic
- 00:32:41in mathematics
- 00:32:43long division has less intrinsic
- 00:32:45cognitive load than solving polynomial
- 00:32:48equations
- 00:32:52extraneous cognitive load then
- 00:32:54is what's imposed on the learner
- 00:32:57but doesn't support the learning this
- 00:32:59would be a word problem with vocab
- 00:33:02that's inappropriate
- 00:33:04that students have to read to solve a
- 00:33:06problem
- 00:33:08that's extraneous cognitive load it's
- 00:33:10not that they can't do long division but
- 00:33:12you've given them a word problem where
- 00:33:14the vocab
- 00:33:16is either unrelatable inappropriate or
- 00:33:18well outside of what's necessary nobody
- 00:33:21needs to know the pattern on the green
- 00:33:23sweater of the guy or gal that loses
- 00:33:25cantaloupes off the back of the wagon
- 00:33:28irrelevant
- 00:33:30nancy
- 00:33:31with your experiences
- 00:33:34how do we
- 00:33:36balance the extraneous cognitive load
- 00:33:38with the intrinsic
- 00:33:40well and what fundamentally what it
- 00:33:42comes down to is making sure that that
- 00:33:45background knowledge is there for
- 00:33:47the learner to be able to access in
- 00:33:50other words to make sure that when we
- 00:33:53are creating those learning
- 00:33:54opportunities or when we're creating
- 00:33:56those assessment opportunities that
- 00:33:59we're not accidentally introducing
- 00:34:02extraneous load that ends up giving us
- 00:34:05this false information about what the
- 00:34:07learner knows and doesn't know so making
- 00:34:10sure that you that your students know
- 00:34:14that information is going to be really
- 00:34:16useful how did i do john did i get at
- 00:34:19least some of that answer right that was
- 00:34:21perfect and it actually is a perfect
- 00:34:23setup because what we do then nancy is
- 00:34:25we use whatever space is available in
- 00:34:27cognitive load and we hope there is
- 00:34:29space to take care of germain cognitive
- 00:34:32load and that's the load we put on
- 00:34:34learners by asking them to do something
- 00:34:36for example go find a group to work with
- 00:34:39uh answer these questions turn so the
- 00:34:42things that we ask them to do
- 00:34:45the teaching activity is referred to as
- 00:34:48germain cognitive load it's the
- 00:34:49experience that we provide and so
- 00:34:53cognitive load altogether is the balance
- 00:34:55of these three things
- 00:34:58so what happens with our cognitive load
- 00:35:01and by the way joanne you bring up a
- 00:35:02great point there are other ways to
- 00:35:05think about learning and they're in the
- 00:35:06playbook
- 00:35:07yes we just chose to do this one tonight
- 00:35:10because with all that's going on in the
- 00:35:11world
- 00:35:12regardless of whether you're in the
- 00:35:13united states or outside of the united
- 00:35:15states cognitive load seemed like a good
- 00:35:17starting point for us
- 00:35:20but you're exactly right we talk about
- 00:35:21behavioral we talk about cognitive and
- 00:35:23we talk about constructive the three
- 00:35:26major categories that's a great point
- 00:35:28joanne i appreciate you speaking up
- 00:35:31so
- 00:35:32let's walk through this nancy so as a
- 00:35:34learner
- 00:35:35we have a working memory capacity but
- 00:35:38you know already
- 00:35:40from our time together
- 00:35:41that everybody's working memory capacity
- 00:35:43may be a bit
- 00:35:47different
- 00:35:48right
- 00:35:49that's expected so let me show you some
- 00:35:51scenarios what happens if
- 00:35:54there's a lot going on in kids lives
- 00:35:58and the content i'm teaching is really
- 00:36:01heavy
- 00:36:03on the screen
- 00:36:05we've exceeded the cognitive load
- 00:36:08and nancy you and i both know what
- 00:36:09happens
- 00:36:11when we get this situation in our
- 00:36:12classrooms
- 00:36:13absolutely and the way this is sometimes
- 00:36:16expressed are some outward behaviors
- 00:36:18that we define as being problematic and
- 00:36:21we might misattribute those uh to other
- 00:36:26reasons and not understand that that
- 00:36:28extraneous cognitive load has already
- 00:36:31taken up too much bandwidth
- 00:36:34absolutely so in the chat box
- 00:36:36what are some immediate solutions
- 00:36:38because you'll notice which one's
- 00:36:40missing from here let's see if in the
- 00:36:42chat box and and dina we're going to
- 00:36:43give away a free book here which one's
- 00:36:45missing we've got intrinsic we've got
- 00:36:47extrinsic jermaine so alice
- 00:36:50carnessie you get a free book um
- 00:36:52jermaine's missing which means
- 00:36:56what am i supposed to do what is nancy
- 00:36:58supposed to do what is alice supposed to
- 00:37:00do
- 00:37:00what are we supposed to do here all
- 00:37:02their cognitive load is full what are
- 00:37:04some things that we could do here in the
- 00:37:05chat box what are some strategies
- 00:37:08that we could put in place here
- 00:37:11to make room for germaine cognitive load
- 00:37:13just throw them in the chat box simplify
- 00:37:15the task link there you go
- 00:37:21chunk the information visuals
- 00:37:24scaffold
- 00:37:25worked examples slow the pace
- 00:37:32and i don't know about you nancy
- 00:37:34but it looks to me like
- 00:37:38exactly
- 00:37:40y'all are captains if you're not a
- 00:37:42captain yet we're promoting you you are
- 00:37:44captains of your classroom ship exactly
- 00:37:48it's looking at learners and
- 00:37:50understanding oh we see that look on
- 00:37:53their faces we know there's too much
- 00:37:55extraneous cognitive load that's
- 00:37:58happening there and that's as expert
- 00:38:00teachers when we hit the pause button
- 00:38:02and we take a few steps back and we go
- 00:38:05okay
- 00:38:06what are other things i can do to reduce
- 00:38:09that extraneous cognitive load in order
- 00:38:12to be able to create that bandwidth for
- 00:38:15especially the germain cognitive load
- 00:38:18that's needed look how much you all know
- 00:38:22all right so let's add another student
- 00:38:23to the mix
- 00:38:25we've all
- 00:38:29likely been in this situation so let's
- 00:38:30put student number two in
- 00:38:34maybe we backed off a little too much
- 00:38:36so the extraneous cognitive load hold it
- 00:38:38constant
- 00:38:39but the student for whatever reason
- 00:38:42um they can handle what we're throwing
- 00:38:44at them and then there's this gap
- 00:38:46nancy what does this
- 00:38:48end up doing
- 00:38:49well again we also start seeing some
- 00:38:51problematic behaviors because this is
- 00:38:54the student that is now bored it's it's
- 00:38:57too little you know i love uh john what
- 00:39:00john hatty says about this
- 00:39:03not too
- 00:39:04hard not too boring trying to find that
- 00:39:07kind of sweet spot and we missed it with
- 00:39:10this particular student we reduced the
- 00:39:13intrinsic cognitive load we did nothing
- 00:39:16for the extraneous cognitive load and
- 00:39:18what we're left with is a student who
- 00:39:20has now decided to tune out
- 00:39:23absolutely and as annika says add that
- 00:39:26germain load um so what might be some
- 00:39:28things we do
- 00:39:31verlaine i'm sorry if i mispronounced
- 00:39:33the net increase the depth and
- 00:39:35complexity good find friends what else
- 00:39:37could we do
- 00:39:38because again jermaine's missing from
- 00:39:40here what are some of the things that we
- 00:39:42could throw in here
- 00:39:47higher level questionings yep personal
- 00:39:50choice
- 00:39:52ah consider expect to inquiry yep
- 00:39:54absolutely
- 00:40:00and i think one of the hardest parts
- 00:40:01nancy and one of the things that we
- 00:40:03could try to accomplish this evening or
- 00:40:06this afternoon or if you're in australia
- 00:40:08this morning um and if you're in london
- 00:40:11well into the night
- 00:40:13is
- 00:40:14these two students
- 00:40:16i could have told you are actually
- 00:40:17sitting next to each other
- 00:40:19in third block on tuesday
- 00:40:24that's that makes this hard
- 00:40:27that makes this hard
- 00:40:30pure tutoring good good good good all
- 00:40:33right let's add one more
- 00:40:35the ideal mix of course would be that
- 00:40:38they all three are there
- 00:40:41that they all three are there
- 00:40:43in some capacity
- 00:40:44there is a body of research that we
- 00:40:47share with you
- 00:40:48that
- 00:40:49actually says there is some need for
- 00:40:51extraneous cognitive load there's a need
- 00:40:54for that there's a need for learners to
- 00:40:55be able to discern
- 00:40:57what the essential information is in a
- 00:40:59piece of text and that stripping it of
- 00:41:01all of its context
- 00:41:03doesn't
- 00:41:05do us any favors
- 00:41:07um
- 00:41:08that's
- 00:41:09really important so it's not that we
- 00:41:10want to get rid of extraneous it's that
- 00:41:13we want to balance these out it's we
- 00:41:14want we want to make sure that we keep
- 00:41:16these under control but also that the
- 00:41:18tasks we give them doesn't push them
- 00:41:20over the edge or beyond their working
- 00:41:22memory capacity
- 00:41:24the trick is is that we want to find a
- 00:41:26balance between all three knowing that
- 00:41:28that balance could shift at any minute
- 00:41:30that balance could shift at any day any
- 00:41:33time of day and from content to content
- 00:41:35if the child grows up in a home where
- 00:41:37the teacher or the the parents or the
- 00:41:39guardians or the family members are avid
- 00:41:41readers
- 00:41:42they may have no trouble citing evidence
- 00:41:44from the text
- 00:41:46making inferences talking about their
- 00:41:48books
- 00:41:48but then they may struggle
- 00:41:51in mathematics and not be ready yet
- 00:41:54to manage their extraneous cognitive
- 00:41:55load
- 00:41:59and again
- 00:42:00if you have 28 students
- 00:42:02i love the comment um but there are not
- 00:42:04only two students there are 28.
- 00:42:06you're right and this is where it gets
- 00:42:09difficult
- 00:42:10this is where it gets difficult which is
- 00:42:12why
- 00:42:13as the boat captain our job is to
- 00:42:15constantly monitor that impact to see
- 00:42:17how it's going
- 00:42:19um
- 00:42:20let's go down that path nancy
- 00:42:23so if you have 28 students
- 00:42:27how do we know if we've got it
- 00:42:30how do we know we've hit the mark
- 00:42:35in the chat box what are some things
- 00:42:37that pop into your head that you could
- 00:42:39do to make sure you've hit the mark
- 00:42:48and you know so many people are
- 00:42:49commenting about the use of assessment
- 00:42:51especially that formative approach and i
- 00:42:55like to call it informative let's stop
- 00:42:57calling it formative it's informative
- 00:43:00because it gives us feedback about where
- 00:43:03our learners are so that we can to the
- 00:43:05best of our ability make those
- 00:43:07adjustments along the way zig and zag
- 00:43:10with different students in order to try
- 00:43:13and keep as much as possible those
- 00:43:16optimal levels going
- 00:43:20absolutely i love that informative
- 00:43:22assessment um
- 00:43:24and just like and i don't mean to
- 00:43:26i don't want to drive the metaphor in
- 00:43:28the ground but i like it um
- 00:43:31the idea that the boat captain is
- 00:43:33constantly watching the dials
- 00:43:35constantly watching and not just keeping
- 00:43:38focused on the dials but looking out the
- 00:43:40window and to see what's going on around
- 00:43:43them and i think that's super important
- 00:43:45before we move into our last part nancy
- 00:43:47i want to go back to the three questions
- 00:43:49and i know some of you can't see the
- 00:43:50three questions
- 00:43:52but i want to give you just a moment
- 00:43:54um how would you describe the different
- 00:43:56types of cognitive load that we're
- 00:43:57messing with you
- 00:43:59um
- 00:44:00in these three examples because each of
- 00:44:02these three examples plucked at a
- 00:44:05different type of cognitive load i'm
- 00:44:07just curious now that you know that
- 00:44:08there are three types of cognitive load
- 00:44:11and that they all need to be balanced
- 00:44:13where did your cognitive load
- 00:44:16get exceeded
- 00:44:18with these questions number one where
- 00:44:19was that cognitive load
- 00:44:23number three you said was extraneous
- 00:44:25okay
- 00:44:28amanda invested number three was
- 00:44:29extraneous for them
- 00:44:36ah number one was jermaine
- 00:44:39um for you absolutely yep a huge german
- 00:44:42love there you go
- 00:44:48and it could have been different evelyn
- 00:44:49you got a different one there that's our
- 00:44:51point and so knowing about the science
- 00:44:53of learning doesn't guarantee that we'll
- 00:44:54get it right just like knowing that
- 00:44:56spaced practice has a high effect size
- 00:44:59doesn't guarantee that i'm going to get
- 00:45:00that .65 or that nancy's going to get
- 00:45:02that .65 it does require us to make
- 00:45:05professional decisions
- 00:45:08to make those artful decisions about how
- 00:45:10to implement it about how to implement
- 00:45:12it and that's the message
- 00:45:14in fact
- 00:45:15nancy we want to introduce one more
- 00:45:17concept before we start to close out our
- 00:45:19time together
- 00:45:21this is actually new research
- 00:45:24this is new research it's so new
- 00:45:26i almost hesitate to say this it's so
- 00:45:28new it didn't even make it in the
- 00:45:31playbook
- 00:45:33but you get it because you're joining us
- 00:45:35for a webinar um
- 00:45:37chokepoints and pitfalls um and nancy
- 00:45:40what do you think of stephen chu's
- 00:45:43discussion of chug points and
- 00:45:44pitfalls you know honestly brilliant
- 00:45:48absolutely brilliant about understanding
- 00:45:51not only what those cognitive barriers
- 00:45:54are what are the things that get in the
- 00:45:56way for different learners at different
- 00:45:59times but also to understand too that
- 00:46:02there are some places some choke points
- 00:46:05that we can without intending to
- 00:46:07actually contribute to magnify make that
- 00:46:11worse as well what we want to do is
- 00:46:13recognize where those pitfalls are where
- 00:46:16the choke points are where things slow
- 00:46:18down just a bit so we can open that back
- 00:46:21up again and i know that i'm talking in
- 00:46:24advance of you explaining what exactly
- 00:46:27this work is but i love the idea of it
- 00:46:30because it really resonates as classroom
- 00:46:33teachers for all of us it resonates with
- 00:46:35what it is that we do and what it is
- 00:46:37that we see
- 00:46:39and stephen chu is an educational
- 00:46:41psychologist and nancy and i are huge
- 00:46:43fans of him uh he's kind of hit the
- 00:46:46education scene and taking it by storm
- 00:46:48because of his amazing ability to talk
- 00:46:50about the
- 00:46:52well the choke points and pitfalls of
- 00:46:54how we learn here's what he means by
- 00:46:55that
- 00:46:56um
- 00:46:58dr chu calls a choke point um as a
- 00:47:01limitation or constraint in learner's
- 00:47:03cognitive system that if we don't pay
- 00:47:06attention to if we don't pay attention
- 00:47:08to it'll anchor us and it will not allow
- 00:47:11us to make progress
- 00:47:12um i'm just curious
- 00:47:15we've talked about cognitive load and
- 00:47:17working memory capacity that's a choke
- 00:47:19point um what are some other choke
- 00:47:21points you can think of right off the
- 00:47:23bat
- 00:47:28what are some other choke points ah
- 00:47:30language okay
- 00:47:32nice
- 00:47:34effect yes affective filters yep prior
- 00:47:37knowledge
- 00:47:38sensory input
- 00:47:40fear of failure
- 00:47:43ah cultural clashes
- 00:47:51yeah absolutely those are all excellent
- 00:47:54excellent choke points
- 00:47:56um in his paper
- 00:47:58um that that we're happy to share with
- 00:48:00you um one of those things is that
- 00:48:02mental effort and concentration are
- 00:48:04limited resources we can only pay
- 00:48:06attention for so long
- 00:48:08and we can only concentrate on so many
- 00:48:10things for so long um and then we've
- 00:48:12already talked about cognitive load
- 00:48:16what are some so in addition to just
- 00:48:18posting what those choke points are
- 00:48:22how do we get around that
- 00:48:25how do we get around choke points
- 00:48:28what do we do to address those choke
- 00:48:30points in the chat box what would you do
- 00:48:32to address something like a prior
- 00:48:34negative experience at school how would
- 00:48:36you get around what would you do
- 00:48:38concept mapping build relationships
- 00:48:42scaffold the language
- 00:48:50absolutely
- 00:48:58ah find success and celebrate patience
- 00:49:02involve the families
- 00:49:07inviting classrooms yep absolutely
- 00:49:11absolutely and those are some really
- 00:49:13good suggestions
- 00:49:16for the examples we gave
- 00:49:18utilize deliberate practice to ensure
- 00:49:20that we build that fluency and
- 00:49:22automaticity
- 00:49:23we're talking cognitive here but your
- 00:49:25answers are right on the money
- 00:49:28and then breaking things into smaller
- 00:49:29chunks
- 00:49:31good good good good
- 00:49:33so nancy that's the choke point
- 00:49:36now we've got
- 00:49:38the pitfalls and we're going to end on
- 00:49:40this one because this is where everybody
- 00:49:42gets all upset
- 00:49:45oh boy
- 00:49:47nancy what do you think of pitfalls
- 00:49:51pitfalls are a part of the teaching and
- 00:49:54learning experience
- 00:49:56i think as teachers and as learners we
- 00:49:59are always on the lookout for ourselves
- 00:50:02monitoring
- 00:50:03what those possible pitfalls might be
- 00:50:06because all of us
- 00:50:09from time to time make some faulty
- 00:50:12assumptions
- 00:50:13about what's going on in the brains of
- 00:50:17our learners
- 00:50:19yeah this one always uh upsets my
- 00:50:22students at the university because we
- 00:50:24all show up with a belief about how we
- 00:50:28learn
- 00:50:30and
- 00:50:31boy that's a tough one um and and i
- 00:50:34hesitate to do this next slide but we
- 00:50:36are getting down to the box so let's
- 00:50:38just go ahead and stir the pot here are
- 00:50:40two statements about learning
- 00:50:45that's all i'm going to say for now
- 00:50:52and they're both pitfalls
- 00:50:55they both are beth you got it they're
- 00:50:58both wrong
- 00:51:01oh so here's the first one
- 00:51:04christina we are multitaskers
- 00:51:07although some better than others
- 00:51:10well that's false
- 00:51:11multitasking is a huge myth
- 00:51:15um here's another one
- 00:51:17students in our classroom
- 00:51:20and we'll see if we get like 5 000
- 00:51:22people logging off nancy because this
- 00:51:23one upset me when i learned about this
- 00:51:26students in our classrooms have
- 00:51:27different learning styles
- 00:51:29when our instruction matches a student's
- 00:51:31style they learn better
- 00:51:33oh boy that's false too
- 00:51:36false false false those are pitfalls
- 00:51:38and that actually can interfere with
- 00:51:41learning if we subscribe to those
- 00:51:43pitfalls
- 00:51:45and that's tough
- 00:51:47because we believe we have learning
- 00:51:49figured out because we survived it
- 00:51:52pitfalls can be big big trouble
- 00:51:55so there are lots of different pitfalls
- 00:51:57and by the way we talk about pitfalls in
- 00:51:58the playbook in fact we provide about 30
- 00:52:00some different pitfalls
- 00:52:02for you to wrestle with in the playbook
- 00:52:04now we didn't have steven choose
- 00:52:06research to to go in that playbook we'll
- 00:52:08make sure you get a copy of that for
- 00:52:09sure um but learning styles is this
- 00:52:12learning style somebody asked i'll do
- 00:52:15this very quickly nancy i can't leave it
- 00:52:16alone lydia said can you explain the
- 00:52:18learning style situation yes
- 00:52:22that's why
- 00:52:23because if i claim to be a visual
- 00:52:26learner
- 00:52:27and you nancy as my teacher give me
- 00:52:30everything as a visual stimuli
- 00:52:33because i claim to be a visual learner
- 00:52:35i'm actually going to
- 00:52:37overwhelm my working memory capacity
- 00:52:40because everything's coming in as the
- 00:52:42same stimuli
- 00:52:45that's essentially why it falls apart
- 00:52:50that's the way that works oh and by the
- 00:52:52way joy you're exactly right
- 00:52:54um
- 00:52:56the pitfall there's nothing inherently
- 00:52:57competitive about learning but we set it
- 00:52:59up in school to be viciously competitive
- 00:53:01and we actually see that in the in the
- 00:53:03um research competitive learning doesn't
- 00:53:05work
- 00:53:07oh so nancy
- 00:53:11what do you think well you know i i
- 00:53:14i agree with you around uh especially
- 00:53:17around the learning styles i also can't
- 00:53:19leave it alone
- 00:53:21tom hatty is one of the nicest human
- 00:53:24beings i know and one of the very few
- 00:53:27times that you can see him
- 00:53:29really truly getting agitated bring up
- 00:53:32learning styles
- 00:53:34bring up learning styles right
- 00:53:37and and i think it's so important to be
- 00:53:39able to end on that note too because 150
- 00:53:42years ago
- 00:53:44there were
- 00:53:46knowledgeable scientists that believed
- 00:53:49truly believed that you could know about
- 00:53:52the brain by feeling the bumps on a
- 00:53:54person's head we know that's not true
- 00:53:57now that was a pitfall at that time we
- 00:53:59need to be open and making sure that we
- 00:54:02are doing the kind of
- 00:54:05learning that we need to do
- 00:54:07all the time because we are those brain
- 00:54:09workers
- 00:54:11um and you know it goes against um and
- 00:54:13this will be our parting comment on this
- 00:54:15one um there is that and this is and if
- 00:54:18this didn't cause digestive distress
- 00:54:20to to our colleagues nancy
- 00:54:22this this next statement's gonna the
- 00:54:24idea that we all learn differently
- 00:54:27it turns out the research says otherwise
- 00:54:31that we actually all fundamentally learn
- 00:54:34the same way as a species we do have
- 00:54:36preferences um and we do have different
- 00:54:39bodies of prior knowledge and background
- 00:54:40knowledge but when it comes down to the
- 00:54:42the fundamentals of learning
- 00:54:45we're all very similar in our approach
- 00:54:49um it just comes in a different context
- 00:54:52and so my question to you is in
- 00:54:54tonight's context this afternoon's
- 00:54:56context or if you are in
- 00:54:58australia
- 00:55:01this morning's context did we meet our
- 00:55:03success criteria nancy do you think
- 00:55:07how did we do
- 00:55:09well i i hope
- 00:55:11that all of us can talk about learning
- 00:55:14in a deeper kind of way as well
- 00:55:17um and
- 00:55:19john what about those promising
- 00:55:21principles and promising practices
- 00:55:24yeah so hopefully you're you're walking
- 00:55:26away with the idea that cognitive load
- 00:55:29is a promising principle but how it
- 00:55:32shows up in our classroom that's a
- 00:55:34promising practice that requires us to
- 00:55:36be
- 00:55:37the captains of the boat or
- 00:55:39the art of operating in our own
- 00:55:41classrooms
- 00:55:46and so with that nancy it's always a
- 00:55:49pleasure to work alongside you um i've
- 00:55:51had a great time tonight and this
- 00:55:53afternoon visiting with you um and so do
- 00:55:56you want to say goodbye to the folks
- 00:55:57before we hand it back over to dina
- 00:55:59i will thank you so much and i know that
- 00:56:01dina has got books to give away so dina
- 00:56:04why don't we turn it to you please
- 00:56:07great thank you and
- 00:56:08absolutely a big thank you to you john
- 00:56:10and nancy for this engaging presentation
- 00:56:13it provided such valuable information on
- 00:56:15how learning works and how we can parlay
- 00:56:17that science into our classroom practice
- 00:56:20and if everyone wants to hold on for
- 00:56:22just another minute or two we'll get to
- 00:56:24the book giveaway but first i wanted to
- 00:56:26just give you some brief information in
- 00:56:28case you're interested in doing a deeper
- 00:56:30dive into how learning works
- 00:56:32one of those opportunities is to join
- 00:56:34john nancy and the co-author doug fisher
- 00:56:37for a full day institute how the
- 00:56:39learning brain works which is being held
- 00:56:41on september 29th
- 00:56:43and because you joined us today you get
- 00:56:45a 50 discount off your registration by
- 00:56:47using the code
- 00:56:48webinars21 to join the institute on
- 00:56:51september 29th
- 00:56:53and if you're interested in a customized
- 00:56:55workshop which is tailored to what your
- 00:56:58school really needs we do offer
- 00:57:00workshops on how learning works led by
- 00:57:02certified consultants
- 00:57:04and for both of those opportunities just
- 00:57:06visit corwin.com
- 00:57:08how learning works and explore those
- 00:57:10options
- 00:57:11and now for the book giveaway which john
- 00:57:13i might have missed if you did you name
- 00:57:16somebody that was getting one of the
- 00:57:18books
- 00:57:19um yes and it was way up in the chat box
- 00:57:23first name is alice a-l-y-s
- 00:57:27i believe okay i will find owls and
- 00:57:29maybe she is right there
- 00:57:33nesta okay i will make sure that we send
- 00:57:36a book out to alice and then one other
- 00:57:38person that i selected for winning at
- 00:57:40random is beth skelton
- 00:57:43so beth we will reach out to you also
- 00:57:45and send um copies of how learning works
- 00:57:48to both of you and again if you'd like
- 00:57:50to purchase the book
- 00:57:52um to anyone who wasn't a winner you can
- 00:57:54go to coren.com how learning works and
- 00:57:57when you check out use the code webinars
- 00:57:59and you get free shipping and 20 off
- 00:58:02which beats amazon right
- 00:58:04so anyway um thank you again for
- 00:58:06everyone for joining us today
- 00:58:09and thank you to
- 00:58:10john and nancy for graciously giving of
- 00:58:12your time to each of us
- 00:58:14and we wish all of you a wonderful start
- 00:58:16to your week ahead
- 00:58:20awesome polly email me please
- 00:58:26we'll make sure that that happens paulie
- 00:58:28thanks for letting us know that
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