What is Meaningful Learning

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What is Meaningful Learning? From Bits and Bytes to Knowledge and Skills in 15 Weeks� http://designingforlearning.info/services/writing/bits.htm This year � together with the overall new look for the Syllabus magazine � this column will be taking on a new look. In the past, this column has addressed issues and trends in online and distance teaching and learning. As most of you have probably noticed, the distinctions between campus learning and on line learning have been blurring. We are now at the point that key issues across the higher education enterprise �all revolve around the intersection of teaching and learning with evolution of information technology tools Not only are teaching and learning changing, but all interactions over the life of a student with an institution. In the interest of shifting with this new acceptance of technology in the teaching and learning environments, I plan on addressing issues that impact faculty, students, and environments, whether on campus or wherever learning is occurring in a structured manner.� In conversations with many of you, you have indicated that you find specific questions about teaching and learning issues most valuable. Some of these pressing questions are �How many students really make sense when teaching on line?�� �How much does it cost?� and �How long does it take to integrate the web into effective instruction?� Other important, and even larger questions are, �What are good ways of communicating technology issues to administrators and legislators?� �How do we balance the issues of time, technology and learning and lifestyle?� and �How can we � as a community -- create a teaching and learning enterprise that serves the larger goals of society?�� Input and suggestions are always welcome. Share your questions and concerns, your successes and your wins! I do try to answer all email, but occasionally messages will come at very busy times, so I ask your patience. I enjoy meeting many of you both in real life and virtually. The beginning of a new semester is a time of planning and rethinking of courses. What are we really hoping that our students learn in 15 weeks?�� Can we move from Bits and Bytes of data to Knowledge and Skills in 15 Weeks?� Here are some thoughts on meaningful learning and how we might go beyond bits and bytes.� Beginnings hold the seeds of the ends.� And the goals and objectives of courses set at the beginning of the semester impact the learning that students achieve by the final tests and evaluations. How do our students achieve that learning? What really works? And is the learning that they are doing truly meaningful?� You may well observe, �Isn�t all learning meaningful?�� It may be, but certainly some learning is more meaningful, dare we say useful, than other learning. The learning that we desire that our students achieve in a course is intended to be both useful and meaningful. Can we achieve meaningful learning in 15 weeks, or do we only achieve a heap, a mound, a pile, or a collection of bits and bytes of unrelated data?� We may feel good, however, because we have �covered� the material. An even more fundamental question is whether we understand the learning processes well enough to design courses for student success?� How might we ensure that our students take in, arrange, formulate, organize and relate information into meaningful learning?� Does the learning that our students do in our courses contribute to their ability to really do anything else? Does it improve their ability to learn more information, to develop skills, to be better interpreters of the information in the world around us? Defining meaningful learning How many of the goals and objectives that you have planned for your students qualify as meaningful learning? What if we defined meaningful learning as �learning that makes a difference in the knowledge base in our mind? Or �Learning that makes a difference in how we view the world?� Or �learning that

makes a difference in our skills sets, in the things that we can actually do. How might we �collectively� modify our current goals or objectives?�� All definitions of learning are linked to various philosophies and theories of learning. What one believes about the mind and how the mind grows in knowledge impacts how one thinks about what students should be learning. A recent book on adult learning listed 50 different types or definitions of learning, including active learning, collaborative learning, experiential learning, group learning, self-directed. One reason for the plethora of learning definitions is that learning is both a product � an outcome, a tangible knowing �as well as a process. In meaningful learning, we are focusing on the product or the outcome of the learning process. We are focusing on what the knowledge that a person would know that he or she didn�t know before. One of the most concise definitions among those 50 definitions mentioned above is one by Malcolm Knowles. Knowles defines learning as the �process of gaining knowledge or expertise.� (Knowles, 1998, p. 17)� Other definitions of learning include one by E. A. Haggard that states that learning is a �change in behavior as a result of experience.� (Haggard, 1963, p. 20.) This definition of learning is obviously heavily influenced by the behavioral theory of mind, stressing the need for experience for learning to occur. We are fortunate today that we have a large body of research on mind and brains and knowing and learning on which to draw. This research suggests some of the following definitions for meaningful learning.
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Learning that changes one�s brain structure; Learning that supports and enables growth of more knowledge Learning that changes a person�s life.�

Meaningful learning, in short, is learning that makes a difference�in one�s mind and in one�s life. I think that this type of learning is what we would like our students to achieve, and that we would enjoy facilitating. In �How the Mind Works� Stephen Pinker �a cognitive scientist at MIT -- describes what he calls �one of the great ideas in intellectual history.� The idea is great because it solves one of the great puzzles of the mind-body problem, that of connecting the ethereal world of meaning and intention with a physical hunk of matter like the brain (Pinker, 1997, p.� 24) That idea has the formidable name of the �{Computational Theory of Mind�. It is a powerful idea � because it helps to explain why learning some ideas might be so difficult or time-consuming for students. Fortunately, it also provides a principle for designing learning experiences to be more effective.�� The Computational Theory of Mind: What is it?� The Computational Theory of Mind states that beliefs, desires, and other intentions are stored in our minds as information, as bits and bytes of data.. (Pinker, Stephen.,How Does Our Mind Work, 1997, p. 24)� This theory also states that �"Information and computation reside in patterns of data and in relationships of logic that are independent of the physical medium that carries them.� What does this mean, and how does this computational theory of mind �this big idea� apply to learning?� Let�s think of it this way. We know that learning begins with small bits and bytes of data, of information, of facts. And we know that learning progresses beyond facts with the formation of concepts.�� Concepts work because they capture (or arrange, structure) a multitude of facts into a larger pattern and set of relationships. In fact, an effective way of thinking about the big idea of the computational theory of mind, is to complement it with a simple way of expressing this theory.�� The computational theory of mind supports the basis principle that �the more you know, the more you can know.� In other words, learning is an interplay, a dialogue between facts and theories, between facts and principles, between bits and bytes and patterns. Are you planning for this interplay between the small bits and pieces of learning and the larger principles, and theories?� What are the core concepts and the principles that

envelop, bring together, the discrete facts of information?� Are the facts important?� Absolutely?� Is it sufficient for learning when the facts are known? I think Not. Knowledge, beliefs, and skills are �bits of information� which become meaningful information when these bits and bytes are organized, collated, chunked into symbols, patterns, and relationships. The computational theory of mind also helps to explain why sometimes students find learning new facts, concepts, or principles so difficult.� Students come to us with a mind already filled with patterns and relationships. These patterns and relationships cannot be changed with a simple learning of individual facts, or discrete, isolated bits of knowledge.� The knowledge needs to be cultivated, manipulated, arranged, and organized into meaningful learning. In cases of early learning in a discipline, when students are being introduced to a whole new field of study, there may be no �receptor cells� for the facts. Or to return to our seeds metaphor of earlier, there may be a well-grown ground cover that receives the seeds, but makes no room for them to grow. The power of the computational theory of mind�this Big Idea � is that we must think about teaching towards patterns and relationships. Going beyond the bits and bytes So, what are the hints for structuring your course for effective learning?�� As you are designing your courses, remember the Instructional Design 101 question is, �What do I want my students to know, to think, and to able to do after investing their time and talent into this course?� Add to that question these two principles for both you and your students.
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Learning takes time; and teaching takes time. Be realistic about what each of you can do. Well-designed and well�written materials facilitate learning of core concepts and reduce confusion. However, content design and development is costly and time consuming This means choosing or writing materials with care is one of the most important tasks of planning for meaningful learning.

Backup of Meaningful Learning Model By Jack Hassard, Georgia State University, emeritus. SOURCE: Jack Hassard's Web Site Copyright: Source Copyright. Included here under Fair Use Doctrine for teaching purposes. http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/advorgbk02.htm 2.10 Meaningful Learning Model David Ausubel is a psychologist who advanced a theory which contrasted meaningful learning from rote learning. In Ausubel's view, to learn meaningfully, students must relate new knowledge (concepts and propositions) to what they already know. He proposed the notion of an advanced organizer as a way to help students link their ideas with new material or concepts. Ausubel's theory of learning claims that new concepts to be learned can be incorporated into more inclusive concepts or ideas. These more inclusive concepts or ideas are advance organizers. Advance organizers can be verbal phrases (the paragraph you are about to read is about Albert Einstein), or a graphic. In any case, the advance organizer is designed to provide, what cognitive psychologists call, the "mental scaffolding: to learn new information. Meaningful Learning Contrasted with Rote Learning Type of Learning - Characteristics 1. Meaningful Learning:  Non-arbitrary, non-verbatim, substantive incorporation of new knowledge into cognitive structure.  Deliberate effort to link new knowledge with higher order concepts in cognitive structure  Learning related to experiences with events or objects.  Affective commitment to relate new knowledge to prior learning. 2. Rote Learning:  Arbitrary, verbatim, non-substantive incorporation of new knowledge into cognitive structure.  No effort to integrate new knowledge with existing concepts in cognitive structure.  Learning not related to experience with events or objects.  No affective commitment to relate new knowledge to prior learning. Ausubel believed that learning proceeds in a top-down, or deductive manner. Ausubel's theory consists of three phases, presentation of an advance organizer, presentation of learning task or material, and strengthening the cognitive organization. Ausubel's Model of Learning: The main elements of Ausubel's model are shown in Figure 2.34. (Can't copy it. jeanne) Phase One: Advance Organizer Phase Two: Presentation of Learning Task or Material Phase Three: Strengthening Cognitive Organization
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Clarify aim of the lesson Present the organizer Relate organizer to students' knowledge Make the organization of the new material explicit. Make logical order of learning material explicit. Present material and engage students in meaningful learning activities. Relate new information to advance organizer Promote active reception learning.

Concept mapping for meaningful learning Novak and Gowan (1984) have developed a theory of instruction that is based on Ausubel's meaningful learning principles that incorporates "concept maps" to represent meaningful relationships between concepts and propositions. A cognitive map is a "kind of visual road map showing some of the pathways we may take to connect meanings of concepts." According to Novak and Gowan concept maps should be hierarchical; the more general, more inclusive concepts should be at the top of the map, and the more specific, less inclusive concepts at the bottom of the map. An an example of this hierarchical principle of concept maps is shown in the concept map of the food chain. The concept map of the food chain is done in Inspiration I suspect, and I don't have time to go hunt for that program, so can't copy it. We'll construct a concept map in statistics in the Fall. See if you can locate it at Hassard's site. jeanne The concept map is a tool that science teachers can use to determine the nature of students' existing ideas The map can be used to make evident the key concepts to be learned and suggest linkages between the new information to be learned and what the student already knows. Concept maps can precede instruction, and be used by the teacher to generate a meaningful discussion of student ideas. Following the initial construction and discussion of concept maps, instructional activities can be designed to explore alternative frameworks, resulting in cognitive accommodation. David Ausubel, M.D. (1918 - 2008 ) Meaningful Verbal Learning Subsumption Theory http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/constructivism/ausubel.html Biography David Ausubel was an American psychologist who did his undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania (pre-med and psychology). He graduated from medical school at Middlesex University. Later he earned a Ph.D in Developmental Psychology at Columbia University. He was influenced by the work of Piaget. He served on the faculty at several universities and retired from academic life in 1973 and began his practice in psychiatry. Dr. Ausubel published several textbooks in developmental and educational psychology, and more than 150 journal articles. He was awarded the Thorndike Award for "Distinguished Psychological Contributions to Education" by the American Psychological Association (1976). Theory Ausubel, whose theories are particularly relevant for educators, considered neo-behaviorist views inadequate. Although he recognized other forms of learning, his work focused on verbal learning. He dealt with the nature of meaning, and believes the external world acquires meaning only as it is converted into the content of consciousness by the learner. Meaningful Verbal Learning Meaning is created through some form of representational equivalence between language (symbols) and mental context. Two processes are involved: 1. Reception, which is employed in meaningful verbal learning, and 2. Discovery, which is involved in concept formation and problem solving. Ausubel's work has frequently been compared with Bruner's. The two held similar views about the hierarchical nature of knowledge, but Bruner was strongly oriented toward discovery processes, where Ausubel gave more emphasis to the verbal learning methods of speech, reading and writing. Subsumption Theory To subsume is to incorporate new material into one's cognitive structures. From Ausubel's perspective, this is

the meaning of learning. When information is subsumed into the learner's cognitive structure it is organized hierarchically. New material can be subsumed in two different ways, and for both of these, no meaningful learning takes place unless a stable cognitive structure exists. This existing structure provides a framework into which the new learning is related, hierarchically, to the previous information or concepts in the individual's cognitive structure. When one encounters completely new unfamiliar material, then rote learning, as opposed to meaningful learning, takes place. This rote learning may eventually contribute to the construction of a new cognitive structure which can later be used in meaningful learning. The two types of subsumption are: 1. Correlative subsumption - new material is an extension or elaboration of what is already known. 2. Derivative subsumption - new material or relationships can be derived from the existing structure. Information can be moved in the hierarchy, or linked to other concepts or information to create new interpretations or meaning. From this type of subsumption, completely new concepts can emerge, and previous concepts can be changed or expanded to include more of the previously existing information. This is "figuring out". Ausubel is a proponent of didactic, expository teaching methods. From this perspective, expository (verbal) learning approaches encourage rapid learning and retention, whereas discovery learning (Bruner) facilitates transfer to other contexts.

Advanced Organizers Ausubel contributed much to the theoretical body of cognitive learning theory, but not as much to the practical classroom aspects as Bruner and others. Ausubel's most notable contribution for classroom application was the advance organizer. The advance organizer is a tool or a mental learning aid to help students `integrate new information with their existing knowledge, leading to "meaningful learning" as opposed to rote memorization. It is a means of preparing the learner's cognitive structure for the learning experience about to take place. It is a device to activate the relevant schema or conceptual patterns so that new information can be more readily `subsumed' into the learner's existing cognitive structures. Ausubel believed that it was important for teachers to provide a preview of information to be learned. Teachers could do this by providing a brief introduction about the way that information that is going to be presented is structured. This would enable students to start with a "Big Picture" of the upcoming content, and link new ideas, concepts, vocabulary, to existing mental maps of the content area.

Meaningful Reception Learning Theory http://itls.usu.edu/~mimi/courses/6260/theorists/Ausubel/aususc.html

Ausubel's Meaningful Reception Theory is concerned with how students learn large amounts of meaningful material from verbal/textual presentations in a school setting. Ausubel proposed that learning is based upon the kinds of superordinate, representational, and combinatorial processes that occur during the reception of information. A primary process in learning is subsumption in which new material is related to relevant ideas in the existing cognitive structure on a non-verbatim basis. Meaningful learning results when new information is acquired by linking the new information in the learner's own cognitive structure. A major instructional mechanism proposed by Ausubel is the use of advance organizers. Ausubel emphasizes that advance organizers are different from overviews and summaries which simply emphasize key ideas and are presented at the same level of abstraction and generality as the rest to the material. Organizers help to link new learning material with existing related ideas. Ausubel indicates that his theory applies only to reception (expository) learning in school settings. He distinguishes reception learning from rote and discovery learning. Rote learning does not involve subsumption and discovery learning requires the learner to discover information through problem solving. Ausubel believed that children have a natural tendency to organize information into a meaningful whole. Children should first learn a general concept and then move toward specifics. Principles of Ausubel's Meaningful Reception Learning Theory within a classroom setting include: 1. The most general ideas of a subject should be presented first and then progressively differentiated in terms of detail and specificity. 2. Instructional materials should attempt to integrate new material with previously presented information through comparisons and cross-referencing of new and old ideas. 3. Instructors should incorporate advance organizers when teaching a new concept. 4. Instructors should use a number of examples and focus on both similarities and differences. 5. Classroom application of Ausubel's theory should discourage rote learning of materials that can be learned more meaningfully. 6. The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows.

Meaningful Reception Learning Theory http://www.scribd.com/doc/27043905/Ausubel-Theory Ausubel's Meaningful Reception Theory is concerned with how students learn largeamounts of meaningful material from verbal/textual presentations in a school setting.Ausubel proposed that learning is based upon the kinds of superordinate,representational, and combinatorial processes that occur during the reception of information. A primary process in learning is subsumption in which new material isrelated to relevant ideas in the existing cognitive structure on a non-verbatim basis.Meaningful learning results when new information is acquired by linking the newinformation in the learner's own cognitive structure.A major instructional mechanism proposed by Ausubel is the use of advance organizers.Ausubel emphasizes that advance organizers are different from overviews and summarieswhich simply emphasize key ideas and are presented at the same level of abstraction andgenerality as the rest to the material. Organizers help to link new learning material withexisting related ideas.Ausubel indicates that his theory applies only to reception (expository) learning in schoolsettings. He distinguishes reception learning from rote and discovery learning. Rotelearning does not involve subsumption and discovery learning requires the learner todiscover information through problem solving.Ausubel believed that children have a natural tendency to organize information into ameaningful whole. Children should first learn a general concept and then move towardspecifics.Principles of Ausubel's Meaningful Reception Learning Theory within a classroomsetting include:1.The most general ideas of a subject should be presented f irst and then progressively differentiated in terms of detail and specificity.2.Instructional materials should attempt to integrate new material with previously presented information through comparisons and cross-referencing of new and oldideas.3.Instructors should incorporate advance organizers wh en teaching a new concept.4.Instructors should use a number of examples and focus on both similarities and differences.5.Classroom application of Ausubel's theory should discourage rote learning of materials that can be learned more meaningfully.6.The most important single factor inf luencing learning is what the learner already knows Meaningful Learning Model David Ausubel is a psychologist who advanced a theory that contrastedmeaningful learning from rote learning. In Ausubel’s view, to learn meaningfully,students must relate new knowledge (concepts and propositions) to what theyalready know. He proposed the notion of advanced organizers as a way to helpstudents link their ideas with new material or concepts. Ausubel's theory of learning claims that new concepts to be learned can be incorporated into moreinclusive concepts or ideas. These more inclusive concepts or ideas are advanceorganizers. Advance organizers can be verbal phrases (the paragraph you areabout to read is about Albert Einstein), or a graphic. In any case, the advanceorganizer is designed to provide, what cognitive psychologists call the "mentalscaffolding: to learn new information.

a theory which contrastedmeaningful learning from rote learning. of “meaningful” material from verbal/textual lessons in school, as opposed totheories of learning developed in laboratories. subsumption theorycontends that “the most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows” (Ausubel, 1968). is subsumption in which newmaterial is related to relevant ideas in the existing cognitive structures. organizers. He emphasizesthat advance organizers are different from overviews and summaries whichsimply emphasize key ideas and details in an arbitrary manner. Organizers act asa “subsuming bridge” (Ausubel, 1963) between new learning material andexisting related ideas. -substantive incorporation of new knowledge intocognitive structure. No effort to integrate new knowledge with existing concepts in cognitivestructure. with events or objects. No affective commitment to relate new knowledge to prior learning. Non-arbitrary, non-verbatim, substantive incorporation of new knowledgeinto cognitive structure.

prior learning.

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