Showing papers on "Experiential learning published in 1980"

Problem-based learning : an approach to medical education

Abstract: In this book, the authors address some basic problems in the learning of biomedical science, medicine, and the other health sciences Students in most medical schools, especially in basic science courses, are required to memorize a large number of ""facts,"" facts which may or may not be relevant to medical practice Problem-based learning has two fundamental postulates--the learning through problem-solving is much more effective for creating a body of knowledge usable in the future, and that physician skills most important for patients are problem-solving skills, rather than memory skills This book presents the scientific basis of problem-based learning and goes on to describe the approaches to problem-based medical learning that have been developed over the years at McMaster University, largely by Barrows and Tamblyn

Learning to Learn: On Training Students to Learn from Texts. Technical Report No. 189.

Abstract: Based on an invited address given by the first author at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association in Boston, April 1980.

The Principles and Practice of Nurse Education

Abstract: Introduction - nurse education in the university and the workplace. Part 1 The psychological basis of teaching and learning: individual psychological differences adult learning theory cognitive perspectives on teaching and learning behaviourism and other perspectives on teaching and learning. Part 2 Organizing, delivering and evaluating teaching and learning: curriculum theory and practice planning for teaching assessment of learning information and communication technology course and programme management open, distance and flexible learning educational quality assurance. Part 3 Teaching strategies: lecturing small group teaching and experiential learning tutoring and counselling skills. Part 4 Specific teaching topics and contexts: teaching in clinical and community settings teaching patients, clients and their families teaching interpersonal communication skills teaching study skills teaching and supervising research. Part 5 Continuing professional development: continuing professional development - the university context continuing professional development - the workplace context.

Americans in Transition: Life Changes As Reasons for Adult Learning

Abstract: (1982). Americans in Transition: Life Changes as Reasons for Adult Learning. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 233-235.

Current Theory and Research In Communicative Competence

Abstract: The concept of competence in speech communication situations is explored here, with emphasis on the identification of competency as an educational objective. A review of relevant research in the relatively new area of communicative competence is presented, as well as an examination of the theoretical and conceptual issues relating to it. Competence research reveals a number of “dimensions” or components of competence, the most clearly defined being empathy, behavioral flexibility, and interaction management. With a basic knowledge of which communication abilities are necessary for adequate functioning in society, educators are then challenged to devise educational strategies to give students the knowledge and experiential learning necessary to achieve competence in this vital area of their lives.

Learning Theory Applied to the Biology Classroom

Abstract: IMPORTANT ADVANCES in our understanding of how humans learn have occurred recently. The research activities of our group at Cornell University focus on how theoretical ideas about human learning can be applied to classroom teaching. A previous article in this journal (Novak 1979) presented some of the work we are doing in applying Gowin's Epistemological V to helping students acquire an insight into the nature of knowledge production as illustrated in laboratory work. Through our research we have found that it is crucially important to present both psychological concepts and epistemological ideas if we wish to advance students' understanding of a discipline, such as biology. Thus, we are also presenting to students in secondary schools and in colleges activities designed to help them understand the nature of knowledge and the processes scientists use in making new knowledge. To avoid the kind of biology instruction that leads to what Schwab (1962) called memorizing a "rhetoric of conclusions," we believe the most direct approach is to help students acquire learning strategies that provide insights into the conceptual nature of knowledge and the processes of knowledge production. The material presented here could be incorporated into an instructional unit of psychology, but it might also be used productively during the first weeks of a biology course to help students understand how they learn. Such knowledge will help them as they study biology and will be equally useful in courses on other subjects.

Toward a Theory of Self-Directed Learning: a Study of Experts Without Formal Training

Abstract: The authors analyzed the biographies of twenty acknowledged experts with out formal training beyond high school in search of commonalities that might suggest ways people become effectively self-directed in learning and accom plishment. Of the 154 characteristics identified, the fifty rated as most im portant were examined. They outline a pattern of education that is sharply focussed, active, experiential, self-directed, situational, and often personally challenging. They indicate a personality that is both traditional and radical, and they suggest a life theme of gathering purpose and drive. The authors transform their analyses into fourteen hypotheses about education, about a form of schooling that would prepare students for a life of self-directed learning and attainment.

The Learning Style Characteristics of Gifted Students

Abstract: Much of the research conducted among the gifted, the talented, and the highly creative reveals that their unique personal characteristics include being: (a) critical, (b) independent of thought and judgement, and (c) persistent (Torrance, 1965; Feldhusen, Treffinger, & Elias, 1969). Of those enumerated traits, only persistence is one of the 18 elements identified in the publications that indicate how individuals tend to learn (Dunn & Dunn, 1978). The literature concerning the gifted is devoid of information that describes how that special group responds to the

Building Positive Attitudes by Using Cooperative Learning Groups

Abstract: This article describes the teacher's role in using cooperative learning groups to teach junior high school introductory French classes. It also describes the results of an evaluation of how cooperative learning experiences affect (1) the students' attitudes toward French, (2) their relationships with peers and the teacher, and (3) the perceived impact of the cooperative learning experiences on their motivation to learn French, the personal benefits they received from the group experiences, and their attitudes toward learning in groups. Cooperative learning experiences promoted positive attitudes among students toward all of these aspects of learning French.

Experiential Learning Programs for Youth

Abstract: Opportunities for young people of secondary school age to learn outside of classrooms currently exist in a variety of programs, and the proliferation of such programs has been widely recommended. Their promise lies in engaging the learner more actively in learning, in contrast to the relative passivity of much classroom learning. Its proponents argue that such learning is more easily applied to real situations and that it need not rely on such extrinsic motivations as grades. However, experiential learning is also acknowledged to be less efficient and less generalizable than highly symbolic classroom learning. Its place, therefore, must be found in a set of educational approaches that includes conventional schooling. The claims for experiential learning have not been grounded solidly in research. Although unequivocal effects have been demonstrated for few educational programs of any kind, the informed creation of experiential learning programs for youth requires research that demonstrates the association ...

Learning Styles in Adult Education: a Study of County Extension Agents

Abstract: This Study explored the effectiveness of Kolb's Learning Style Inventory in identifying learning styles and implications for designing education programs for County Extension Agents in Ken tucky (N = 349) to assess its usefulness in identifying learning styles and in designing appropriate adult learning experiences. The results indicate a variety of learning styles among the population adult learning experiences. The results indicate a variety of learning styles among the population with one dominant style being identified. Despite minimal correlations between individual learn ing styles and preferences for particular educational techniques, it is contended that the inven tory provides a potentially useful framework for designing and conducting adult educational pro grams.

Teaching Participant-Observation Research Methods: A Skills-Building Approach

Abstract: In spite of long-standing interest among social scientists in participant-observation field methods there is little published material on how to teach these methods. In this paper the authors discuss a course they have offered at UCLA for the past six years. The course features experiential-learning, simulation of fieldwork, and both student and teacher reflexivity. These teaching strategies are meant to facilitate student learning in five essential skill domains felt to be applicable to most types of participant-observation field research. A detailed description of course content and learning activities is included.

Reading and Learning Disabilities

Abstract: Reading specialists have been concerned with remedial reading, corrective reading, and reading disabilities for many years. Smith ( 1960) traces the concept of remedial reading in the United States to the 1920's. In very recent years a new movement that has focused on many of the same problems has been rapidly growing. This movement, which finally evolved as the field of learning disabilities, has been spurred by parents, schools, state departments of education, and the Federal government.

Stages of Educational Development? Beeby Revisited.

Abstract: Beeby's model of stages of educational change in developing countries has been accepted into the educational literature with remarkably little critical analysis. Though valuable for a large number of experiential insights, the author argues that the model has certain weaknesses which should restrict its application. The stages have a teleological bias and are not sufficiently distinct, nor do the labels used for them meet the formal requirements of measuring scales. Furthermore, the model overgeneralizes from the experience of British-tradition South Pacific school systems, and the equation of western teaching with good teaching is an unsupported view which may not be valid in many countries. The most fundamental problem is the lack of clear distinction between empirical issues and the ethical judgements implicit in the formulation.

Views from Below: Implementation Research in Education.

Abstract: We should like to thank David Goodwin of the National Institute of Education and Richard E. Elmore of the University of Washington for their extensive and helpful commentary on earlier drafts of this article. This work was supported by the National Institute of Education. The views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Institute of Education.