Showing papers on "Meaningful learning published in 1984"

Pictures and adult learning

Abstract: Instructional pictures may be classified on the basis of how they convey meaning including classification as representational, analogical, or arbitrary (Gropper, 1963; Knowlton, 1966). Some previous reviews of picture effects have dealt with only the first category of pictures-that is, pictures that are isomorphic with the objects or concepts that they represent (Alesandrini, 1982; Levin and Lesgold, 1978). Other reviews have also considered arbitrary or non-representational pictures such as flowcharts and graphs (Levie and Lentz, 1982; Macdonald-Ross, 1977a). This article discusses research on all three types of pictures and considers how each type may play a crucial, yet different, role in the learning process. The focus is on picture effects in adult meaningful learning such as concept learning, learning from prose materials, and learning from expository text.

The Use of Schema Theory in the Design of Instructional Materials: A Physics Example.

Abstract: What are the implications of cognitive science for the design of instructional materials given its central concern with meaningful learning? This question was addressed during an attempt to improve the quality of learning in an introductory non-calculus college physics course where a major intellectual problem that many students face is the development of a coherent view of the information provided to them. The absence of a conceptual framework may contribute to the rapid loss of information often observed among many students shortly after their taking a test. Lack of a conceptual framework also may account for the frequent use of trial-and-error approaches to using formulae. This report cites the use of schema theory for the development of a generative schema or a set of schemas that could be used by students to integrate all of the physics content, and for the design of a means for representing and teaching the schema(s) in a set of instructional materials.

Learning how to learn: Concept mapping for meaningful learning

Abstract: THE NATURE AND USES OF CONCEPT MAPS C oncept maps are intended to represent meaningful relationships between concepts in the form of propositions. Propositions are two or more concept labels linked by words in a semantic unit. In its simplest form, a concept map would be just two concepts connected by a linking word to form a proposition. For example, “sky is blue” would represent a simple concept map forming a valid proposition about the concepts “sky” and “blue.” Except for a relatively small number of concepts acquired very early by children through a discovery learning process, most concept meanings are learned through the composite of propositions in which the concept to be acquired is embedded. Although concrete empirical props may facilitate concept learning, the regularity represented by the concept label is given additional meaning through propositional statements that include the concept. Thus, “grass is green,” “grass is a plant,” “grass grows,” “grass is a monocot,” and so on lead to increasing meaning and precision of meaning for the concept “grass.” A concept map is a schematic device for representing a set of concept meanings embedded in a framework of propositions. Concept maps work to make clear to both students and teachers the small number of key ideas they must focus on for any specific learning task. A map can also provide a kind of visual road map showing some of the pathways we may take to connect meanings of concepts in propositions.

The Geography Teacher's Guide to the Classroom

Abstract: Contributors - Introduction to the Second Edition - Geography: A Medium for Education - Knowledge and Teaching Styles in the Geography Classroom - Critical Inquiry: The Emerging Perspective in Geography Teaching - Expository Teaching for Meaningful Learning in Geography - Teaching for Thinking in the Geography Classroom - Making Inquiry Learning Work in the Geography Classroom - Designing Worksheets to Promote Student Inquiry in Geography - Learning Geography Through Classroom and Library Research - Models and Reality: Integrating Practical Work and Fieldwork in Geography - Learning Geography Through Fieldwork - Developing Valuing and Decision-making Skills in the Geography Classroom - Promoting Social and Political Education in Geography Teaching - Look into My Mind: Qualitative Inquiry in Teaching Geography - Developing Environmental Awareness and Appreciation - Teaching Skills in Geography - Teaching Graphics in Geography Lessons - Using Maps Well in the Geography Classroom - Language in the Geography Classroom - Using Textbooks and Reading for Understanding in Geography - Using Games and Simulations in the Geography Classroom - Using Computers in Geography Teaching - Geographical Facts from Geographical Figures: Turning Students on with 'Stats' in Geography - Diagnosis of Student Learning in Geography - Individualizing Learning in Geography - Teaching the Less Able Students in Geography - Planning and Teaching a Geography Curriculum Unit - School-based Curriculum Development in Geography - Planning a School-based Assessment Program - Selecting and Evaluating Resources for Geography Teaching - Evaluating Your Geography Courses - On Being a Geography Teacher in the 1990's and Beyond - Acknowledgements

Application of Ausubel's Theory of Meaningful Verbal Learning to Curriculum, Teaching and Learning of Deaf Students.

Abstract: Currently, if teachers advocate presentational methods of instruction (Le., lectures and reading), they are often challenged by educational theorists who claim that discovery methods, open education, and experience-based learning are far superior in enhancing student learning and retention. But many teachers cannot dismiss mastery of an academic discipline as an educational goal for deaf students, especially at the college level. So they continue to struggle with how to help students learn large bodies of information more effectively and efficiently. Sometimes teachers look to educational, psychological, and/or cognitive theories for guidance. But, unfortunately, there are few occasions when teachers can actually bridge the gap between theory and practice because researchers often fail to offer practical application of their theories or findings. In addition, traditional teacher-preparation courses have been sparse in cognitive psychology, basic statistics, and research interpretation; and sometimes teaching schedules or commitments allow little time for study and reflection. Despite these obstacles, the work of educational psychologist David P. Ausubel provides a bridge between theory and practice for many teachers. He stands out as one of the few theorists who simultaneously addresses curriculum, teaching, and learning issues (Weil & Joyce, 1978). He, like many teachers, believes that the acquisition of information is valid and essential, and he rejects the idea that such expository learning is in any way passive (Ausubel, 1968). Ausubel is one of the few educational theorists who has been concerned with helping teachers to convey large amounts of information as meaningfully as possible. Ausubel (1963b) described the mind's information-storage and processing system (cognitive structure) as being parallel to the conceptual structure of academic disciplines. That is, at the top of each discipline are a number of broad concepts, under which are subsumed less inclusive subconcepts. From this basic premise, Ausubel developed his theory of meaningful verbal learning. Ausubel (1968) contended that a parallel exists between cognitive structure and the way that curriculum should be organized to help students process new information meaningfully. Meaningful learning occurs, according to Ausubel, only when new ideas are anchored in or linked to what is already in the cognitive structure of a learner (1967, p. 222). This knowledge can also greatly influence teachers when they present new material to students (Ausubel, 1963a).

Distorted learning from unusual medical anecdotes.

Abstract: Summary Doctors are encouraged to look upon each patient as a learning experience (Wyngaarden, 1979). Caseoriented learning begins in the clinical years of medical school and continues throughout the professional career of the doctor. Clinical cases, or anecdotes, have the potential of producing accurate, relevant and meaningful learning for the clinician even though they are uncontrolled in a scientific sense. However, unusual or atypical cases can also result in erroneous learning which can negatively affect patient care. The purpose of this article is to identify difficulties in this form of subjective learning which can lead to suboptimal doctor practice patterns. Six actual clinical cases are briefly described to illustrate how inaccurate learning distorted subsequent clinical problem-solving by doctors. Suggestions are then made for ameliorating this difficulty.

Cognitive Development and Learning in Mildly Handicapped Bilingual Children.

Abstract: The theoretical background and empirical studies concerned with the relationshir between language and cognition in bilingual children and in bilingua2 mildly retarded children are examined. It is suggested that the effects of bilingualism are not necessarily detrimental to mildly handicappe children. Cognitive and interactional factors in the acquisition of literacy are discussed in the context of previous research and of observations of an ongoing investigation in a self-contained classroom composed of bilingual mildly handicapped children (grades 4-6). Here the instructional approach emphasizes the acquisition of writing skills through interaction in meaningful learning activities (journal writing). A reconceptualization of the teaching/learning process as a mutually constructed, interactive activity is advocated as holding much promise in the development of effective instructional options for bilingual handicapped students. (JW) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions ;uupplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ***********************************************************************

Learning how to learn: Learning about learning

Abstract: WHAT IS THIS BOOK ALL ABOUT? W e are concerned with educating people and with helping people learn to educate themselves. We want to help people get better control over the meanings that shape their lives. Educating is powerfully liberating; failures in educating are powerfully oppressive. Wherever educating occurs, in schools and out, we think we can help people get better control over the events of educating, and thus over that part of their lives that is being transformed. “Seek simplicity, but distrust it,” claimed Alfred North Whitehead. We share this view, and desire in seeking simplicity to preserve complexity. Sometimes simple ideas are so obvious they are obscure. We will try to illustrate simple but potentially powerful strategies to help students learn and to help educators organize learning material. The two principal educational tools we will discuss are concept mapping (see Figure 1.1), which is a way to help students and educators see the meanings of learning materials, and knowledge Vee diagramming (see Figure 1.2), which is a way to help students and educators penetrate the structure and meaning of the knowledge they seek to understand. In addition, we will describe some strategies that help students and teachers move toward what we will call shared meanings and feelings. This task is ambitious, but our experiences have shown that it is not unattainable. We invite you to join us in an exploration that is still very much in progress, for we (the authors) and our students are continuing our search for ways to become better teachers and/or learners and to help students learn what it means to learn.

Transfer of learning (training)

Abstract: Transfer of learning (or training) is the process by which the effects of training in one form of the activity are transferred to another form of activity; for example does the learning of French have effects which make the learning of German or Russian easier? A claim often made is that the learning of mathematics, or at least the training involved, improves the learner’s ability to solve problems requiring logic whether these are of a mathematical nature or not.