Module 5 The Learning Process

1
Module 5The Learning Process

• Objectives
• After Completing the study of Module 5, you
  should be able to
• Identify the various alternative approaches to
  learning
• Explain how authentic learning enhances
  instruction
• Discuss the procedures in the conduct of mastery
  learning in the classroom
• Compare and contrast hands-on and minds-on
  learning with experiential and experimental
  learning
• Discuss how observational learning or social
  learning is conducted in and out of the school
• Explain how meaningful verbal learning is
  conducted in the classroom
• Discuss the educational goals for the three
  learning domains
• Give examples of the three phases of the learning
  cycle

2
Alternative Approaches to Learning

• Authentic Learning
• Mastery Learning
• Experiential Learning
• Observational Learning
• Hands-on and Minds-on Learning
• Meaningful Verbal Learning

3
Authentic Learning

• Some major characteristics of authentic learning
  are
• Learning is real-world oriented and has value
  beyond the school setting.
• Learning is often interdisciplinary.
• Students use higher-order thinking skills and
  learn concepts as well as basic facts.
• The classroom is learner centered and allows for
  a variety of learning styles.
• Students have ownership of their learning.
• Instruction uses hands-on approaches and is
  accessible for all learners.
• Learning is active and student driven.
• Teachers act as coaches or learning facilitators.
  They are one of many resources students may turn
  to for learning. Parents, outside experts, and
  community members may all serve as sources for
  learning.
• Learning uses real-time data, which students
  investigate and from which they draw conclusions.
• Students often work together and have
  opportunities for discussion as they work to
  solve the problem.
• Students produce a product that is directed
  toward a real audience.

4
Mastery Learning

• Two problems often arise with mastery learning.
• First, grouping and scheduling may become
  difficult. Teachers often find it easier to force
  people to work at a constant pace and to complete
  tasks at a predictable rate than to permit wide
  variations in activities within a class.
• Second, while slow learners spend extra time on
  minimum standards, the faster learners may be
  forced to wait when they could be progressing to
  higher levels of achievement.

5
Experiential Learning

• This form of learning is based on three
  assumptions
• That learners learn best when they are personally
  involved in the learning experience
• That knowledge has to be discovered by the
  learners themselves if it is to mean anything to
  them
• That a commitment to learning is highest when
  learners are free to set their own learning goals
  and actively pursue them within a given framework.

6
Observational Learning

• According to Arends hypothesis humans learn
  through the observation of others through a
  three-step process as
• The learner has to pay attention to critical
  aspects of what is to be learned
• The learner has to retain or remember the
  behavior
• The learner must be able to produce or perform
  the behavior.

7
Hands-on and Minds-on Learning

• Kellough emphasizes the two-fold instructional
  tasks of teachers, which are
• To plan hands-on experiences, providing the
  materials and the supportive environment
  necessary for students meaningful exploration
  and discovery
• To know how to facilitate the most meaningful and
  longest-lasting learning possible once the
  learners mind has been engaged by the hands-on
  learning