How People Learn: Knowledge, Reasoning, and the Creative Learning Environment.

This blog post was created as part of my M. Ed. Module: “Introduction to Learning Technologies”

How do people acquire knowledge?

The infographic below summarizes Chapter 5 "Knowledge and Reasoning" from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2018 publication - How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures:

From a young age, people begin building a knowledge base by taking in information and having experiences, then creating a mental framework to connect these multiple episodes and begin the process of integrating knowledge. When we recall a memory, we draw on old and new experiences and everything related in the framework. Through inferential connections and by adapting retrieved knowledge, we develop the ability to reason. By repeatedly engaging with similar situations, people develop mental representations that strengthen their mental frameworks, leading to subject-specific expertise. Bias is a natural consequence of expertise, however positive bias can benefit learning. Throughout our lifetime we accumulate more and more knowledge, both by learning new information from direct experience, and by generating new information based on reasoning. Although our reasoning abilities decline with age, our accumulated knowledge continues to facilitate learning new knowledge, as long as it is in a related area of expertise. There are 5 strategies mentioned to support learning, namely: retrieval practice, spaced practice, interleaved and varied practice, summarizing and drawing, and giving explanations.

(National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; 2018)

Impacts on Curriculum Design 

As shown in the infographic, the components of reasoning (inferential connections and adapting retrieved knowledge) compliment the goals of Project-Based Learning, for example having flexible knowledge and problem-solving skills.  As such, incorporating aspects of PBL into curriculum design can facilitate the development of improved reasoning skills.

The suggestions for improved learning can also be incorporated into curriculum design. Spaced practice and varied practice should be planned for ahead of time, since it could be challenging to implement on a whim. Opportunities for retrieval practice and explanations would also have to be allocated an appropriate time in the lesson planning.

Other teaching strategies, such as activating prior knowledge and helping students make connections between related events and subjects, can also boost learning and reasoning if deliberately included in the curriculum.

The Creative Learning Environment:

Creativity is not simply an innate orientation, but a skill that can be learned and developed, especially when made a priority in our education system (Gura, 2020). How can we teach creativity to our students?

In recent years, there have emerged resources, practices, and a growing selection of digital tools that today’s educators can access to help them support their students and to integrate creativity across their teaching practice (Gura, 2020). Creativity is an essential component in effective problem-solving and successful collaboration (PBL), and also required to make connections between related experiences to expand mental frameworks (expertise). A creative learning environment supports learning and reasoning, especially one that includes digital tools that aid students in researching, organizing and sharing their creative efforts with authentic audiences (Gura, 2020).

Instead of mere consumers, students as producers and creators learn even more (Rivero, 2020). Here are some digital tools to assist creative students and aligned with the learning supports mentioned in the above infographic:

Adobe Spark - This integrated web and mobile solution enables teachers and students of all ages to easily create and share impactful visual stories, through pictures, videos and animation (Rivero, 2020). This could be a great platform for students to summarize their learning or explain it to others.

creatED professional learning by Crayola - These STEAM Design-A-Game kits use standards-based approaches to deepen students’ knowledge of curriculum, build their strategic planning skills, and empower them as creative decision-makers that can assess others’ thinking and learn to communicate complex systems (Rivero, 2020). This is a great strategy to incorporated interleaved and varied practice into the curriculum, allowing the content to be explored from new angles and prompting students to make connections as they piece together the relevant information to create a cohesive game.

Imagine Forest - This is an online creative writing platform that encourages children to write for pleasure, by offering a story-idea generator, a character creator, and many more creative writing tools and activities that can be completed to earn points and badges (Rivero, 2020). Intrinsic motivation and self-direction are important aspects of problem-based learning and reasoning skills. Creative-writing platforms like these are fantastic for differentiation, since students can access the content at their own level, and choose their topic and style based on their own interests.

ISTE Standard for Students:

All of the above ties neatly in with the first ISTE Standard for Students:

Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences (Brooks-Young, 2017).

Of particular relevance is Standard 1.1b Customized Learning Environments:

Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process (Brooks-Young, 2017).

As demonstrated by Gura (2020) and Rivero (2020), there are many ways of using digital tools and leveraging technology in the classroom to support students in developing their creativity. These tools and strategies may also support learning and the development of reasoning skills when adapted into the curriculum to support varied and spaced practice, and offer students opportunities to explain, summarize and retrieve knowledge.

References:

• Brooks-Young, S. (2017).  ISTE Standards for Students: A Practical Guide for Learning with Technology. International Society for Technology in Education. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students 

• Gura, M. (2020). Fostering Student Creativity. EdTech Digest the State of the Arts, Creativity, and Technology 2020: A Guide for Educators and Parents. pdf

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783.

• Rivero, V. (2020). A Whole New Class of Art. EdTech Digest the State of the Arts, Creativity and Technology 2020: A Guide for Educators and Parents. p. 12-20. pdf