Daniel Loos
November 2011
Gems of Pedagogy
Classroom Research Project 1

Brain research studies have shown that when we learn a new skill, idea or ability, there are biological changes that take place in the brain’s neurons. There is an increase in the myelin sheathing of the neurons and neuron/dendrite connections. These changes, which reflect that learning has taken place, come about only when there is deep practice and the appropriate amount of struggle (effort and engagement). Learning a new skill or concept involves a cycle of steps: 1) pick a target, 2) reach for it, 3) evaluate the gap between the target and the reach, and 4)then return to step one (Coyle).

Students, administrators, and teachers often forget how much practice and effort are really needed before a skill can be mastered. The book The Talent Code: Greatness isn’t Born. It’s Grown by Daniel Coyle reveals the relationship of brain changes and learning. The premise of the book is that talent isn’t innate but it is learned. We are simply unaware of the kind and amount of practice that led to the talent.

This leads to a myriad of questions about learning and teaching:

  1. If true learning only happens as a result of deep practice and struggling with a skill or concept, what does this mean from the perspective of the student and the teacher?
  2. Do students understand that they need to struggle with material or concepts (truly work and rework with the material) before they can say they have learned it? Or do they expect that learning can take place if it delivered without forcing them to struggle with the material?
  3. Do teachers understand that persistent presentation of content and provision of steps and guidelines may actually hinder learning?
  4. Can students improve their learning by understanding the findings of brain research on the learning process?
  5. Would this help students who are feeling frustrated as a result of their struggles with the class material understand that the struggling means they are actually learning and that it is part of the learning process?

Survey Creation (See actual Survey and Item Analysis at the end of this document.)

A survey was created to find out the following answers from students:

  1. How do students feel when they are doing their most productive and best studying and how do their responses compare to those of students who are considered talented?
  2. Do students agree or disagree that a good teacher helps students to learn their best by minimizing the amount of struggle that students face when learning a new skill or idea?
  3. What explanations do students give to support their agreement or disagreement to question 2?

Analysis of Survey Results

14 responses

Prior Knowledge of Material:
50% of the respondents had intermediate knowledge of the material coming into the class – 36% little or no knowledge

Outside of Class Studying:
50% of the students spend 1-4 hours per week studying outside of class --2 students said that they could get everything done in class—5 students are spending between 6-10 hours.

Difficulty of the Material
79% of the respondents said that the material is difficult, but that they can handle it. Only 1 student said that the material was too difficult. Two students said the material is easy for them to learn.

Descriptive Adjectives or nouns of how it feels when doing one’s most productive and best studying:

Exciting, challenging, frustrating, productive, concentration, enthusiasm, determination, active , involved, hands on, do it, happy, more, all right, I’m doing it, it will get better, by the grace of God, intense, concentrated, thorough, calm, curious, well, confident, focused confident, excited, proud, happy , encouraged, optimistic, positive about future,

Which words do students think talented students use to describe their best practice?

The Talent Code: Greatness isn’t Born. It’s Grown by Daniel Coyle reports:

Talented student use words such as: connect, whole, alert, build, attention, tiring, mistake, repeat, focus.
Talented students did not mention words such as: natural, effortless, routine, automatic or genius)

Respondents of the survey most frequently selected/matched the following words to the words they thought talented students used to describe their feelings when doing their most productive and best studying:
Focus was the item mentioned most frequently and then attention, alert, connect, repeat build natural, routine, automatic, genius, whole, effortless, tiring, mistake

A good teacher helps students to learn their best by minimizing (reducing) the amount of struggle students face when learning a new skill or idea
71% of respondents Agree
29% of respondents Disagree

Explain your answer

Students gave the following explanations to explain their agreement or disagreement:

Agree:
minimize time to learn—teacher can focus students’ attention on what is important

This is why students come to college; otherwise students wouldn’t need teachers and could learn by themselves
This keeps students on the right track.
A good teacher wants the students to learn and retain information, but not to struggle. They do say that stress impairs our ability to learn!

Knowing what works and doesn’t work helps a lot.

…the teacher can help the student to get the idea in an easy way rather than to go hard time.

Disagree
I felt there was no black and white answer to the question; the teacher should try to help the student along but sometimes struggling is part of the learning process

Especially within the technical arena, the more time spent on learning how to research and work through an issue is, I feel, the best way for a student to learn. If all of the "stress" is reduced, then a part of the learning experience is lost.

I don’t think making things easier is the answer. I believe that enabling a student to handle things when there are difficulties sounds right to me. Giving the student tolls they need to navigate trough the challenge—then move forward toward more challenges.

Summary: What did I (Dan Loos) learn from the survey?

Students seem to be finding the class challenging but they feel that they can handle it. I was trying to find out if students understood that they really have to put in time and effort and really engage with the material in order for true learning to occur. That is, being passive and waiting for the teacher to deliver the learning is not learning. Most of the students said that they believe a good teacher minimizes the amount of struggle that students face when learning a new skill or idea. They believe this makes learning more efficient and it reduces stress and is simply the duty of a good teacher. However, does this minimizing of struggle hinder students from becoming independent thinkers and learners? Will they be ill prepared to survive in academic, work, or community environments when and where they are left on their own to learn? As in most situations, it seems that there must be a balance between providing enough structure and guidance but still allow for opportunities and sufficient time to problem solve and learn new material without full support and guidance. There is a time for structured play and unstructured play. However, how do we determine what the correct balance is?

Next Steps

  • Present brain research information to students and discuss with students
  • Provide some learning activities in which students can experience setting a target, reaching it and then resetting it
  • For now, try to create a balance of guided and less guided problem solving/learning activities

Survey Item Analysis (Angel Learning Management Classroom Report)

Responses to Question 5:

1 / read again, think what you read and keep reading
2 / I read the books, both Essentials and Practical Applications, I record the Key Terms, read the chapter reviews, take the Multiple-Choice Quiz and seek the answers when I think I am wrong. Read the Esay Quiz and read the the Lab Projects. I do my in class assignments and home work.
3 / interesting, reliable and fun
4 / A lot of stuff need to memorize. good hard
5 / exiting,challenging,frustrating
6 / Productive, concentration, enthusiasm, and determination.
7 / Active, involved, hands on.
8 / -Other classes. -My goals. -Benefits. -Time management. -Priorities.
9 / The things and word that come to me is go do it
10 / happy, more, alright, I'm doing it, it will get better, by the grace of God.
11 / intense, concentrated, thorough, calm, curious
12 / well, I feel the confidenc that I will be saccess. Its just a matter of how much do I work hard.
13 / focused, confident
14 / excited proud, happy, encouraged, optimistic, positive about my future

Question 8 Responses:

1 / I agreed.
2 / Because teacher can help student minimize what they need to learn and remind them what should to attention during the test or class. Sometime can share their own experience and technique, strategy to help student to learn.
3 / This is teachers’ responsibility to clear students’ concept when students are learning new things. They come to college to learn a new skill so they wish someone can clear their mind, reduce their struggle. Otherwise, they can teach by themselves without teachers.
4 / If the subject matter is easy, its less of a challenge
5 / I agree, because it is really important for students if they'll have a supportive, reliable and undertsndable teacher in their class. This will keepa student in the right track.
6 / I felt there was no black and white answer to the question, the teacher should try to help the student along but sometimes struggling is part of the learning process.
7 / The great teacher is able to utilize different teaching methodologies to be able to provide different students with the methods that work for them when learning a new concept or skill.
8 / I agreed. For example, when students have an list of things to be memorized a teacher could present the students with a pictoral study guide or an acronym to remember things with. Or a teacher may be able to draw or chart out a process that is only described abstractly in the students' textbook. A good teacher wants the students to learn & retain information, but not to struggle. They do say that stress impairs our ability to learn!
9 / I agree because al rather input less material that I clearly understand than gather to much material that you don't know. Let me use this metaphor, Its like drinking water from a fire hose. Fortunately this class doesn't have an excessive material to complain about, but I'm considering some of the classes that one might be taking aside from this one. Basically all other classed one might be taking really count and also add up.
10 / Especially within the technical arena, the more time spent on learning how to reasearch and work through an issue is, I feel, the best way for a student to learn. If all of the "stress" is reduced, then a part of the learning experience is lost.
11 / I dont think making things easier is the answer. I believe trhat enabeling a student to handle things when there difficult sounds right to me. Giving that student the tools they need to navigate through the challenge than move forward toward more challanges.
12 / I agreed, known what works or what dosen't works help alot. some times you just mit need to be walk though it like me. It help to have some one thats willing to help you understand whats going on when you just don't know. Thank God for you, you are real good at what you do.
13 / Because I probe on myself that, I can learn better easyer if I have a good teacher that help me to my best trying to learn most of my asignment
14 / A teacher comes with a knowledge of the cours and in the other hand the students he or she may not have any knowledge.So,the teacher can help him to get the idea in easy way than to go hard time.

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