3.2 The constructivist model of learning This model of learning concentrates on what happens during the process of learning. It identifies the central role of concepts and understandings that learners bring to new learning and the way in which new and old ideas interact. Its starting point is that learners use their existing frameworks of understanding to interpret what is being taught, and that these existing ideas influence the speed and effectiveness with which new ideas are learned. Learners are actively involved in processing w
3.1 The acquisitive model of learning The three models are introduced in turn, and each is followed by an activity that invites you to apply the model to your studies. This model of learning starts from a focus on the observable behaviour of the learner and on the idea that this can be changed by feedback from the learning environment. It is associated with the idea that learning has to do with reproducing some desirable behaviours or measurable outcomes. The learning process is seen as a process of accretion. Learner
3 Acquisitive learning What happens when we learn? I shall explore three explanations, or models, of learning which attempt to answer this question. These three models have particular strengths and weaknesses. The point is not to choose between them, but to consider which one has the 'best fit' for different kinds of learning.
2.5 Back to your definition Now you have worked through this section, reflect on your own version of what learning is, as you drafted it for your learning file at the start of this section. Did you give more emphasis to the outcomes of learning, or to the process? Or did you find a way of balancing the two? Try to revise your own wording to your own satisfaction. Learning is … Do remember that definitions of learning often reflect the kinds of learning that were most important to us at the time, or were in
2.4 Using a variety of methods for effective study You may find it difficult at this stage to recognise what kind of activity would be most helpful for which parts of course study. In any case, people differ in what works best for them. The important point is to review the activities you are using for studying, particularly where you are setting yourself ambitious goals, or where you are finding things difficult. It might prove helpful to try out activities that you often avoid, or to ask other students how they study parts of the course that
2.3 The learner's repertoire Much of the learning required in this course is a mix of understanding and skill development. Very little rote memorisation is involved. In learning generally, the different kinds of activity required for memorising, understanding or doing, are more likely to be required in different combinations than singly, in isolation. In addition, activities can be useful for more than one kind of learning so it is important to see MUD as a working tool for developing practice, rather than as a rigid sys
2.2.3 Doing Finally, learning how to act or perform in particular ways is essential for the development of all kinds of intellectual and physical skills. For example, we need to be able to learn how to create a variety of kinds of written communication, or how to present complex information in a clear diagram, or to decide how a team will structure its work, and so on. No amount of explanation of how to compose a clear technical report, for example, would provide convincing proof that we could actually p
2.2.2 Understanding Much more important than memorising, where academic study is concerned, is understanding. This is the kind of learning which requires a willingness by the learner to work with ideas and concepts, and a willingness to explore whether an idea has really been mastered or only partially grasped. Making mistakes can be a helpful stage in this kind of learning because the mistakes can reveal what it is that is not understood. It is when we put right, or sort out, such mistakes in understanding that
2.2.1 Memorising We sometimes have to remember words, names, symbols and other signs, simply because there is a convention that they will stand for some accepted meaning. This is the kind of learning we use, for example, when we memorise road signs, or the conversion of metric to imperial measures, or lists of words in a foreign language. However, very little of what you study in this course will require this kind of rote learning. You may need it if you try to remember certain definitions, for example. You w
2.2 Memorising, understanding and doing You are now likely to be aware of various ways in which learning is diverse – as a process and in terms of its outcomes. In this final section is a very simple scheme for discriminating between the demands made on you, the learner, by different kinds of learning goals and the processes entailed in achieving those goals. Theorists of learning have different ways of categorising the diversity of both outcome and process in learning. The scheme we are going to work with here uses three d
2.1 Different conceptions of learning Spending time thinking about what learning is, how we define it and what it involves, is important for two reasons. First it reminds us of the diversity there is in what and how people learn, and this can help to enlarge the repertoire of approaches we use ourselves. Second, through appreciating the diverse requirements of different kinds of learning, we can review the effectiveness of the strategies we use ourselves to achieve specific outcomes. The diversity of learning depends on wha
2 Learning to understand Although we spend large amounts of our lives learning, intentionally and otherwise, it is quite unusual to spend any time thinking about what learning actually is. This section gives you an opportunity to do so, and to consider whether how we choose to learn is always appropriate for what we are trying to learn.
1.7 Conclusions Could both of these students have got more from their involvement with the course if they had taken time to reflect on their goals and their strengths and weaknesses, especially at the beginning of study? Alan, whose reaction to the course was positive, for example, could have learned more about how the course succeeded if he had reflected rather more in the beginning about his initial scepticism and his preference for communicating verbally rather than in writing. What was the reason for his
1.6 Building on strengths A self-review exercise for your learning file The aim of this activity is to encourage you to take a problem-solving approach to your own learning, and to be proactive. The first part asks you to refle 1.5 Making the most of your reflections The value of the work you do on all the activities in this course will be strengthened if you can keep track of it and follow the development of your own ideas as they build up. It helps to keep your notes in one place, together with other material which catches your interest for its relevance to the subject, such as newspaper cuttings, journal articles and reports, and so on. The place where you keep them may be a box file, ring binder or anything else that suits your preference. Whatever yo 1.4 Defining reflection Reflection is both an academic concept and also a word in common use, combining ideas of thinking, musing, pondering and so on. This everyday meaning is a good basis from which to start: reflection is very much to do with thinking. However, one of the most important things about reflection is that it enables us to think about our own thinking – about what it is that we know or have experienced. Such reflection might be summed up in the phrase, 'the mind's conversation with itself'. Wh 1.3 Reflection and course study Many of the units on the OpenLearn website include self-assessment questions and activities designed to require you to stop and think, sometimes to take action. This is also true of many Open University courses because Open University course teams typically want students to question what they read and to try out ideas for themselves. Every time you pause to do your own thinking in this way, you are reflecting on what you have learnt. This course includes several activities that are spec 1.2 Learning beyond course study Learning how to learn has become an important goal in higher education. There is a national context in which an emphasis on ability to learn has come to prominence. It is now widely asserted that an ability to learn is as important an outcome of university study as knowledge of a discipline. This is a view put forward strongly by employers, for example, who have an interest in the employability of graduates and the skills they bring into the work place. It is a view which has been reiterated 1.1 Effective course study Research into how people study effectively suggests that it is important to pay attention not only to the content of what we are trying to learn but also to the process of our learning. Time spent on the process of how you are learning need not be a distraction from achieving your learning goals. It should support your efforts to achieve them. However, thinking about the process of your own learning is not something which typically forms part of most formal courses of study. Most people 1 Learning to learn This course is about developing your effectiveness as a learner. For example, there are activities which invite you to apply theories to practice and also to criticise theories in the light of practical experience. In these and other ways you will be encouraged to bring your own experience into the study of the course. The idea of asking you to use ideas, not just to remember them, and to bring your own experience into studying, is that they are all ways of developing your ability to learn â€
Activity 1
