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How Students Learn

The document discusses several laws that govern the learning process for students, including the laws of readiness, effect, relaxation, association, involvement, exercise, relevance, intensity, challenge, feedback, recency, expectations, and emotions. It also discusses five dimensions of learning - confidence and independence, knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, use of prior and emerging experience, and critical reflection. Additionally, it provides suggestions for classroom behaviors and practices to develop positive attitudes, acquire and integrate knowledge, extend and refine knowledge, use knowledge meaningfully, and develop productive habits of mind.

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marichu apilado
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153 views4 pages

How Students Learn

The document discusses several laws that govern the learning process for students, including the laws of readiness, effect, relaxation, association, involvement, exercise, relevance, intensity, challenge, feedback, recency, expectations, and emotions. It also discusses five dimensions of learning - confidence and independence, knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, use of prior and emerging experience, and critical reflection. Additionally, it provides suggestions for classroom behaviors and practices to develop positive attitudes, acquire and integrate knowledge, extend and refine knowledge, use knowledge meaningfully, and develop productive habits of mind.

Uploaded by

marichu apilado
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How Students Learn

Students learn more easily when they have a desire to learn

Discover the laws of learning and how students use the knowledge they acquire in the classroom.
New teachers will find this advice particularly valuable, especially for back to school.

Laws of Learning

There are certain laws govern the learning process. These laws apply to any student at any grade
and in any subject area. Just as important, they are also supportive of what we know about brain
growth and development.

 Law of readiness. Students learn more easily when they have a desire to learn.
Conversely, students learn with difficulty if they're not interested in the topic.
 Law of effect. Learning will always be much more effective when a feeling of
satisfaction, pleasantness, or reward is part of the process.
 Law of relaxation. Students learn best and remember longest when they are relaxed.
Reducing stress increases learning and retention.
 Law of association. Learning makes sense (comprehension) when the mind compares a
new idea with something already known.
 Law of involvement. Students learn best when they take an active part in what is to be
learned.
 Law of exercise. The more often an act is repeated or information reviewed, the more
quickly and more permanently it will become a habit or an easily remembered piece of
information.
 Law of relevance. Effective learning is relevant to the student's life.
 Law of intensity. A vivid, exciting, enthusiastic, enjoyable learning experience is more
likely to be remembered than a boring, unpleasant one.
 Law of challenge. Students learn best when they're challenged with novelty, a variety of
materials, and a range of instructional strategies.
 Law of feedback. Effective learning takes place when students receive immediate and
specific feedback on their performance.
 Law of recency. Practicing a skill or new concept just before using it will ensure a more
effective performance.
 Law of expectations. Learners' reaction to instruction is shaped by their expectations
related to the material (How successful will I be?).
 Law of emotions. The emotional state (and involvement) of students will shape how well
and how much they learn.
 Law of differences. Students learn in different ways. One size does not fit all!
Dimensions of Learning

Teaching and learning occur in dynamic environments. In these environments, teachers, students,
materials, textbooks, technologies, and social structures are all related and interactive. Learning
and teaching occurs across five basic dimensions:

 Confidence and independence


 Knowledge and understanding
 Skills and strategies
 Use of prior and emerging experience
 Critical reflection

These five elements are known as the dimensions of learning. They cannot be treated
individually; instead, they are dynamically interwoven. They describe the basic elements that
must be part of every classroom learning (and teaching) experience. Students learn best when
these five dimensions are addressed and incorporated into every teaching/learning experience.

Positive Attitudes and Perceptions About Learning

Attitudes and perceptions affect students' ability to learn. Learning occurs best when the
development of positive attitudes and perceptions is made part of every learning task. Students
learn to think positively about themselves, their peers, and the material they are learning.

Here are some suggested classroom behaviors and practices:

 Establish a relationship with each student in the class.


 Practice positive classroom behavior.
 Provide opportunities for students to work together in cooperative groups.
 Establish and communicate classroom rules.
 Use a variety of ways to engage students.
 Provide appropriate feedback.
 Teach students to use positive self-talk.
 Provide clear performance levels for tasks.

Acquiring and Integrating Knowledge


Jabberwocky

A graphic organizer is a chart, outline, or web of ideas or concepts organized into groups or
categories. For example, a nutrition graphic organizer might have the word Food written in the
center of a sheet of paper. Around that key term would be categories of food such as Fruit,
Vegetables, Dairy Products, and Grains. Around each of those categories would be written
selected examples. The category of Fruit might have plums, cherries, apricots, and apples written
around it. A graphic organizer illustrates how ideas are related to each other.

We know that students build new knowledge by relating it to prior learning and experience.
Additionally, we know there are different types of knowledge students can learn. This
knowledge is best learned by making connections between what is known and what is to be
learned.

Here are some suggested classroom behaviors and practices:

 Help students understand what it means to construct meaning.


 Have students use graphic organizers to organize information.

 Have students create pictorial representations of information.


 Help students construct models.
 Point out common errors and pitfalls.
 Help students set up a practice schedule.

Extending and Refining Knowledge

For learning to be effective and meaningful, students should be provided with opportunities to
use knowledge in practical situations. Processing knowledge for greater understanding can be
done through activities designed to help them apply that knowledge.

Try some of these classroom behaviors and practices:

 Compare. How are these things alike?


 Classify. Into what groups could you organize these things?
 Induce. Based on this information, what is the likely conclusion?
 Deduct. What predictions can you make, or what conclusions can you draw?
 Analyze errors. How is this information misleading?
 Construct support. What is an argument that will support this claim?
 Abstract. What is the general pattern underlying this information?
 Analyze perspectives. What is the reasoning behind this perspective?

Analyzing the parts of a system and the manner in which they interact is called systems analysis.

Using Knowledge Meaningfully

Students learn best when they need knowledge to accomplish a goal they consider important. Six
kinds of thinking processes can be used to encourage students to use knowledge meaningfully:

 Decision-making
 Problem-solving
 Invention
 Experimental inquiry
 Investigation
 Systems analysis
Productive Habits of Mind

Teachers can help students develop the mental habits that will enable them to learn on their own.
Instruction to foster habits of mind includes both short-term and long-term practices.

Here are some suggested classroom behaviors and practices:

 Think critically. Be and see accurately. Be open-minded.


 Think creatively. Push the limits of one's knowledge. Find new ways of looking at a
situation.
 Self-regulate. Be aware of one's own thinking. Evaluate the effectiveness of one's own
actions.

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