Transcript Active learning - University of Peradeniya

Active learning
& different learning
approaches
Dr. Kosala Marambe
Medical Education Unit
What does the term
learning
mean to you ?
Learning
A process resulting in some
modification, relatively permanent, of
the way of thinking, feeling and
doing of the learner
(More a behavouristic definition)
(Educational handbook for health personnel . World Health Organization, 1998)
Stop and think
Reflect on your past learning experiences
Select the best experience which enabled
you to learn that particular thing (may be
academic or outside) list out the reasons
for why it is so.
Learning
Learning is construction of
knowledge, based on prior
knowledge and new information
that is interpreted by prior
knowledge.
(Cognitive Psychology)
“Teaching methods which place the
student in an
Active
Situation for learning are more likely to
be effective than those which do not”
George Miller
( Medical educationist)
Two types of learning
 Active
- Learner takes the responsibility
for learning, less dependant on teachers knows how to learn- life long learner
– Very much dependant on the
teacher and expects most to be provided,
lectures, lecture notes, questions etc. find
difficult to keep abreast with new
knowledge
 Passive
Passive Learning
Examples
Listening to a lecturer, taking down everything that is
told
Waiting to be told what to do next
following routines without questioning/ reasoning
out
Teacher is in full control, authoritarian
What is meant by active learning?
 That
is to say that the learner is taking the
initiative for ones’ learning
 Teacher is only a guide
Examples
Reading text books
Discussions
Clinical cases of relevance
Engaged in practical
Observation
Projects
Teaching others
Portfolio
Strategies for active learning
 Setting
goals
 Setting up a plan for what you need to
achieve
 Developing a table with deadlines
 Making decisions
 Checking progress
 If things are not working right taking
remedial measures
Learning aids
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Objectives
Lectures
Practical classes
Patients
Ward work
Discussions
books
Internet
Writing summaries/ answers
Journal articles
Learning approaches of
students
Surface approach
Student focus their
attention on isolated
details. They are often
trying to memorise these
individual details in the
same form in which they
first appeared
Deep approach
Students focus their attention
on the underlying meaning or
message. They attempt to
relate ideas together and
construct their own meaning,
possibly in relation to their own
experience
Strategic
Student adopts deep and
surface approaches in
combination so as to achieve
the highest possible marks.
Strategic
The approach involves using well
organized study methods and
careful time management,
alertness to cues given by tutors
about what they are looking for in
deciding grades or marks or what
they are going to set in the
examinations.
The students are conscious of
two separate foci of attention
the academic content and the
teacher’s reward system.
(Marton, Hounsell and Entwistle 1997)
Retaining power of teaching/
learning methods
Factors which facilitate learning
 Relevance
 Motivation
 Feedback
 Examinations
 Access
to multiple resources
 Learning environment
A wisdom sloka
from Mahabarata
 A quarter
of our learning comes from
our receptors
 Own intellect and talent provides a
quarter
 A quarter from the peers and friends
 And the remainder only with time
(UGC 2006)