Comprehensive UnifiedLearning Theory

Comprehensive

• Prior Learning

• Ability

• Motivation

Unified

• Neural basis

• Computer modeling

• Incorporates essentially all known data

Eileen Brooks

January 15, 2006

Acknowledgements

• Kent Crippen• David Fowler• David Moshman• Doug Phelps• Gregg Schraw• Duane Shell• Guy Trainin• Kathy Wilson

Talk Strategy

1. Review numerous steps along the way that “put the pieces” on the table (20-30 m)

2. Refocus on the ICML (5 m)

3. Reformulate (10 m)

4. Contextualize the revised model with other ideas

5. Project advantages

6. Questions welcomed throughout; may defer but won’t duck.

Biochemical Training

Tyrosinase, a copper protein responsible for most natural mammalian pigmentation (skin, hair, eye color).

If it’s not pink, it’s probably due to tyrosinase.

Biochemists accept less specificity than do chemists.

Working Memory

Some time before 1990 I read about working memory (Baddely & Hitch, 1974).

General notion is that one can only keep track of a limited amount of inputs & stored content at once.

Working memory is one of the most widely accepted notions in cognitive science.

WM popped up in the chemistry education literature through such people as Alex Johnstone.

Connectionism

David Fowler introduced me to connectionism. Connectionists model the neural basis of learning.

Fowler, D., & Brooks, D. W. (1991). Connectionism. J. Chem. Educ., 68, 748-752.

Elman, J. L., Bates, E. A., et al. (1996). Rethinking innateness: A connectionist perspective on development. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (Used as a TEAC 960 text.)

Neural Changes

Fletcher recently described measured brain changes resulting from instructional interventions.

Aplysia

Model neural system studied by Eric R. Kandel (2000 Nobel Prize in Medicine)

In Search of Memory(Norton, New York, 2006)

The Road From Beatrice (~1990)

First videodisc biotechnology training materials

Pond water; many organisms; seeming random motion

One (of interest) diedALL seemed to return to a feast

BUT: Not ONE neuron in evidence

The Napkin

1998, “Teaching Self-Regulation in College Science and Mathematics: The Will to Study, and the Skills to Succeed,” Gregory J. Schraw and David W. Brooks, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

The first (?) Web-based NSF Chautauqua. Reviewing student work over lunch pizza in 123A Henz.

Interactive Compensatory Model of Learning [ICML]

Cognitive Load Theory 1999

Kendall Hartley (under Fowler) defended a dissertation in 1999 in which he made use of the notion of cognitive load theory, something he picked up from Schraw in EDPS 854. I got copies of all of the CLT references in that dissertation and started incorporating them and others into in TEAC 859.

Srinivasan Thesis

A study in Electrical Engineering led to a remarkable discovery: there is a pervasive, negative attitude on the part of advanced students toward simulation.

We were unable to publish this as a one-page article -- and had to imbed this discovery in a theory. This led to extensive reading about motivation, frequent forays into Kathy Wilson’s library, and discussions with Kathy.

Colom et al.

Doug Phelps (late 2004):

Colom, R., Rebollo, I., Palacios, A., Juan-Espinosa, M., & Kyllonen, P. C. (2004). “Working memory is (almost) perfectly predicted by g”. Intelligence, 32, 277-296.

Teaching (Especially TEAC 859)

Many ideas come from teaching. TEAC 859 is kept very current; floods of ideas come from both readings and students.

For example, we started teaching about cognitive load theory and used a jigsaw model to try to put out ideas from numerous papers.

January 25, 2005

My last seminar to the iTech group was entitled “Issues on Motivation.” About four days AFTER that seminar,

And Then

The year following was spent working on the many details of elaborating what is currently being called comprehensive unified learning theory.

Duane Shell has provided numerous key discussions. The key idea has been published:

"Working Memory, Motivation, and Teacher-Initiated Learning," Brooks, D. W., & Shell, D. F. J. Sci. Educ. Technology, 2006, 15(1), 17-30.

No Cross-fertilization

There is essentially no cross fertilization between the studies of motivation in educational psychology and those in psychology. For example, NO references to Schraw. One paper (Shell, Bruning) cited by 3. This is out of ~5,000 citations!

Working Memory

Working memory is a theoretical framework that refers to structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information. (from Wikipedia)

There are about a dozen models of working memory.

Cowan

Three components:• long term memory,• the currently activated subset of long term

memory, and• that subset of activated memory that is in the focus

of awareness and attention.

Cowan, N. (2005). Working memory capacity. New York, Psychology Press.

Chunks

WM is usually thought of in terms of activated chunks.

The number of chunks one can activate is fixed -- and varies from person to person. While early estimates were for 7 [Miller], current thinking puts this at 3-5 for most people.

Chunks Grow

Chunks can grow through experience.WM often measured by reading a list of digits at a

rate of one per second and seeing how many can be read back without error.

Typical might be 7-10. With small amount of practice, say 15-20.

Record is just under 80. Took scores of trials and about two years. That is, it took a significant amount of deliberate practice.

Fluid vs. Crystallized

Fluid intelligence -- fixed general intelligence, not easily changed by experience.

Crystallized intelligence -- expandable based upon experience.

Thus, when one examines a large pool of experts in a particular area, there is not a strong relationship between ability (say as measured by IQ) and performance (say as measured by passing boards for a medical specialty.)

Colom et al.

Colom, R., I. Rebollo, et al. (2004)

"Working memory is (almost) perfectly predicted by g."

Intelligence 32: 277-296.

Back to the Napkin

WM for Ability

Learning Inside Knowledge

What is Motivation?

Pintrich & Schunk

A process by which goal directed activity is instigated and sustained.

Engagement

Pressley in book on primary grade motivation assesses engagement and claims high motivation to result in high engagement

Total Engagement (Flow)

Csikszentmihalyi, M., S. Abuhamdeh, et al. (2005). Flow. Handbook of Competence and Motivation. A. J. Elliott and C. S. Dweck. New York, The Guilford Press: 598-608.

Athletes refer to this as being “in the zone.”

Turn Motivation Around

Motivation is the conscious or subconscious allocation of working memory resources.

Working memory determines what you have to give. Motivation determines how much of it you are giving.

Again to the Napkin

The Cloth Napkin

Unification

At this point, the big box on the right looks a lot like a model for chunks [crystallized intelligence].

The box on the left might be one way of illustrating Cowan’s model for working memory.

To get to this point:– Colom et al.

– Brooks & Shell

Shell’s Rules1. If something in WM is attended to, store it in LTM

(attention effect).2. If something is in WM for multiple cycles, store it in

LTM (rehearsal effect).3. If something in WM is processed, store it in LTM

(the levels of processing effect, e.g., summarizing, paraphrasing)

4. Things that are in WM together are stored together in LTM (the association effect -- accounts for schema/prior knowledge effect and synthesis/knowledge construction)

Connect to ALL Prior Models

• Piagetian stages (chunking)

• Vygotskian zone (chunking; sort of early CLT)

• Vygotskian social (rate of feedback)

Gardner

Found in writings but not detected in quantitative studies.

BUT learned styles emerge and can be cultivated.

Savants (Trainin)

The question really is whether savant knowledge is pre-programmed or learned.

There is convincing evidence that savant skills are learned -- in essentially all of the ways suggested by Ericsson.

Empiricism Prevails

What works for teaching?

What works for motivation?

Teaching as Working Memory Management

I used to give a talk -- about 15 years ago -- entitled “Teaching as Neuron Modification.” It still is!

Dozens of Take-away Messages

Probably the most important one regards chunk building.

To succeed in life, you need to be able to load up BIG chunks! The less WM capacity one has, the more important this is. Also, the more difficult it is to build the chunks because many learners find the cognitive load from traditional methods to be too great.

Big Message

The BIG message continues to be that effort pays. Ultimately effort builds prior knowledge, and that’s always the BIG factor when determining successful learning (except maybe at the very outset of learning new knowledge).

Bottom-line

It ALL fits into one box! [Almost]

That box is in the cerebral cortex,

Questions

• Questions

• Challenges

• Discussion