Dr Adrian Brockett

HEA Senior Fellow and Associate

September 2015

Theory and practice

Theory and practice

1. By considering various theoretical approaches to

learning, to explore when and why a theory might be

useful to our practice as lecturers.

2. To explore the relevance of metaphor in our approach

to teaching and learning.

Aims of this session

Evaluate the interdependency of educational theory and

practice

Enquire into, question and theorise professional practice

Session learning outcomes

Habitual or usual action

Music: ―Have you done your practice today?‖

Law/Medicine: Exercise of a profession

PCAP: Academic Practice

Practitioner

Someone involved in the practice

GP

Professional

Practice

A systematic statement of the general principles of

something known or observed, or of rules or principles to

be followed

A hypothesis or individual speculation

Theory

1. Make a list of theories of learning and teaching that

inform your own practice.

Activity

1. Make a list of theories of learning and teaching that

inform your own practice.

2. Make a list of theories that you know of or about but

have not taken into account in your own teaching. And

why not?

Activity

Many highly-skilled teachers would find it difficult to explain

what makes them successful.

Intimate knowledge of current theories about learning is no

guarantee of competence, let alone expertise, in the

classroom.

Don‘t worry!

1. Behaviourist Theories (4)

2. Cognitive Theories (3)

3. Constructivist Theories (5)

4. Descriptive Theories (3)

5. Design Theories & Models (3)

6. Humanist Theories (3)

7. Identity Theories (2)

8. Learning Theories & Models (9)

9. Motivation Theories (2)

10. Paradigms and Perspectives (5)

11. Social Learning Theories (2)

12. …

Theories of learning

http://www.learning-theories.com\

11

‘I hear and I forget, I

see and I remember,

I do and I

understand.’

Confucius

551-479 BC

Degree of Structure

Tutor

Control

High

High

Low

Low

A

C

B

D

SEDA Special 2, p 25

13 Engaging the Active Learner

14

Theory and practice

Practice and theory?

1. Theory and practice. ―I think therefore I am‖

(Descartes 1641)

If knowledge is the basis of all understanding, then every

human action is the outward sign of an inner theoretical

world view.

Reason = reckoning (computing) (Hobbes Leviathan 1651);

Leibniz.

A great philosophical divide

1. Theory and practice. ―I think therefore I am‖

(Descartes 1641)

If knowledge is the basis of all understanding, then every

human action is the outward sign of an inner theoretical

world view.

2. Practice and theory. Action is the foundation of theory

(Heidegger 1927).

Compare Schön‘s ‗Reflection in action‘.

A great philosophical divide

Nature and nurture

Another great philosophical divide

1. the blank slate (the mind has no innate traits)—

empiricism

2. the noble savage (people are born good and corrupted

by society)—romanticism

3. the ghost in the machine (each of us has a soul that

makes choices free from biology)

20

Nature and nurture

International Consultancy - February 2015

1. the blank slate (the mind has no innate traits)—

empiricism

2. the noble savage (people are born good and corrupted

by society)—romanticism

3. the ghost in the machine (each of us has a soul that

makes choices free from biology)

21

Nature and nurture

International Consultancy - February 2015

A few examples of theories of learning

Classical conditioning (Pavlov), Operant

conditioning (Skinner), Stimulus-response

A learner is essentially passive, responding to

environmental stimuli.

Learning is defined as a change in behaviour in the

learner.

Positive and negative reinforcement increase the

probability that the behaviour will happen again.

Punishment decreases the probability.

Behaviourist theories of learning

Vygotsky, Piaget, Dewey, Rorty, Wenger

A learner is an information constructor.

Learning is an active, constructive process.

Learning as experience, activity and dialogical process; Problem Based Learning (PBL); cognitive apprenticeship (scaffolding); Enquiry and Discovery Learning; Communities of Practice

Constructivist theories of learning

Biggs J & Tang C (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at

University, 4th edition. Open University Press

The twin principles of:

Constructivism in learning

Alignment in teaching

Constructive Alignment

Carl Rogers; Abraham Maslow

Learning is student-centred and personalised, and

the educator‘s role is that of a facilitator.

The goal is to develop self-actualised people in a

cooperative, supportive environment.

Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs

―A Theory of Human Motivation‖ (1943): human actions are

directed toward goal attainment.

Humanist theories of learning

A holistic perspective that combines experience, perception, cognition, and behaviour.

Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.

A four-stage cyclical theory of learning

concrete experience (or ―DO‖)

reflective observation (or ―OBSERVE‖)

abstract conceptualization (or ―THINK‖)

active experimentation (or ―PLAN‖)

Experiential Learning (Kolb

1984)

1. Gregorc's 4 thinking styles (1982)

Concrete Sequential

Concrete Random

Abstract Random

Abstract Sequential

2. Gardner‘s Multiple Intelligences Theory or 'MI Theory' (1983)

7 ways people understand in the world: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Visual-Spatial, Body-Kinesthetic, Musical-Rhythmic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal.

Learning Styles

3. Visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning (Alistair Smith

1996; neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)):

29% of learners prefer to learn by seeing (V)

34% by sound including the spoken word (A)

37% by physical experience (K)

4. Race, P (2005). Making Learning Happen, Ch.3 Beyond

learning styles

Learning Styles cont

When might a theory be useful

to my practice as a lecturer?

When:

1. things are not going well.

2. I am new to the profession.

3. I try to explain myself to colleagues.

4. I reflect on my action.

When might a theory be useful

to my practice as a lecturer?

Why might a theory be useful to

my practice as a lecturer?

Why might a theory be useful to

my practice as a lecturer?

If it:

• clarifies - offers insight (and control?)

• delimits - the range of options

• inspires - stimulates imagination

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is an example of a

metaphor dressed up as science.

• 'The neurological basis of Gardner's theory may be questioned… but if it

results in a model that works for the teacher in the classroom, who cares?'

(Schmit, 2005)

The importance of metaphor in theory-building shouldn‘t be

overestimated.

Metaphor

Acquisition / Participation

Accumulating possessions / Taking part in something larger

Learning and metaphor (Sfard 1997)

Teaching and Metaphor

http://www.msu.edu/~sfard/two%20metaphors.pdf

Acquisition and participation metaphors: useful article by

Sfard

http://www.msu.edu/~sfard/two%20metaphors.pdf

Reflective Task

Biggs, J B & C.Tang (2007) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 3rd ed. Open University Press/McGraw Hill Educational.

Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Fontana

Gregorc, A. F. (1982) An Adult's Guide to Style. Maynard, MA: Gabriel Systems.

Heidegger, M. (1996) Being & Time. Translated from the German by J. Stambaugh. New York: State University of New York Press. (Originally published as Sein und Zeit, in 1927).

Kolb, David A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

Race, P (2005). Making Learning Happen: A Guide for Post-Compulsory Education. Sage Publications Ltd

Schön, D A (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. United States: Basic Books, Inc.

Sfard, A. (1998) ‗On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one.‘ Educational Researcher, 27(2), pp. 4-13.

Smith, A. (1996) Accelerated learning in the classroom. Network Educational Press

References

Thank You for listening – any questions?

39

www.d.umn.edu

Questions and Discussion

Comments ?

Questions ?

Thank you

Research by Rosalind Picard and colleagues (MIT‘s Media

Lab) suggests that students‘ brain activity is nearly non-

existent during lectures – even lower than when they are

asleep!‘

Professor Eric Mazur (Havard University Physics Dept):

students ‗are more asleep during lectures than when they

are in bed!‘ (http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/twilight-of-the-lecture )

Gibbs G. (2014) Students have limited attention, SEDA

Powerful Ideas. Available at: http://www.seda.ac.uk/resources/files/publications_173_24%20Students%20have%20limited%20attention.pdf

41

Lectures

42

http://www.seda.ac.uk/resources/files/publications_173_24%20Students%20hav

e%20limited%20attention.pdf

43

http://www.seda.ac.uk/resources/files/publications_169_20%20Lectures%20are%20used%

20far%20too%20often.pdf

In theory there is no difference between theory and

practice, but in practice there is.

Attributed to Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut,

Yogi Berra and Chuck Reid.

In theory there is no difference between theory and

practice, but in practice there is.

Theory is that domain where: everything is clear, but nothing

works.

Attributed to Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut,

Yogi Berra and Chuck Reid.

In theory there is no difference between theory and

practice, but in practice there is.

Theory is that domain where: everything is clear, but nothing

works.

Practice is that domain where: everything works, but nothing

is clear.

Attributed to Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut,

Yogi Berra and Chuck Reid.

In theory there is no difference between theory and

practice, but in practice there is.

Theory is that domain where: everything is clear, but nothing

works.

Practice is that domain where: everything works, but nothing

is clear.

Sometimes theory meets practice: nothing works and

nothing is clear.

Attributed to Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut,

Yogi Berra and Chuck Reid.