TLL Library

"Lessons in Learning, cont. There is more to learning than what occurs in the cognitive domain,"
Vol. XI, No. 6, May/June 1999

Lori Breslow

Stacey Eckman, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in chemistry, was at her wit's end. She had to spot weld a nickel crystal to two thin tungston rods for an experiment she was running, and she couldn't do it. She had tried to call a former group member whom she had seen do the procedure several times before, but she wasn't at home. After two hours of trying to get the welding to work, she had a slightly scratched crystal and two somewhat discolored, unattached rods. She also found herself "very frazzled and nearly in tears because I couldn't keep my hands from shaking . . . ." It was at that point that her former group member called, and speaking to her calmly, gave her some instructions for how to proceed. Wisely recognizing that she needed a break, Stacey went home and returned to the lab the next morning, much more relaxed, and did the welding perfectly.

Stacey was a student of mine in a course I co-taught last semester with Dr. Miriam Diamond, called "Teaching College-Level Chemistry" (5.95). [The 5.95 students were: Course 5 - Dana Buske, Stacey Eckman, George Greco, David Green, Robert Kennedy III, Justin Miller, Deborah Perlstein, Kevin Shea; Course 3 - Mike Fasolka and Bindu Nair; Course 7 - Mitch McVey.] She described her experience learning how to weld for a class assignment that asked the students to learn some new skill or set of data, and to monitor and make observations about their own learning processes. In my last "Teach Talk" column, I described five "principles" of learning the students had uncovered, all of which could be loosely categorized as relating to cognitive processes or capabilities (e.g., the role of prior knowledge in information processing). In this "Teach Talk," I want to discuss five more concepts that appeared in the 5.95 papers, each of which describes - for lack of a better word - more elusive aspects of the learning process. These elements - attitudes, relationships, emotions - are often hard to identify, which means that instructors are less likely to think consciously about them or try to use them to improve learning. Nonetheless, these factors play a crucial role in the learning process, as the 5.95 students discovered.

Principle #1: Motivation is Complex

While the psychological research once pointed to reward and punishment as the most powerful motivators for learning (hence the belief that the only thing that motivates students is grades), newer research centers on the idea that human beings, by their very nature, are curiosity seekers, problem solvers, and achievers. As John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking write in their just released book, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (published by the National Academy of Sciences), "Although extrinsic rewards and punishments clearly affect behavior, people work hard for intrinsic reasons, as well." (p. 48)

In a sense, all the students who took 5.95 were intrinsically motivated to enroll in the subject in the first place; after all, graduate students at MIT are not particularly encouraged to spend their time learning about learning or how to teach well. But in doing this assignment, the students observed some specific idiosyncrasies about what motivated them and why.

For example, Bob Kennedy had a very hard time memorizing the names of the presidents of MIT (along with the decades they were in office) for his 5.95 assignment. He had chosen that task because he knew "some facts in science just need to be memorized." However, he found that since he wasn't learning the names for any real or useful reason, it was hard for him to muster much enthusiasm.

Bob uncovered, as educational researcher Peter Ewell explains, that "learning occurs best in the context of a compelling 'presenting problem'" ("Organizing for Learning," AAHE Bulletin, December 1997, p. 4). If students are confronted with a specific, concrete problem that needs to be solved, they are likely to be motivated to tackle it, assuming they are capable of doing so (more on this below). If there seems to be no reason to undertake the work (except, of course, to do well on the test) it is much harder for students to mobilize themselves.

In doing his assignment, David Green came to see that motivation is closely tied to how hard the work is. If the assignment is too easy, it becomes boring; if it is too difficult, students are likely to give up in frustration. David decided he was going to "re-learn" Spanish, a language in which he had lost most of his proficiency. As he himself admitted, this was "a very ambitious goal," and he struggled through the first week of the two-week assignment. He observed, "One major thing I would change if I were to have the chance to repeat the experience would be in how I began. It is a tendency of mine to try to do things beyond the level at which I am fully capable, and I think that I could have made as much progress, but enjoyed the initial stages more, if I had begun at an introductory level." Nonetheless, but the time the assignment was complete, David did feel he had made significant progress.

Creating work that is neither too easy nor too hard is one responsibility of the instructor; determining how much new or novel material students should be exposed to is another. Most people will seek out novelty, but if they are exposed to too many unknown stimuli, they are likely to become anxious. Because motivation is highest in situations of moderate novelty, learning should be paced so that each step offers some degree of newness without overwhelming the learner.

Finally, according to Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, "Learners of all ages are more motivated when they can see the usefulness of what they are learning and when they can use that information to do something that has an impact on others . . . . " (p. 49). Or, as David Green put it, "I think that one thing about myself that was made clear by this experience is that I enjoy learning much more when I actually apply what I have learned to something I feel is meaningful. " Many of the subjects MIT offers are often perfect vehicles for this kind of "useful learning," and we should be on the lookout for these opportunities.

Principle #2: There is an Emotional Component to Learning

Throughout the 5.95 papers there is evidence of the role that emotion plays in the learning process. Kevin and Jennifer Shea tried to make pasta on a night when they were also packing for a weekend ski trip and were close to collapse from fatigue. In reflecting on how he could improve his ability to learn, Kevin wrote, ". . . when we make fresh pasta again, we will do it on a Sunday afternoon when we are not tired . . . ." On the other hand, Justin Miller saw that "the prospect of completing a stage of the project [he was learning how to cross-stitch] encouraged me to continue, at times against my best interest (lack of sleep, hunger)." And Stacey Eckman, as described in the beginning of this column, found that as she became more and more unable to do the task, she became so frustrated that she eventually had to walk away. As she wrote, "When I get frustrated with something . . . I get bogged down in feeling frustrated, so much so that what efforts I do make towards learning are not very effective."

Neuroscience has made tremendous progress in understanding how the brain functions generally and specifically how brain circuits produce emotion. Most important for the discussion here is the discovery that emotions and the ability to think and reason are intertwined. In fact, new research shows that rational thought cannot occur without input from the "emotional brain." As biochemist James Zull writes in "The Emotional Brain in Learning and Teaching," "We 'feel' rationality before we recognize its logical elements. Conversely, learners find it difficult to accept rational thinking which does not 'feel right'." (handout used in a workshop given at the 1998 Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education conference, p. 6). Experiments in brain functioning have also shown that long-term memory is strongly linked to the emotional brain.

Thus it is easy to understand why Kevin and Jennifer Shea found it difficult to concentrate on pasta making when they were stressed from too much to do and too little sleep. Or that some degree of success spurred Justin Miller to continue his work on his cross-stitch piece. The question is, how can we provide a positive emotional environment for learning? This question leads into another observation the 5.95 students made - this one about the impact of context on learning.

Principle #3: The Conditions in which Learning Takes Place Affect the Process

Kevin and Jennifer, who were trying to complete their pasta making before "collapsing from fatigue," put on a CD of traditional Italian music in order "to get into the mood." Although it didn't help much (Kevin's first attempt ended up with "four eggs flowing from the flour crater like lava onto the dining room table") they were on the right track. We know that the environment in which learning takes place exerts a powerful influence on how successfully or unsuccessfully learning objectives are met.

On one level, this is easy to understand: If the lights don't work in a classroom or the seats squeak, teaching well in that room is all that much harder. But I also want to discuss the idea of the "teaching environment" in a more abstract way.

In an earlier "Teach Talk" column (MIT Faculty Newsletter, Vol. IX, No. 2, October-November, 1996), I described the work of educational researchers Ference Marton, Roger Sdljv, Paul Ramsden, and Noel Entwhistle, among others, who have postulated the theory of "deep" versus "superficial" learning. Students may work with material superficially, looking primarily for facts they will be tested on, or what they need to know to get an assignment done. Or they may interact with the material on a more complex level, trying to integrate new knowledge with old, so that their understanding of a specific phenomenon, process, or idea becomes more sophisticated and expert.

Based on 20 years of research observing thousands of students in over 40 different countries, the hypothesis is that students are either "deep" or "superficial" learners not because of their own characteristics, personalities, or capabilities. Rather deep and superficial learners are created by signals from within the environment in which the students are working.

Students make decisions about how they will approach learning tasks quite pragmatically by assessing what will be expected of them in any given situation and then trying to fulfill those expectations. Students take a surface approach to learning, for example, when there is too much material in a subject or when methods of assessment stress surface learning. (In fact, these researchers point out that evaluation may be the most crucial variable in promoting deep learning.) On the other hand, they become deep learners when their instructors give them an opportunity to engage in active learning, or when lecturers make explicit references to how new ideas relate to previous ones.

While the 5.95 students did not hit upon this striking difference in environmental variables, they were observant enough to make the connection between the conditions under which they were learning and the ease with which they accomplished the tasks they set out for themselves. That is why Kevin Shea swears he and his wife will only attempt to make pasta again "on a Sunday afternoon when we are not tired and have all day to do it properly."

Principle #4: Learning How to Learn Should be a Goal

The idea of "life-long learning" - learning how to learn - has become a rallying cry in educational circles. Mike Fasolka provided an excellent example of why this is so important, and how it can be achieved.

Mike set out to learn how to play Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for this assignment. He detailed the three-phase process by which he mastered this skill: He acquired a rudimentary understanding of the skills he needed to begin playing; he experimented with how to make the game work; and, finally, he further defined and refined his understanding and abilities. (Lest you think this sequence only works for mastering videogames, Mike reported that when he had to learn to use an Atomic Force Microscope [AFM] for his research, he went through the same sequence of steps.)

Again, Mike realized as he approached this task that he had to begin by finding some sort of synopsis or outline of the rules of the game, so that he could get a "sense" of how the game was played. He recognized this need as part of his own learning style, and he was able to identify this process because he was savvy about himself as a learner. He wrote:

". . . I believe my desire for an outline comes from my long experience as a student: i.e., I was looking for a learning tool that I knew would start me on my way. I have come to believe this is in itself a developed skill, meaning I'm not sure that a less experienced student (for example, me in my younger years) would have searched out this kind of resource as initially as I did."

Having looked for an "overview" and found it, Mike was able to proceed much more quickly in mastering the game than he would have been able to do otherwise.

Bransford, Brown, and Cocking point out in How People Learn that at the basis of what we call life-long learning is the concept of the learner as a learner. They write, "A learner's self-awareness as a learner and the role of appraisal strategies keep learning on target or help keep the learner asking if s/he understands." (p. xiv). Many of the 5.95 students reported becoming aware of strategies for learning that worked particularly well for them. (For example, George Greco explained that he learns best by "watching an experienced person do something, imitating him or her, and then practicing [the skill] until it becomes internalized.") A goal, then, for our own teaching should be to help students develop the metacognitive skill of reflecting upon their learning, and "to learn to determine for themselves if they understand" (How People Learn, p. xv).

Principle #5: Learning is a Human Endeavor

Dana Buske used the 5.95 assignment as an opportunity to learn how to skate ski. (For those of you who, like me, don't know, skate skiing is a hybrid of ice-skating and cross-country skiing.) Dana's motivation was simple:style4">

Principle #5: Learning is a Human Endeavor

Dana Buske used the 5.95 assignment as an opportunity to learn how to skate ski. (For those of you who, like me, don't know, skate skiing is a hybrid of ice-skating and cross-country skiing.) Dana's motivation was simple: Her fianci was an avid skier, and, so, she wrote, "My learning process was greatly accelerated by a teacher who gave me encouragement and also constructive criticism in the form of suggestions for what I needed to work on."

It is interesting how many of the 5.95 students went to a family member or a friend to learn the skill they wanted to master: Kevin Shea to his grandmother; Mitch McVey to his friend, the expert bubble gum blower; Stacey Eckman to a fellow group member who knew how to weld. Bindu Nair made the mistake of asking both her mother and her aunt for advice on how to make dosa, a South Indian rice cake. (It was a problem because the two women gave her contradictory information.) She wrote, "If I were to try to learn to make dosa over again, I would be sure that I picked either my aunt or my mother as my primary instructor." Nonetheless, when the process of grinding the lentil and rice mixture became a "pain," both her mother and her aunt sympathized with her and encouraged her to continue. "I realize I work best and don't give up," she wrote about her own ability to learn, "if I have constant encouragement and reinforcement from others."

Dana Buske was able to take what she had observed in learning how to skate ski and generalize it to her own future as a teacher. "How I learned to skate ski relates well to how one teaches chemistry," she explained. She continued:

"Although I am self motivated and enthusiastic about learning, having positive feedback and encouragement were invaluable . . . . Learning how to do something for the first time is a valuable experience for a potential teacher. I experienced the frustrations and satisfactions of learning how to do something and become good at it. These feelings will help me to be patient and empathetic, which are important qualities for a teacher."

I very much enjoyed teaching 5.95 last semester, and hope to teach similar courses in the future. But the fact that Dana had learned what she did about the human element in teaching, and that her classmates took away similar insights, made the course all the more important to me.