How People Learn

Description

What does recent research tell us about how people learn? How can teaching be informed by the science of learning? Is there evidence to support the current emphasis of contructivist educational philosophies? Where did these philosophies come from?

These questions and more will be addressed through readings, seminars, and workshops. During the fall quarter, the philosophy and psychology of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, and others was investigated in light of recent summaries of educational research produced by the National Research Council and other research in cognitive science and the learning sciences.

During winter quarter, we will review the major theories of learning, continue to discuss constructivism, investigate the impact of identity and culture on learning, and continue to develop and critique models of how people learn.

Web technologies such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, and course delivery software are used and evaluated from a pedagogical perspective.

Class Structure

All-day Saturday classes can be difficult to use effectively—an interesting observation for a class about how people learn! In general, the class will be structured into a morning session and an afternoon session.

One session will typically involve seminars, lectures, and workshops focused on the weeks readings. The other session will typically be focused on practicing learning by experiencing designed instruction on specific topics. Such sessions will end with an assessment of student learning and a whole-class discussion of the issues of teaching and learning involved.

In addition to the in-class work, students will be expected to make use of web technologies or face-to-face study groups during the week to remind themselves of what has been learned, enhance their learning, and prepare for the next class. This mid-week work is essential for the success of a Saturday-only program.

Readings

There will be a wide variety of readings in this class, from rather straightforward explanations of learning to more involved philosophical musings about learning. Even though we will learn that reading is not always the best way to learn, students in the class should be prepared to learn a majority of the class content through critical, analytical reading. We will give considerable time to making sense of both the content and implications of the readings, but there is no getting around the fact that the readings will have to be read.

Fall quarter readings:

• The Book of Learning and Forgetting by Frank Smith
• Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky by Carol Garhart Mooney
• Experience and Education by John Dewey
• How People Learn edited by John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking
• The Art of Changing the Brain by James E. Zull
• Selections from Mind in Society by Lev Vygotsky
• Selections from Theory of Personality by George Kelly

Winter quarter readings:

• Ways of Learning by Alan Pritchard
• Constructivism: theory, perspectives, and practice by Catherine Twomey Fosnot
• Gassire's Lute: A West African Epic translated by Alta Jablow
• Minds, Brains, and Learning by James Byrnes
• The Disciplined Mind by Howard Gardner
• Selections from Lessons without Limit by John Falk and Lynn Dierking

• Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum

• Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit

Winter Reading Schedule