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January 20, 2003, Workshop Hosted by Eric Hibbison, MRCTE Chair, at JSRCC,
PRC
Promoting Deep Learning
presented by Dr. James Eison, University of South Florida,
Tampa
Nearly 30 faculty from 4 community colleges attended the afternoon workshop
that contrasted "surface learning" vs. "deep learning" and
asked faculty to consider what proportion of their coursework and
testing/assessment should be devoted to each.
Highlights
 | Students should paraphrase for deep learning (psychologists call it
"encoding") and relate material from class to their own experience
and to their reading. |
| Instruction on taking notes [and annotating textbooks and other readings]
should occur in every course of every discipline because some aspects of
note-taking are particular to a course.
 | For instance, reducing a chapter to a 3" x 5" card can cause
deep processing, as well as the repetition necessary for surface
learning, when it is needed, e.g. for basic data or fundamental
vocabulary. |
| A study guide can help focus students' efforts and notes |
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| Neal Fleming's VARK
can begin the process of acquainting students with their most effective ways
of learning. Continuing this process can be done with a paper and
pencil questionnaire on deep vs. surface learning, e.g. the LOGO II
questionnaire developed by Eison and co-authors, which measures to what
extent students are oriented toward learning or toward grades. For
instance, see how one
nursing program used LOGO II and the MBTI personality measures to explain
predictions of student success. |
| The sooner students see the sequence of learning in the course, the better
they do in the course.
| Eison described giving a first test as a practice test so that
students could see the types of questions on later tests and to prepare
them for questions about definitions, applications of course concepts,
etc. |
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| Designing courses for deep learning might include, among other
features,
| case studies to promote analysis, problem-solving, and evaluation |
| defending a position, possibly not your own |
| posing questions, especially
 | why [analysis of cause] questions rather than what
[recall of fact] |
| picking the best answer out of possibilities offered |
| How can we apply ________ in real life? |
| open-ending questions, including ethical dilemmas, rather than
seeking expected answers |
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| Ask posers in advance to prompt discussion during the next class. |
| Have all students write for 2 minutes before anyone answers reins in
the extroverts and emboldens the introverts, as well as preparing all. |
| Waiting 3-5 seconds for an answer increases the likelihood that
students will answer, diversifies the number of students who answer
questions, and other benefits. |
| Specify that most students should participate in class discussion,
even that you might call on particular students [whom you would like to
give a chance to speak on a question], but allow them to pass. |
| Vary pedagogical methods. |
| Why-Why Diagrams don't just list causes but also
seek reasons for causes
and remedies. |
| To encourage creative and critical thinking,
| ask "What-if" questions, e.g. "What if true/false
and multiple-choice questions were banned in college?" or
"What if all courses were graded as pass/fail?" |
| describe course concepts in metaphors: "How is learning like
an ocean?" (surface vs. depths) |
| Increase self-assessment and self-review. For instance,
reflections on final drafts might include answers to questions like
"How would this project be different if I had spent ____ more
hours on it?" [5 hours? 10 hours more?] The cumulative effect
from frequent self-review is better work during the last half of the
course. |
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| Surface learning can provide an infrastructure of data for a course, but
deeper learning needs to be integrated into a course by teaching less better
while also teaching more, creatively. |
| When revising courses, think big, but start small. |
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1999