Have you ever found yourself stuck in a hole of “learning” information but not really learning it? You know, that feeling when you get to the end of an article but can’t seem to figure out the meaning behind it. Or when you learn how to find linear equations in class but don’t know how to find them on an exam. I know I have (quite a few times) but could never figure out why.
This week I dove into How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Bransford et al. 2000) and found some clarity in my struggle. It turns out that sometimes the reason I just can’t understand different topics isn’t because I'm not smart enough or I'm too lazy to put in the effort. There are real, legitimate reasons as to why students have a hard time understanding. In my essay, Learning vs. Understanding: The Reasons and the Impacts, I unpack a few of these reasons and dissect why I learned but couldn’t understand chemistry. As educators, it is important to understand all factors that may impact how our students learn, retain information, and conceptualize and contextualize what we are teaching them. Once we understand what may be hindering students’ ability to understand, we can work to alter our teaching style to best fit their needs- and that makes for happy learners and happy teachers! Reference: Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368. Image Credits: CollegeDegrees360 (2012). Learning [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/83633410@N07/7658284016
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