How People Learn Bridging Research and Practice (1999) / Chapter Skim
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4 Proposing a Research and Development Agenda
4 Proposing a Research and Development Agenda
Pages 30-64
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From page 30... ...
Several aspects of the figure are worth noting again here. First, the influence of research on the four mediating arenas—education materials, pre-service and in-service teacher and administrator education programs, public policy, and public opinion and the media has typically been weak for the variety of reasons discussed earlier.
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From page 31... ...
We envision the need for a comprehensive program of use-driven strategic research and development focused on issues of improving classroom learning and teaching. The facts that schools and classrooms are the focus and that enhanced practice and learning are the desired goals render the program of research no less important with respect to advancing the theoretical base for how people learn.
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From page 32... ...
Workshop participants were enthusiastic about the report and its implications for classroom teaching. They were virtually unanimous, however, in the view that the findings and their implications need to be substantially elaborated and incorporated into curricula, instructional tools, and assessment tools before their impact will be felt in the classroom.
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From page 33... ...
Much of the work that is needed to bridge research and practice focuses on the education and professional development of teachers, the curriculum, instruction and assessment tools that support their teaching, and the policies that define the environment in which teaching takes place. These are areas about which practitioners have a great deal of knowledge and experience.
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From page 34... ...
5. Extend the frontier of learning research by expanding the study of classroom practice.
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From page 35... ...
Efforts to align teaching materials, teacher education, administration, public policy, and public opinion with the knowledge base are part of an ongoing, iterative research effort in which the implementation of new ideas, teaching techniques, or forms of communication are themselves the subject of study. The agenda that follows proposes research and development that can help consolidate the knowledge base (which appears at the center of Figure 2.1)
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From page 36... ...
The review might include consideration of the extent to which the curriculum emphasizes depth over breadth of coverage; the effectiveness of the opportunities provided to grasp key concepts related to the subject matter; the extent to which the curriculum provides opportunities to explore preconceptions about the subject matter; the adequacy of the factual knowledge base provided by the curriculum; the extent to which formative assessment procedures are built into the curriculum; and the extent to which accompanying summative assessment procedures measure understanding and ability to transfer rather than memory of fact. The features that support learning should be highlighted and explained, as should the features that are in conflict.
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From page 37... ...
The number of computers in schools is expanding rapidly. For schools to use that equipment to support learning, they must be able to identify the computer-based programs that can enhance classroom teaching or class assignments.
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From page 38... ...
As an extension of Recommendation 1 above, or in some cases as a substitute, the committee recommends the development and evaluation of new curriculum and assessment materials that reflect the principles of learning outlined in How People Learn. Once again, the committee recommends that the development be done by teams of disciplinary experts, cognitive scientists, curriculum developers, and expert teachers.
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From page 39... ...
This research effort should consider as well the relationship between formative and summative assessments. If the goal of learning is to achieve deep understanding, then formative assessment should identify problems and progress toward that goal, and summative assessment should measure the level of success at reaching that goal.
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From page 40... ...
Annotations would include both subject content and pedagogical technique. Companion assessment tools should be developed that measure understanding of the core concepts taught in the lessons.
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From page 41... ...
A key finding of the research reviewed in How People Learn is that deep understandingand the transfer of learning that is one of its hallmarks requires that the subject matter being taught be tied to the key concepts or organizing principles that the discipline uses to understand that subject. The goal of teaching about a given topic is not simply to convey factual information, although that information is a necessary component.
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From page 42... ...
The research reviewed in How People Learn makes the case that new learning is built on the foundation of existing knowledge and preconceived notions regarding the subject of study. Learning is enhanced when preconceived understandings are drawn out.
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From page 43... ...
The research would be conducted independently for mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The research teams should combine disciplinary experts with cognitive scientists, expert teachers, and curriculum developers.
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From page 44... ...
Develop Tools for Effective Communication of the Principles of Learning as They Apply to Educational Materials 7. Develop an interactive communications site that provides information on curricula by field.
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From page 45... ...
For teacher education and professional development programs to be aligned with the principles of 45
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From page 46... ...
9. Review professional development programs for alignment with the principles of learning and for relative effectiveness in changing teaching practice.
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From page 47... ...
Features that promote or conflict with the principles should be highlighted. The research should also examine the effects of alternative types, and amounts, of professional development training on teacher performance and student achievement.
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From page 48... ...
School administrators at the individual school and school district level are responsible for facilitating teacher learning and evaluating teacher performance. If they are to support teachers' efforts to incorporate the principles of learning into classroom practice, they will need professional development opportunities that provide an understanding of the principles and their enactment in a classroom environment.
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From page 49... ...
Develop Tools for Effective Communication of the Principles of Learning to Teacher Education 13. Develop model pedagogical laboratories.
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From page 50... ...
The laboratory could provide opportunities to develop those techniques under guided instruction. The lab, as envisioned, would not provide a teaching internship or serve the function of a professional development school.
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From page 51... ...
Students graduating from these programs will then carry to the schools in which they teach an ability to be connected to outside communities with relevant knowledge that is not now a feature in many school districts. Well-equipped laboratories would be an asset in professional development activities as well as in pre-service training.
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From page 52... ...
RESEARCH ON EDUCATION POLICY How People Learn, we have argued, suggests far-reaching reform of education. It has direct implications for what is taught in the classroom, how it is taught, the relationship between students and teachers, the content and role of assessments, and the preparation of those who undertake the daunting task of classroom teaching.
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From page 53... ...
Review state education standards and the assessment tools used to measure compliance through the lens of How People Learn. Forty-nine states now have a set of education standards that apply to their schools, and most have or are developing assessment tools to hold school districts accountable for implementation.
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From page 54... ...
There is a problem, however, with what is being measured. As a first step in the process of rethinking educational testing, the committee recommends that assessment tools be designed and tested with the goal of measuring deep understanding as well as the acquisition of factual knowledge.
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From page 55... ...
The federal government also has provided support for an assessment process for advanced certification that is developed and administered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The committee recommends that research be conducted to review the requirements for teacher certification in a sample of states (selected for their diversity)
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From page 56... ...
Develop Tools for Effective Communication of the Principles in How People [earn to Policy Makers 19. Conduct research on the effective communication of research results to policy makers.
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From page 57... ...
First, to the extent that the public is aware of the implications of learning research for classroom practice, teachers, administrators, and policy makers will receive more support for the types of changes that How People Learn suggests. Second, many teachers, administrators, and policy makers themselves are influenced by ideas that reach them through popular media.
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From page 58... ...
The committee proposes that a second stage of this project should involve research to assess whether the popular report effectively communicates its messages to a sample of parents. BEYOND HOW PEOPLE LEARN The research and development agenda proposed thus far focuses on the question that the Office of Educational Research and Improvement posed to the committee: How can the insights from How People Learn be incorporated into educational practice?
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From page 59... ...
There are well-known cases of exceptional teaching by educators who, often without the help of educational researchers, have created innovative and successful classrooms, programs, curricula, and teaching techniques. The committee recommends that case study research be conducted to investigate the principles of learning that underlie successful educational experiments.
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From page 60... ...
The committee recommends that research be conducted by teams of cognitive scientists, developmental psychologists, curriculum developers, and teachers to investigate the potential benefits of collaborative learning in the classroom and the problems that must be addressed to make it beneficial for all students. The research should explore and field-test alternative design strategies.
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From page 61... ...
This empirical insight has profound implications for the organization of education, teacher education, and curriculum development. The committee recommends research to deepen understanding of the kinds of knowledge organizations that will best support particular kinds of activities.
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From page 62... ...
But far fewer are devoted to research advances, much less their alignment with educational materials, practices, or policies that are depicted in the web sites. The committee recommends the development and continuous improvement of a national communications forum for research knowledge on learning and teaching.
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From page 63... ...
There are still relatively few arenas in which researchers work as partners with teachers, administrators, and communications developers (who might film model lessons, develop web sites, produce brochures, etc.~. But to be effective, systematic efforts to reform education will require that more of these partnerships be forged.
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From page 64... ...
We propose further the development and testing of new classroom teaching tools, techniques of teacher and administrator training, further research on human learning, and applications of technology that could provide dynamic mechanisms for bringing advances in how people learn and how people teach into continual cycles of coordination and improvement. From the committee's perspective, the integration of these efforts holds the potential to bring research and practice together in the interest of improved education.
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