The Model Of Learning And Understanding

Introduction

There's a lot written about the 'macro' strategies of learning, about setting aside a suitable amount of time for learning, revising, making notes, re-reading the material, and so on. But what about the 'micro' strategies, what actually happens inside someone's head when we learn?

I want to know how to become a better trainer by understanding what people experience when they learned things and reach the point of understanding them. I want to be able to present material in a way which is easier to learn and understand.

Beyond this, I want to be able to teach people to learn. I want to be able to teach them memory skills so that they can remember things more easily and more effectively and also to teach them how to understand the things they remember.

What is the difference between memory/learning and understanding? You could remember the phrase "The receptive fields of retinal ganglion cells are antagonistic with the centre stimulated by the opposite characteristics to the surround." But being able to recite it 'parrot fashion' does not constitute understanding, being able to repeat the words does not automatically mean that you understand the meaning of the words.

I came across an example of this difference, a young trainee in a hotel kitchen was seen washing his hands and 3 o'clock - every day. This was because he had seen his supervisor wash her hands, coincidentally at the same time, 3 o'clock, two days running. Not knowing any better the trainee concluded that hands were to be washed at this time - they could remember the actions but did not understand the actions or the reasons for them.

This model of learning and understanding is the result of modelling effective and ineffective learners and on research in the academic literature on the subject. I do not claim that this model is a definitive description of the process which everyone uses, but it is a useful model which allows people to learn more effectively and trainers/teachers to present material more effectively. It is also an evolving model, it is still being researched and developed.

There is also a set of beliefs which go with effective learning - one of them is to recognise learning is an activity which the learner does, learning is not something which happens to the learner. For example when training people in word-processing skills I often observe that those who learn more effectively are the people who play and experiment, the ones who find it hardest are the people who stare at the screen waiting for them computer to 'make sense', as though the computer is about to undergo some transformation.

The three stages of learning

Understanding comes from learning and the unconscious learns connections and associations, this presupposes that it also learns things between which there can be connections.

The unconscious learns in three stages:

the elements which exist, between which there can be relationships the nature of the relationships between them
this has progresses in three degrees:
- that there can be a relationship
- the nature of the relationship
- the quantities of the relationships
the relationships are then generalised and the original elements can be discarded

For example, when learning to use the 'bold' feature in a word-processor, learners will first learn that there is the 'bold' button and that there is text which changes from normal to bold. Then they learn that there is a relationship between the 'bold' button and the text changing.

Next they learn that the quantitative nature of the relationship, is that pressing the 'bold' button affects whether the text is bold or not. Finally they learn the quantitative nature of the relationship, pressing the 'bold' button will make bold the selected text, unless the text is already bold in which case it will un-bold the text.

Learning seems to naturally progress in this fashion - which is contrary to many instruction manuals, these seek to develop expertise in one area before moving on to the next. For example a learner driver does not become expert in the steering wheel before learning about the pedals.

Learning stops as soon as the learner doesn't understand one word - everything in the learning experience must be linked to existing experience, this is the process of "apperception". I find this most noticeable when some computer 'experts' try and teach novices about computers, the experts enjoy using jargon words, but these do not relate to anything in the learners' experience and so learning stops.

The structure of understanding

Learning leads to understanding, but what actually is understanding?

Understanding occurs when:

the learner has isomorphic models/representations in all three major representation systems and the models all match and link to existing experience
the kinaesthetic element is the "dynamic learning state" - the understanding feeling
there is no conflict with existing experience
there are no unresolved questions i.e. there is no sense that the model is incomplete

For example, when learning about the principle of supply and demand the learner will develop pictures of people supplying things and people demanding things. These pictures will have names and sounds associated with them.

Many people experience the event of revelation, when it suddenly makes sense, the "Ahhh, I get it" phenomenon. In this stage a positive feeling is associated with the images and sounds, the learner has matching (isomorphic) representations in the three major representational systems. (Learning seems to become even more powerful when taste and smell are built into the internal models as well.)

Confusion (which I define as having all the pieces of the jigsaw but not in the right order) can occur when there is a conflict between the models and existing experience. For an example let's go back to word-processing. If the learner thinks that the 'bold' button makes the text larger then there is a conflict, this often manifests itself as confusion.

Lack of understanding can also occur when there are still unanswered questions. Our brains seem compelled to find answers to questions, lack of answers can block the sense of understanding, this often manifests itself in the form of "Yes but..." statements and questions. For example, many people find it hard to even start to understand Einstein's theory of relativity, because they don't know how or why the speed of light is a constant - there is an unanswered question. Whereas people who understand the theory simply accept the fact that the speed of light is a constant, for them the question does not occur (and thus is not unanswered).

Learning also utilises a series of beliefs and strategies, for example:

learning is fun
learning comes from inspiration
there is always a new way to see things
everything is made up of basic principles
complex topics are like a buffet meal, there are lots of juicy bits to pick at
memory is unlimited, I can just keep putting more and more things into it

Uses of the model

The model itself isn't going to make anyone a raging genius - that isn't its aim. The model is a starting point, it provides direction. From this model I develop training materials that learners' feedback suggests is easy to learn from.

When Newton first put forwards his laws of motion they weren't a great deal of practical use. We now depend on them for ensuring that aircraft stay in the air and that all manner of machines and devices work reliably.

The ability to easily, enjoyably and effectively learn and remember is going to be indispensable in the future. As technology become more complex and more widespread people are going to need to acquire more skills quicker than ever before.

Training is only one half of the process, individuals also need to be able to learn. Learning and understanding themselves are teachable skills and are enjoyable. So let's learn to party!!!