Learning Theory

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A shift in the teaching and learning paradigm is well under way, moving away from a transmission paradigm to a constructivist paradigm. In 1900, basic literacy skills included reading, writing, and calculation. Knowing meant being able to remember and repeat, which was appropriate to an industrial age in which practices changed slowly (at least by today's standards). Workers anticipated having a single profession for the duration of their working lives. Education was based on a factory-like, "one size fits all" model. Talent was developed by weeding out those who could not do well in a monochromatic learning environment.

The postindustrial age is characterized by rapid change. Literary, skills now include critical thought, persuasive expression, and the ability to solve complex scientific and organizational problems. Knowing now means using a well-organized set of facts to find new information and to solve novel problems. In 1900, learning consisted largely of memorization; today it relies chiefly on understanding.

This shift has come about partly due to the emergence of a constructivist theory of learning. Stated simply, this theory holds that learners construct knowledge by understanding new information building on their current understanding and expertise. Constructivism contradicts the idea that learning is the transmission of content to a passive receiver. Instead, it views learning as an active process, always based on the learner's current understanding or intellectual paradigm. Knowledge is constructed by assimilating new information into the learner's knowledge paradigm. A learner does not come to a classroom or a course Web site with a mind that is a tabula rasa, a blank slate. Each learner arrives at a learning "site" with some pre-existing level of understanding.

Knowledge exists at multiple levels, ranging from novice to expert. It is the sophistication and depth of this understanding that differentiates experts from novices. Experts have a deep and rich set of well-organized facts, as well as the capacity to use that understanding to solve problems in their fields of expertise. Novices lack that depth and, as a result, have a much harder time solving problems.

The constructivist theory has important implications. The theory implies that learning is best served when it is:

• Contextual - Taking into account the student's understanding.
• Active - Engaging students in learning activities that use analysis, debate, and criticism (as opposed to simply memorization) to receive and test information.
• Social - Using discussions, direct interaction with experts and peers, and team-based projects.

Problem-based learning, which encourages learners to construct knowledge based on the experience of solving problems, is significantly different from methods such as recall and repetition. This is but one of many ways the older, traditional teaching paradigm contrasts with the learning paradigm. Table 1 summarizes some (though by no means all) other important ways these two paradigms differ.

Table 1. Differences in the Teaching and Learning Paradigms

Learning science research also highlights the importance of learner engagement, or as the American Psychological Association describes it, intentional learning.¹ This means that learners must have a "metaperspective" from which to view and assess their own learning, which is often referred to as metacognition.² An active learning environment provides the opportunity to assess one's own learning, enabling learners to make decisions about the course, as well as reflect on and assess their progress. In the past, the measure of learning was the final grade (a summative measure). But a final grade is merely a measure of the student's performance on tests. It does not measure the learning that did — or did not — take place. To encourage learning, summative testing or assessments must be combined with formative assessments. Formative assessment is not directly associated with the final grade; it helps learners understand their learning and make decisions about next steps based on that understanding.

Net Generation and Learning Theory

As with Information Technology (IT), there are overlaps between the working characteristics of Net Gen students and practices that research has shown encourage and strengthen learning. For example, the Net Generation is social. They like to stay in touch with peers (and even parents!). They have a preference for group activity and working in teams. This dovetails with research indicating that learning is encouraged when it includes social components such as debate or direct engagement with peers and experts. Learning is strengthened through social interactions, interpersonal relations, and communication with others.

Net Generation students are achievement and goal oriented. Their question is not "What does it mean?" or "How does it work?" (as previous generations were inclined to ask), but rather "How do I build it?". This predilection maps to learning theory's emphasis on active learning. Discovery, exploration, experimentation, criticism, analysis — all represent active learning, a style that suits the Net Gen well.

A pedagogy that emphasizes active learning has additional "targets of opportunity" among the Net Gen characteristics. Net Gen students are experiential, tending toward learning by doing rather than listening. Research indicates that learners need to be active with respect to their own learning process and assessment. Net Gen students' goal and achievement orientation comes into play here: that achievement focus can be directed toward quizzes and exercises that assist learners in evaluating their progress toward learning goals.

Obviously, not all forms of learning must be social or team-based. In a variety of learning contexts, individual work is important. It may well be that Net Gen students' strengths are also their weaknesses. The expectation for fast-paced, rapidly shifting interaction coupled with a relatively short attention span may be counterproductive in many learning contexts. Repetition and steady, patient practice — key to some forms of mastery — may prove difficult for Net Gen students. Designing courses for them necessitates balancing these strengths and weaknesses.

Learning Space Implications

There are a number of implications of learning theory and the Net Generation for learning spaces. The convergence of the learning paradigm, IT, and the Net Gen is occurring now at colleges and universities. Current and future planning must encompass and encourage this convergence by thinking of learning spaces (classroom, informal, virtual) as a single, integrated environment. We should not neglect the informal for the formal, or assume that Net Gen students somehow will figure out the virtual space on their own. We should connect what happens in the classroom with what happens in informal and virtual spaces.

This implies that institutions may need to rethink their vision for learning and the spaces in which it occurs. Creating a vision for learning and learning spaces is a powerful leverage point; it informs almost all other decisions about learning space design. A vision also allows us to effectively articulate to all constituents what we are trying to accomplish. The vision helps organize all participants in the design and implementation of these spaces, as well as the activities they support. Simply installing wireless access points and fresh carpeting isn't enough if done in isolation; such improvements pay real dividends only if they are in concert with the institution's overall teaching and learning objectives. It is the vision that generates the design principles that will, in turn, be used to make key decisions about how learning spaces are configured.

One important implication is that the vocabulary we use to describe what learners do in these spaces must become active. We must go beyond describing ways to help the instructor to be active; we must include students as well. The vision and design principles should emphasize the options students have as active participants in the learning process. Design principles should include terms such as analyze, create, criticize, debate, present, and classify — all directed at what the space enables the students to do. For example, students should be able to present materials to the class. Outside class, they should have access to applications and materials that directly support analysis of data, text, and other media. Forums for discussion and critical debate, both real and virtual, are key to encouraging learning and will be looked for by Net Gen students.

Learning spaces should accommodate the use of as many kinds of materials as possible and enable the display of and access to those materials by all participants. Learning space needs to provide the participants — instructors and students alike — with interactive tools that enable exploration, probing, and examination. This might include a robust set of applications installed on the computer that controls the room's displays, as well as a set of communication tools. Since the process of examination and debate leads to discovery and the construction of new knowledge, it could be important to equip spaces with devices that can capture classroom discussion and debate, which can be distributed to all participants for future reference and study.

Learning does not stop once the instructor has left the classroom. Instead, the end of the class meeting marks a transition from one learning mode to another. As a result, institutions must address real and virtual spaces outside the classroom to ensure that they, too, encourage learning. For example, there should be access to class materials (which are increasingly digital) so that the active and social work of learning can continue outside the formal classroom. The design of "neutral" spaces, such as hallways and corridors, could be rethought and re-equipped to promote learning. Some institutions provide small discussion spaces in corridors so that discussion begun in class can continue when class ends. As for the virtual space, institutions should consider well-integrated work environments that support collaborative projects and resource sharing.

Informal learning spaces — those outside the classrooms — present particularly intriguing opportunities for pioneering and cultivating new teaching and learning practices. These spaces, while informal, are key areas for student academic work. Students spend far more time in these spaces than they do in formal classrooms. Research, Web browsing, writing, statistical analysis, and compiling lab reports all take place in the library, study hall, media center, dorm room, and learning commons. Because of their enthusiasm for IT and their experiential, hands-on approach to learning tasks, Net Gen students will easily "tune into" the virtual aspects of informal spaces. Well-designed and integrated physical layouts and IT "tool sets" will find a ready audience with Net Gen students.

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© Malcolm Brown. Used with permission.

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