Understanding The Learning Process

To be a Good
Teacher, I must
first understand
how my
students learn !

Prof. Veena Kumar

DOMAINS
& LEVELS
OF
LEARNING

Prof. Veena Kumar

Domains of Learning
The term refers to the mode in which
learning takes place. It is believed
that we learn by:
 Knowing – (brain)

 Doing – (body – hands)

 Feeling – (senses, emotions)

Let us look at these three domains

Prof. Veena Kumar
The Three Domains of Learning
The three domains of learning are:
 Cognitive: related to thinking, receiving,
evaluating and synthesizing information.
 Psychomotor: related to use of the body
and manual work, perceptual activities
and skills.
 Affective: related to emotions, feelings,
values, social preferences.

Prof. Veena Kumar

Domains & Taxonomies of Learning
Objectives
 A great deal of research has been done in this field
and taxonomies of learning objectives have been
developed for each domain.
 We all have heard a lot about Bloom’s taxonomy –
that is the taxonomy of learning objectives in the
Cognitive domain.
 Similar taxonomies have been developed for the
Psychomotor and Affective domains
 Even though we mostly work with the objectives in
the Cognitive domain (Bloom’s Taxonomy), it may
be interesting to see the taxonomies for the
psychomotor and affective domains.
Let’s have a look at these …

Prof. Veena Kumar

Taxonomy of Learning Objectives: Cognitive Domain

 Knowledge
 Comprehension
 Application
 Analysis
 Synthesis
 Evaluation
*Bloom, B.S., & Krathwohl, D.R. (1956), Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of
educational goals by a committee of college and university examiners. Handbook 1. Cognitive Domain,
New York: addison-Wesley

Revised
 Remembering
 Understanding
 Applying
 Analyzing
 Evaluating
 Creating
*Anderson, L.W. & Krathwohl, D.R. (2001) A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision
of Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition, New York: Longman, pp 67-68

Prof. Veena Kumar

Taxonomy of Learning Objectives:
Psychomotor Domain
 Perception
 Set
 Guided Response
 Mechanism
 Complex Overt Response
 Adaptation
 Origination

* Simpson, E.J. (1972), The Psychomotor Domain. Vol.3:

Gryphon House

Prof. Veena Kumar

Taxonomy of Learning Objectives: Affective
Domain
 Receiving
 Responding
 Valuing
 Organization
 Characterization

*Krathwohl, D.R, Bloom, B.S., Massia, B.B. (1984), Taxonomy of

educational objectives: Handbook 2. Affective Domain, New York:
addison-Wesley

Prof. Veena Kumar

The Teaching Process

Instruction begins when you, the

teacher, learn from the learner. Put
yourself in his place so that you may
understand what he learns and the
way he understands it.

Kierkegaard

Prof. Veena Kumar

Four Key Pedagogical issues
 Students have a limited attention span
 Students have different approaches to
processing information
 Students have different learning styles
 Students need to be motivated constantly

Prof. Veena Kumar

Understanding Student Differences!
 Students have different styles of learning
 Students have different approaches to
learning
 Student have different intellectual
development
 Students have different study skills
 Students have different linguistic skills
 Students tend to carry social & cultural
differences into class
Prof. Veena Kumar
 Managing Attention Span
 We know it but ignore it
 Attention span of adult learners is no
longer than 15 minutes
 How can I manage a 60 or 80 minute
class?
 ……
 We will learn about it in the next
module!!
Prof. Veena Kumar
 Managing Attention Span
Level of Learning

0 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Teaching Time
Prof. Veena Kumar
Level of Learning Managing Attention Span

Change of activity

0 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Teaching Time
Prof. Veena Kumar
 Approaches to Learning
Students process information differently and
their approaches can vary:

 Surface Processing
 In-depth Processing
 Strategic Processing

*Students need ALL the three approaches. The

teacher should guide the students
* In-depth processing is what we should be aiming at!
Prof. Veena Kumar
How to Promote In-depth Processing
 Ask students to work on the background
knowledge of the concepts, rules being studied
 Set challenging assignments. Give enough time
for these (can ask them to work in pairs)
 A fair part of your assessment should
emphasize conceptual understanding, analysis
(as opposed to merely stating facts)
 Design and conduct active learning and
cooperative learning exercises
 Set assignments which ask for original thinking
 Set exercises which ask the students to justify
their opinions
Prof. Veena Kumar
 What do we mean by learning
style?
Learning Styles can be defined as,
“characteristic cognitive, affective and psychological
behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of
how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to
the learning environment”. (Keef, J.W. )

You will learn in detail about this in the module on

Creating a Dynamic Classroom. Right now, it is
sufficient to know that as many as nine different
styles have been identified.

Prof. Veena Kumar

Different Learning Styles
 Sensory – learns through the senses
 Intuitive – learns through memory, ideas, insights
 Visual – learns through pictures, diagrams, demos, graphs
 Verbal – learns through written or spoken explanations,
formulae
 Active – processes information by doing, discussing
 Reflective – processes information through introspection
 Sequential – learns in logical progression of small
incremental steps
 Global – learns in large jumps, holistically
 Inductive – facts and applications are presented and the
underlying principles are inferred
 Deductive – principles are first presented and then
applications are deduced.
(Felder et al 1988, 1993)

Prof. Veena Kumar

 So, What is the Responsibility of the
Teacher?
 Understand and appreciate these differences
 It is impossible to design instruction to meet the needs of
each and every style. The teacher is NOT required to meet
individual styles.
 You can design your instruction to avoid using just one
standard style and thereby address the needs of different
sets of learners
 Know that no style is better or worse, it’s just different (we
tend to be guided by our own preferences)
 Students need to use different learning styles to develop
skills to function as a successful professional
 An awareness about their own learning style can help the
students to manage their learning better


Prof. Veena Kumar

Difference in Language Competence
 The differential in linguistic competence
with which students enter engineering in
India is astounding!
 Inadequate language skills does impact
their learning
 It impacts their level of confidence in
class participation
 It is detrimental to the joy of learning

Prof. Veena Kumar

 What is the Responsibility of the
Teacher?
 Identify students who may be actually suffering because of
lack of adequate language competence
 Have a private meeting with them – find help – English
Dept., graduate students
 Give them small exercises to boost confidence. Ask them
to make a list of 300 words on the subject (including
technical terms and make them practice)
 Ask them to answer questions in class
 Direct them to some online practice materials for working
on their English
 Use very simple words/expressions while designing class
presentations, handouts, instructions for assignments, tests
and feedback
Prof. Veena Kumar
Enhancing Learning
(American Association of Higher Education)

 Encourage student-faculty contact.

 Encourage cooperation among students.
 Encourage active learning.
 Give prompt feedback.
 Communicate high expectations.
 Respect diverse talents and ways of
learning.

Prof. Veena Kumar

How Can I Be More Confident?
Confidence is an outcome rather than a competency.
It is a ‘whole’ which is greater than the sum of its
parts.

The Key component is PREPARATION

As a teacher, you are confident when you know ..

 What are your personal goals as a teacher?
 Who are your students?
 What are their expectations from your course?
 How can you make the course more interesting?
 What other knowledge/skills you must provide to
prepare them for the competitive job market

Prof. Veena Kumar