EDUC 327 Fall 2020

Week 10 – Perspectives on Learning

Discussion Questions

Reminders from lecture recording:

- We are looking at how the psychological self appears in education and has shaped
education.
- Think about how the way that we see the self as being primarily individual and
interior has influenced the way that learning is conceived and the way that learning
has come to be predominant in education (i.e., the way it’s tied to individual selves
in particular).

Burbules, N. C. (2013). Learning is not education. In P. Smeyers &

M. Depaepe (Eds.), Educational research: The attraction of psychology (pp.
159-166). Dordrecht, NL: Springer. [on-line, SFU Library (Chapter in a book
available on-line via the library website.)]

1. What are the advantages of emphasizing learning in education?

 Focus on how and what students are actually learning instead of focusing
on teacher’s teaching techniques etc.
2. What are the disadvantages of framing educational issues primarily as
learning issues?
 It neglects the important intrinsic elements of education that goes beyond
learning; just because someone can read does not mean that they want to
read (or can critically analyze what they read, etc.)
3. According to Burbules’ argument, what are the problems with the testing
movement in education?
 Testing movement refers to the push for standardized testing in
education in the West, it was born out of the concern that students in
some schools may be learning different things. Some schools are ‘bad’.
 Testing is like a snapshot in time, it does not reflect students’
synthesis/embodiment of their learning.
 There are lots of reasons that influence how students perform on tests
that do not pertain to what is going on in schools at all (e.g., sociocultural
factors, social support, SES, adequate nutrition, safe neighborhood, stable
family, etc.). Teachers are often scapegoats.
 As a result, teachers ‘teach to the test’. The irony is that countries where
students perform well largely do not have standardized testing (e.g.,
Denmark), there are high standards for teachers and teachers are given
considerable autonomy in terms of what and how they teach and
students are given ample support both inside and outside the classroom.
4. How does education differ from learning?
 You may not be able to see the results of a good education until much
later. Say, 10 years down the road, is that person still interested in
learning and are they still able to apply their learning in different
situations?
EDUC 327 Fall 2020

Kirschner, P. A., & Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2013). Do learners really know best? Urban
legends in education. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 169-183.

1. What are the three “urban myths” about learning that Kirschner &
Merriënboer identify?
 Learners as digital natives who are good at multitasking.
 Each learner has a specific learning style (e.g., auditory, visual, tactile).
 Learners are self-directed self-educators.
2. Have you heard these myths previously? If so, in what contexts?
 Assessments to determine learning styles.
 Parents and people from older generations assume that all young people
are tech-savvy.
 Laissez-faire approach some teachers take; standing in the side-lines and
observing as students try to figure things out on their own.
 You must take charge of your own education!
 These myths are positioned as ‘innovative’ educational approaches,
which is partly why they are so widespread.
3. What evidence do the authors provide as refutation of each of these myths?
1) ‘Digital natives’ do not exist (the new generation is not as tech-savvy as
we think) and multitasking is not what we think it is (we do not
simultaneously work on two or more tasks, instead we rapidly switch
between tasks and that rapid switching is detrimental to learning).
2) Learning styles do not exist and there is no benefits to adapting teaching
styles to those, doing so may be detrimental to learning. There are
learning preferences, but not necessarily styles. Quite often how we learn
depends on the subject matter. Even if learning styles do exist and can be
adequately measured, it is impractical to adapt and individually tailor to
each of these.
3) Students are not the best at determining what to learn and how to learn;
what they prefer may not be the most productive; having maximum
control can be frustrating and overwhelming.
4. Some psychological ideas (e.g., learning styles, self-esteem) have had a
considerable influence on educational practice. However, when psychological
research disproves the value of these notions, educational practice is often
slow to adjust accordingly. Why do you think this is the case?
 They are very pervasive, they appeal to ‘common sense’ and there is an
academic divide in how to approach education and what its goals should
be. They are framed as progressive and innovative.
 Education is a complex system and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
 Developing theories is a complex process, and it is an even longer process
to adapt them.
 Interests and economic benefits involved in education do not always
benefit learners and teachers.
EDUC 327 Fall 2020

 Any evidence to refute myths is actually counterproductive. Once an

urban legend takes hold, any effort to refute it is taken as an indication
that the legend is true.
 The notion of the psychological self in education neglects to take into
account the external and social impacts on the development of the self-
directed self.