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How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures Committee on How People Learn II: The Science and Practice of Learning Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences Board on Science Education Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education A Consensus Study Report of Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures xiii Contents Summary 1 1 Introduction 11 Charge to the Committee, 12 Contributions of HPL I, 14 Interpreting the Charge, 16 Gathering Evidence to Address the Charge, 16 Treatment of Evidence, 18 Guide to This Report, 20 2 Context and Culture 21 The Cultural Nature of Learning, 22 Defining Culture, 22 The Role of Culture in Learning and Development, 24 Learning as Social Activity, 26 The Dynamic Interaction of Culture, Biology, and Context, 27 Social and Emotional Influences, 29 Physical Influences, 30 Conclusion, 33 3 Types of Learning and the Developing Brain 35 Types of Learning, 35 Three Learning Scenarios, 36 Basic Types of Learning, 38 Integrating Types of Learning, 55 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures xiv Contents Learning and the Brain, 55 Prenatal and Lifelong Brain Development and Maturation, 56 Brain Adaptation in Response to Learning, 59 Evidence of Learning-Related Changes in the Brain Throughout the Life Span, 62 Conclusions, 67 4 Processes That Support Learning 69 Orchestrating Learning, 70 Executive Function, 70 Self-Regulation of Learning, 72 Memory, 74 Reconstructing Memories, 74 Working and Long-Term Memory, 77 Memory for Episodes of Learning, 79 Conclusions, 83 5 Knowledge and Reasoning 85 Building a Knowledge Base, 86 Knowledge and Expertise, 90 Benefits of Expertise, 90 Bias as a Natural Side Effect of Knowledge, 91 Knowledge Integration and Reasoning, 93 Inferential Reasoning, 93 Age-Related Changes in Knowledge and Reasoning, 94 Effects of Culture on Reasoning, 96 Strategies to Support Learning, 97 Strategies for Knowledge Retention, 98 Strategies for Understanding and Integration, 101 Conclusions, 106 6 Motivation to Learn 109 Theoretical Perspectives, 110 Learners’ Beliefs and Values, 111 Self-Efficacy, 111 Values, 113 Interest, 113 Intrinsic Motivation, 115 External Rewards, 115 Effects of Choice, 117 The Importance of Goals, 117 Types of Goals, 118 Influence of Teachers on Learners’ Goals, 120 Learning Goals and Other Goals, 121 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures Contents xv Future Identities and Long-Term Persistence, 122 Social and Cultural Influences on Motivation, 124 Cross-Cultural Differences in Learners’ Self-Construals, 124 Social Identity and Motivation Processes, 126 Stereotype Threat, 127 Interventions to Improve Motivation, 131 Conclusions, 132 7 Implications for Learning in School 135 Culture and Learning in School, 136 School and Classroom Contexts, 137 Shifting from “Deficit” to “Asset” Models, 140 Discipline-Specific Learning, 143 Mathematics, 144 Science, 145 History, 146 Engaging and Empowering Learners, 148 Self-Regulated Learning, 149 Instructional Approaches for Engaging the Learner, 151 Assessing Learning, 153 Providing Feedback to Learners, 154 Connecting Assessment to Evidence about How Students Learn, 155 Conclusions, 160 8 Digital Technology 163 Aligning Technologies with Learning Goals, 164 Affordances of Learning Technologies, 164 Learning Through Repetition, 166 Deeper Learning with Models, 167 Collaborative and Cooperative Learning, 169 Technology-Supported Self-Regulated Learning, 170 Technologies that Stimulate Active Learning, 172 Learning Through Game Play, 172 Leveraging Stories and Favorite Characters, 173 Empowering Learners as Producers and Creators, 175 Making, 176 Embodied Cognition, 177 Conversational Agents, 179 Technologies for Instruction, 180 Linking Formal and Informal Learning, 180 Orchestrating Instruction, 181 Writing Instruction, 183 Opportunities and Challenges, 184 Digital Dashboards, 184 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures xvi Contents Distance Learning, 185 Mobile Personal Devices, 186 Problematic Features of Technology, 187 Universal Design, 189 Technology for Learning in Later Life, 190 The Digital Divide, 193 A Systematic Approach to Implementation, 194 Conclusions, 196 9 Learning Across the Life Span 197 Changes That Occur with Age, 198 Reasoning and Knowledge, 198 Motivation for Learning, 199 Learning Activities and Environments, 200 Cognitive Abilities, 202 Learning Disabilities, 203 Causes of Learning Disabilities, 204 Reading Disabilities, 205 Mathematics Disabilities, 206 Learning Disabilities in Adults, 207 Adult Literacy, 208 Interventions, 209 Postsecondary Educational Experiences, 211 Workforce Training, 213 Determining Whether People Learn in the Workplace, 214 Training Transfer, 215 Autonomous Workplace Learning, 216 Self-Regulated Learning in the Workplace, 219 The Importance of Active Engagement, 220 Fostering Lifelong Learning, 221 Conclusions, 223 , 10 Research Agenda 225 The Dynamic Nature of Learning, 225 Research Agenda, 227 References 233 Appendixes A History of the How People Learn Studies and Their Use 295 B List of Relevant Reports Published by the National Academies Press 299 C Study Populations in Research on Learning 315 D Committee and Staff Biographies 319 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures xvii Tables, Figures, and Boxes TABLES 3-1 Models of Age-Related Change in Brain Structures That Affect Learning, 66 6-1 Mindsets, Goals, and Their Implications for Learning,119 6-2 Achievement Goals and Classroom Climate, 121 8-1 Principles of Universal Design, 191 FIGURES 3-1 User interface for the Foldit game, 37 3-2 Pattern recognition, 44 3-3 The McCullough effect, part 1, 45 3-4 The McCullough effect, part 2, 46 3-5 Unaided pattern interpretation, 47 3-6 Hints for pattern interpretation in previous figure, 48 3-7 Abductive reasoning in a machine-learning system, 51 3-8 Children’s mental models of the Earth, 52 3-9 Mean cortical thickness across the adult life span, 58 5-1 Depiction of memory integration, 87 5-1-1 Mean amplitude of the neural response at the centro-parietal sites to well-known, novel, and integration facts during first and second presentation, 89 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures xviii Tables, Figures, and boxes 6-1 Effect of supportive, safe conditions in reducing stereotype threat, 129 7-1 Simplified representation of three critical components of the evidence- centered design process and their reciprocal relationships, 160 8-1 The Tactical Language and Culture Training System (TLCTS), 178 8-2 Screenshot of conversational agents (a tutor and a peer) discussing an experiment with a student, 179 9-1 Examples of autonomous (self-directed) and mandated learning in formal and informal settings, 201 BOXES 1-1 Statement of Task, 13 1-2 History of HPL I, 15 3-1 Critical and Sensitive Periods in Development, 57 3-2 Evidence of Expertise Development and Changes in the Brain, 63 4-1 A Curriculum-Based Executive Function Intervention, 72 4-2 Helping Children Develop Memory Skills, 80 5-1 Examples of Developmental Differences in the Process of Knowledge Acquisition, 88 6-1 What You Praise Makes a Difference, 116 6-2 Learners’ Perceptions of the Learning Environment Can Inadvertently Undermine Motivation, 123 6-3 Basketball, Mathematics, and Identity, 127 7-1 Do Students Have a Dominant Learning Style?, 137 7-2 Scoring Rubric from Construct Map for Student Understanding of Earth in the Solar System, 157 7-3 Diagnostic Item Based on Construct Map for Student Understanding of Earth in the Solar System, 158 8-1 Key Affordances of Learning Technologies, 165 8-2 Web-Based Technologies for Group Learning, 171 8-3 Mayer’s Principles to Guide Multimedia Learning, 188 9-1 The Meyerhoff Scholars Program, 212 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. How People Learn II Learners, Contexts, and Cultures 1 Summary Decades of research and the development of new technologies and re- search methods laid the foundation for a remarkable blossoming of research on the processes and functions of learning in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2000, the National Research Council summarized key findings from this work in How People Learn: Mind Brain, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition (HPL I). This report brought together the work of two committees that had summarized insights on the nature of learning, such as how experts differ from novices, how learning transfers across settings, and how children and adult learners do and do not differ. It described principles for the design of effective learning environments and offered examples of effective teaching in history, mathematics, and science; an examination of the extent to which opportuni- ties for teacher learning enhance effectiveness in facilitating learning; and a discussion of the promise of technology for supporting learning. HPL I was widely used by teacher educators and other postsecondary faculty in courses related to learning, and it has guided the practice of countless educators. This report expands on the foundation laid out in HPL I. Researchers have continued to investigate the nature of learning and have generated new findings
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