# Active Learning Online  ## Metadata - Author: [[Stephen M. Kosslyn]] - Full Title: Active Learning Online - Category: #books - Cite: [[@kosslynActiveLearningOnline2021]] ## Highlights - 3      Deep Processing Targeted Processing Finding the Goldilocks Spot 4      Chunking Using Chunking to Organize Lessons 5      Building Associations Designing Lessons Spaced Practice and Varied Context Organizing Examples 6      Dual Coding Illustrating Concepts Using Charts, Graphs and Diagrams Visualizing Illustrations 7      Deliberate Practice Selectively Paying Attention Deliberate Practice at Scale 8      Combining Principles Elaboration, Generation Effect, Testing Effect Games and Meta-Cognition 9      Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation ([Location 69](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=69)) - But what exactly is “active learning”? In a nutshell, active learning occurs when a person uses information in the service of achieving a learning outcome. ([Location 196](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=196)) - Perhaps the greatest weakness of lectures—and a strong argument for active learning—is that the material often doesn’t stick: students may very quickly forget what they heard in a lecture. The most extreme evidence for this that I’ve found is truly shocking: Researchers reported that students could recall less than 10% of a lecture when tested just three days after hearing it.11 ([Location 280](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=280)) - For example, researchers have shown that the mere act of taking a test—even if students are not told the correct answers afterwards— actually helps students to learn.23 ([Location 501](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=501)) - This distinction between recall and recognition is important in part because we can use recognition to give us feedback even when we cannot recall perfectly— which can help us to learn new things. This fact is critical to the Principle of Deliberate Practice, which we consider in Chapter 7. ([Location 592](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=592)) - This finding is remarkable: The mere act of creating the mental images and “looking at them” to rate their vividness was enough to lodge the associations in memory—even though the participants were not trying to memorize the words. This is very much along the lines of the sorts of memories you have of events that took place earlier that day, the vast majority of which you probably did not try to memorize at the time they occurred. These kinds of phenomena illustrate the Principle of Deep Processing, which states that “The more mental processing one performs on information, the more likely it is that one will retain that information.”34 By “information” I mean knowledge (e.g., facts, concepts, words, images) and skills (specific types of procedures that are used to achieve specific goals). ([Location 638](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=638)) - In short, an activity can be structured so that students will engage in the relevant deep processing, which helps them achieve a specific learning outcome. You need to design the activity so that the right kind of processing occurs to achieve this end. The beauty of this approach is that the students learn as a byproduct of engaging in the mental processing, even if they are not particularly interested in learning that material. In the following chapters, we see many additional ways to induce and buttress deep processing. ([Location 792](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=792)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The Principle of Chunking states that “Learning is easier when material is organized into three or four organized units, each of which itself can contain three or four units.” ([Location 810](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=810)) - Tags: [[pink]] - (This can be done quickly and easily via a service such as Amazon’s automated Transcribe program or a free service such as NCH Software.) ([Location 872](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=872)) - Making and using associations is important not just because you can use them to organize material when you are first taking it in; associations also can help you integrate what you are learning into what you already know, which makes the information “stick” in your memory. This fact helps to explain what some researchers thought of as a paradox: The more you know about a topic, the easier it is to learn even more about it.51 This fact can seem paradoxical if you think of long-term memory like a very large filing cabinet—which leads to the intuition that the more it is filled, the less space there is for something new. However, it’s better to think of memory like a giant hat rack where the more hats you have, the more branches and hooks you add—and hence the more places you then have to hang even more hats. ([Location 929](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=929)) - simple way to have the students engage in spaced practice is to include a quick quiz at the end of every class, which includes five or six questions— and have one or two of them randomly drawn from a prior lesson, addressing a learning objective that was covered before. Requiring students to recall earlier material repeatedly over time will lead them to form new associations that later can be used during recall. ([Location 983](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=983)) - The Principle of Dual Coding states that “Learning is more effective when material is presented as both words and images.”56 ([Location 1030](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1030)) - Here is an example of a Mind Map61 used to illustrate the concept of a Mind Map! Figure 6.1 A Mind Map Let’s consider how you could use a Mind Map to teach the five principles presented in this book. You could place the students into breakout groups and ask them to create a Mind Map that illustrates each principle, its characteristics, and its best applications. ([Location 1058](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1058)) - Note: Dual coding with images but could start with association of top level (probably fine to chunk to 3-4 list) - You can illustrate what is being described at all three phases of the Learning Sandwich, during the lecture component, the active learning component, and during debriefing. ([Location 1140](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1140)) - The first step to using deliberate practice at scale is to define the learning objectives very specifically. The second step is to have a standard or model that can be used to correct errors. This standard or model need not be presented by a human. For example, Benjamin Franklin learned to write well by studying an article he found particularly compelling, and then a few days later he would write it down in his own words. He then compared his version with the original, and noted the differences between the original and his version. He used this process to identify specific things he needed to do in order to improve his own writing.81 Similarly, when learning to draw, you can take a photo of an object, try to draw it from memory, and then compare your drawing to the photo. Noting where your drawing deviates from the photo, you can then try again, repeating the process until you have fixed all of the glitches.82 ([Location 1241](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1241)) - The “ICAP hypothesis” is an especially well-worked-out and empirically buttressed method that draws on combinations of the learning principles.84 The key idea here is that students will be increasingly engaged by shifting between four modes. Specifically, the hypothesis is that students learn most effectively in Interactive activities (e.g., having novel dialogues that include answering questions and elaborating on what the other person said). Such activities will draw on deep processing, associations, chunking (e.g., if multi-part questions are used or complex topics are addressed), deliberate practice (if students receive corrective feedback) and even dual coding (if they use audio/visual aids). Not quite as good as this Interactive mode, Constructivist activities (e.g., explaining a solution to a problem in their own words, adding inferences as appropriate, or drawing a Mind Map) still draw on combinations of the principles effectively. Less effective than Constructivist activities, simple Active processing (e.g., mixing chemicals in a standard course lab in chemistry) can still produce learning, particularly when deep processing and associations are induced. Finally, all three of these modes are better than Passive processing (e.g., listening to a lecture without taking notes). ([Location 1322](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1322)) - You can also induce elaboration simply by asking students to explain “how,” “when,” “why,” or “where,” such as asking why an event occurred, how a concept can be used, or where a procedure might be used appropriately. ([Location 1394](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1394)) - The Testing Effect occurs when people learn more by being tested.89 Remarkably, people learn more by taking tests even when they don’t get feedback on how well they did on the test; the mere act of taking a test—such as trying to recall the material—improves learning. Such testing includes self-testing with flash cards or quizzes. ([Location 1405](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1405)) - Perhaps the most influential modern theory of intrinsic motivation, and how it interacts with extrinsic motivation, is Self-Determination Theory (SDT).94 “Intrinsic motivation” leads one to do something because it is inherently interesting and satisfying (for that person); in contrast, “extrinsic motivation” leads one to do something because of external inducements. According to SDT, we all are born with a need to be competent, autonomous and to relate to other people—and these three needs form the backbone of intrinsic motivation: ([Location 1458](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1458)) - Table 9.1 Types of Reinforcement and Punishment Added Removed Attractive Positive Reinforcement (+) (e.g., More Money, Good Grades, Praise, Promotion) Subtractive Punishment (-) (e.g., Salary Cut, Demotion, Privileges Removed, Status Loss) Aversive Additive Punishment (-) (e.g., A Fine, Demerits, Criticism, Public Shaming) Negative Reinforcement (+) (e.g., Getting Out of Jail Early, Not Forced To Eat Bad Food, Allowed to Leave a Boring Meeting). ([Location 1557](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1557)) ## New highlights added June 20, 2024 at 7:55 PM - Deep processing: You need to engage in considerable mental processing in order to visualize the to-be-learned objects and figure out how to imagine each of them interacting with the objects at each location along the route. Chunking: You can break the route down into sets of three or four locations and group them. Moreover, you can set up multiple routes, going from one to the other, which allows you to remember an enormous amount. Associations: By associating the to-be-learned objects with locations along your familiar route, you not only organize the material effectively but also firmly lodge it into memory. And more than that, by taking your later trip down your visualized route you have a systematic way to recall what you learned—simply by “looking” in your mental image at each key location and “seeing” what you left there previously. Dual coding: By both naming the to-be-learned objects and integrating them into a mental image, you have two shots at later recalling the list—one visual and one verbal. Deliberate practice: To do this right, you should test yourself after you initially set up your sequences of images, using the written list as the gold standard against which to compare your memory. If you fail to recall some of the items, you should use the specific feedback to figure out a more memorable ([Location 1355](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08L9JPPSR&location=1355))