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What Improves Instruction?

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The document discusses ways to improve instruction based on research from the Association of Research Libraries and the book "e-learning and the Science of Instruction" by Clark and Mayer. It states that people learn best when they want to learn, understand why it's important, believe it will help them, and learn in a supportive environment through multiple means such as words and pictures. While catering to individual learning styles is ideal, using e-learning and multimedia can effectively reach more students. However, these methods must be implemented carefully to avoid overloading learners. Assessments before and after any changes using consistent criteria can measure improvements.

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What Improves Instruction For this weeks discussion, I refer to some information that I posted to our class wiki in the first week. From the Association of Research Libraries (ARL): People will learn faster and better when they: Want to learn Know why it is important for them to learn above Believe that what they will learn will help them in real ways Are in a supportive environment and are free from threat Feel good about themselves and feel able to learn what is expected of them Are provided the information they are to learn in several different ways Learn by doing the task Have a chance to practice what they have learned Are given feedback on their performance Are praised when doing things well For education and teaching, I think these are indispensable points to remember and Id like to add, learning needs to be interesting. Obviously, we have different interests, so there are always going to be some things that one person will enjoy learning about more than another. But for much of our student life, we dont have much of a choice. In addition, even though weve known for a long time how people learn and how people have different learning styles, were still, basically, all taught the same way. But does the answer to improving learning mean catering to every single students needs? That doesnt seem feasible. The great challenge for education and teaching is to reach the most learners with the greatest efficiency. So, is e-learning and a multimedia approach the answer? Maybe. Clark & Mayer state that there is consistent evidence that people learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone (Clark & Mayer, p.56, 66) and add that multimedia presentations can encourage learners to engage in active learning (Clark & Mayer, p.57). This approach is consistent with the point of providing information in several different ways, along with, reaching people with different learning styles. There is enormous potential for e-learning and a multimedia approach to improve instruction. However, Clark & Mayer remind us that there are pitfalls if its not done right, such as media abuse and the overloading of a learners processing abilities (Clark & Mayer, p.24). The challenge of e-learning is building lessons in ways that are compatible with the human learning process and instructional methods must support these processes (Clark & Mayer, p.28). ___________________________________________________________________ Association of Research Libraries: http://www.arl.org/leadership/leadresources/skills/facts.shtml Clark, R.C. & Mayer, R.E. (2008). e-learning and the Science of Instruction, 2nd Ed., Pfeiffer.
How do you know if whats being done to improve instruction is working? Just do a simple before and after comparison by looking at test results or whatever assessment criteria have been chosen. The criteria should relate to clearly defined instructional goals and objectives. Scoring rubrics would be useful in this case. Its important that the criteria remain the same before and after implementing any kind of new instructional methods, in order to have an accurate measurement of improvement.

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What Improves Instruction?

  • 1. What Improves Instruction For this weeks discussion, I refer to some information that I posted to our class wiki in the first week. From the Association of Research Libraries (ARL): People will learn faster and better when they: Want to learn Know why it is important for them to learn above Believe that what they will learn will help them in real ways Are in a supportive environment and are free from threat Feel good about themselves and feel able to learn what is expected of them Are provided the information they are to learn in several different ways Learn by doing the task Have a chance to practice what they have learned Are given feedback on their performance Are praised when doing things well For education and teaching, I think these are indispensable points to remember and Id like to add, learning needs to be interesting. Obviously, we have different interests, so there are always going to be some things that one person will enjoy learning about more than another. But for much of our student life, we dont have much of a choice. In addition, even though weve known for a long time how people learn and how people have different learning styles, were still, basically, all taught the same way. But does the answer to improving learning mean catering to every single students needs? That doesnt seem feasible. The great challenge for education and teaching is to reach the most learners with the greatest efficiency. So, is e-learning and a multimedia approach the answer? Maybe. Clark & Mayer state that there is consistent evidence that people learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone (Clark & Mayer, p.56, 66) and add that multimedia presentations can encourage learners to engage in active learning (Clark & Mayer, p.57). This approach is consistent with the point of providing information in several different ways, along with, reaching people with different learning styles. There is enormous potential for e-learning and a multimedia approach to improve instruction. However, Clark & Mayer remind us that there are pitfalls if its not done right, such as media abuse and the overloading of a learners processing abilities (Clark & Mayer, p.24). The challenge of e-learning is building lessons in ways that are compatible with the human learning process and instructional methods must support these processes (Clark & Mayer, p.28). ___________________________________________________________________ Association of Research Libraries: http://www.arl.org/leadership/leadresources/skills/facts.shtml Clark, R.C. & Mayer, R.E. (2008). e-learning and the Science of Instruction, 2nd Ed., Pfeiffer.
  • 2. How do you know if whats being done to improve instruction is working? Just do a simple before and after comparison by looking at test results or whatever assessment criteria have been chosen. The criteria should relate to clearly defined instructional goals and objectives. Scoring rubrics would be useful in this case. Its important that the criteria remain the same before and after implementing any kind of new instructional methods, in order to have an accurate measurement of improvement.