Rigor and Transfer Learning

OUR RIGOR MUSE - D C-F

In Perspective: Rigor and Transfer Learning

DAN KESTERSON

C HAPTER 1

Rigor and Transfer Learning The goal of education is transfer, which is dependent on transfer learning. The goal of reading to learn in content courses is the same - transfer. Not all learning transfers to new situations. Whether learning transfers to new situations is the criteria for whether learning is rigorous or not.

Rigor in learning is about mental processes that result in transfer.Â

S ECTION 1

Rigor and Transfer The goal of education is transfer, which is dependent on transfer learning. The goal of reading to learn in content courses is the same - transfer. Not all learning transfers to new situations. Whether learning transfers to new situations is the criteria for whether learning is rigorous or not. Rigor in learning is about mental processes that result in transfer.

While this paper is relevant to any learning situation where conceptual understanding is important, including reading, math, writing (developmental and non-developmental), academic success, and content instruction, the focus will be on reading to learn, which is generalizable to any of the afore mentioned areas.. In math transfer learning is obvious, as it is in writing; however, it is sometimes underestimated as an essential intermediate process in math, in writing to learn and writing to communicate in developmental courses. This is especially important to understand when combining reading and writing courses where reading to learn and transfer learning are often not given the importance they deserves. Academic success courses have lots of information that students need to know, such as campus resources, education and career planning, etc.; however, the goal of academic success courses is not just information, but critical thinking, problem solving - application based on information - transfer learning.

What gives all of these courses rigor is transfer learning. See

Appendix A and B to see how writing and math might incorporate transfer learning.

My promise: for those, whether in reading, writing, math, academic success, or content instruction, who take the time to grasp the criteria for transfer learning and implement it, they will and their students will find the teaching and learning experience deepen and be more relevant for achieving student and college readiness goals. As colleges move toward content instruction support to graduation, as completion agendas are discovering are necessary, transfer learning mental processes will move beyond just developmental education and/or corequisite instruction to become the foundation of learning assistance centers, and even tutoring.

All learning is not the same. Transfer learning is learning that enables the reader to use what they are learning in new situations such as problem solving. Learning the mental processes for learning in ways that will transfer is developmental and should be being developed at every level of reading - life-long learning. Transfer learning is not about learning a set of isolated skills such as finding the main idea, finding supporting details, or making inferences, which are merely sophisticated conventions that are ends in themselves and are not mental processes supporting transfer learning. Yes, they can be taught and tested for; however, they have limited value for transfer learning.

Strategies are also limited in their contribution to transfer learning. "It appears that strategy instruction does not build 2

reading skill, but rather are like habits of mind, when used, that can indirectly improve comprehension" (Willingham). Unlike isolated skill learning, strategies are fairly easy to learn and to use, and the trick, which they are, is consistently remembering to use them. They help comprehension, but do not inform the learner about how to solve problems or build the conceptual frameworks necessary for problem solving or critical thinking. Strategy instruction does improve comprehension, but the goal is not just comprehension, but rather it is transfer learning; comprehension is an essential step in the process. Ultimately, "Don't substitute strategies for thinking" (Bransford); they don't in and of themselves make newly learned information useful. Reading instruction made great strides when it moved from isolated units of skill instruction to strategic learning and the next great stride will be the move toward deepening instruction by building on what is being learned about transfer learning.

Reading textbooks and software, as well as, placement tests and diagnostic tests, and modular instruction are having a hard time abandoning isolated skill instruction with a smattering of strategic learning; however, the evidence is mounting and it is just a matter of time as these cottage industries figure out how to teach transfer learning while including the instructor. It will be a difficult change; first, the cottage industries think linearly and transfer learning just isn't; however, as instructors learn how to create their own textbooks and coming shortly their own software, that change will come - profit trumps. For the time being, content instruction is textbook

bound because it is essential that learners develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge in their disciplines if transfer learning, critical thinking, application such as problem solving are of expected of a graduate. Due to the branching capacity of the internet, future media will allow for developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge as well as deep branching, which present textbooks do not have space for. This will open up avenues for transfer learning as the human brain has a tendency to go toward concrete examples before moving toward the abstract. The more examples, the more opportunities for finding commonalities, which is foundational to deep learning and abstraction. In the meantime, the internet can be used to compensate, if used well. Also in the completion mix, evidence is mounting for more rigor, becoming more relevant, and incorporating more authentic instruction, which is the topic of this paper.

Transfer learning is dependent on three criteria. (1) If the learner does not develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge, transfer of newly learned isolated facts to solve problems in new situations is unlikely. (2) If the learner does not understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, transfer is not only very limited, but learning new related information is more difficult. (3) If the learner does not organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval while learning, then application is seriously hampered.

For reading, the destination is clear. To reach that destination of success in credit-bearing courses, reading skill preparation must focus, not on sets of isolated skills or every core common 3

standard the learner did not fully develop, but rather on cognitive strategies and habits of mind that specifically prepare the student for success in credit-bearing courses at a level of understand and proficiency that prepares the student for subsequent courses. The same is true for career readiness.

Thinking Like an Expert Psychologist “Experts (those who have developed competence in their area of inquiry) have acquired a great deal of content knowledge that is organized in ways that reflect a deep understanding of their subject matter. We turn now to the question of how experts’ knowledge is organized and how this affects their abilities to understand and represent problems. Their knowledge is not simply a list of facts and formulas that are relevant to their domain; instead, their knowledge is organized around core concepts or “big ideas” that guide their thinking about their domains. Experts’ thinking seems to be organized around big ideas in in their discipline (area of inquiry), such as Newton’s second law and how it would apply, while novices tend to perceive problem solving in in the discipline as memorizing, recalling, and manipulating equations to get answers” (Bransford, 2001).

What Do We Know about College Students and Transfer Learning?

The research on transfer learning has consistently found that college students are generally not successful in developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge, learning facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, or organizing

knowledge in ways that are easily retrievable, which can be applied to new situations (problem-solving and decision making). “Educators and educational psychologists recognize transfer of learning as perhaps the most significant issue in all fields of instruction. Transfer of learning cuts across all educational domains, curricula, and methods. Despite its importance, research and experience clearly show that significant transfer of learning in either the classroom or in everyday life seldom occurs” (Haskell). Resent research has found that there are cognitive strategies and habits of mind that result in higher levels of transfer in learning (rigor). This paper will focus on the foundation of those findings – “understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework”, “developing a deep foundation for factual knowledge” (Bransford, 2001).

The paper will also introduce the findings on the role of mylenation in deliberate practice that make deep learning and developing competence in an area of inquiry possible (Coyle, 2009).

Transfer learning is the goal of education.

Paraphrasing David Conley, developing rigor in a discipline content course such as the study of psychology would involve helping learners be aware that a given discipline content course consists of certain “big ideas” (theories and concepts) that are used in order to structure all of the detail that often overwhelms them and can help build mental scaffolds (conceptual frameworks) that lead to 4

thinking like a scientist in the discipline content course. Short of this, learning becomes fragmented and isolated which interferes with transfer.

What Conley and Bransford are saying is that regardless of the discipline under consideration, in order to meet the rigor to become competent in any area of inquiry, the learner (preparing for college readiness or taking a credit-bearing general education course or technical course) need to and the course needs to demand rigor.

5

C HAPTER 2

College Readiness and Developing Competence College readiness in reading is about being prepared to be successful in entry-level content courses and having learned the entry-level content well enough to be successful in subsequent courses, that is to be useful in subsequent courses in programs of study. Note: Having learned the entry-level content well enough to be useful in subsequent courses in programs of study is why transfer learning is so essential. It is the soul of rigor in reading to learn.Â

S ECTION 1

College Readiness and Developing Competence

The reader should be able to • Develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge • Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework • Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application (Bransford)

College readiness is about success in entry-level or gateway courses that prepares the student for subsequent courses..

College readiness in reading is about being prepared to be successful in entry-level content courses and having learned the entry-level content well enough to be successful in subsequent courses, that is to be useful in subsequent courses in programs of study. Note: Having learned the entry-level content well enough to be useful in subsequent courses in programs of study is why transfer learning is so essential. It is the soul of rigor in reading to learn.

Developing competence in an area of inquiry is dependent on developing the mental processes to meet the three criteria below when reading to learn. College readiness should be built upon enabling the reader to meet the three criteria (learning outcomes or competences):

The goal of a college readiness reading course is to ensure that the learner has developed cognitive strategies and habits of mind that enable him or her to learn when reading in ways that develop competence in their gateway courses and in future courses in their program of study.

First, to develop competence in an area of inquiry, discipline or program of study, the reader needs to be able to develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge. Factual knowledge is not a memorized set of facts in a program of study, but rather sets of interrelated facts that are organized into a conceptual framework of knowledge - a neural network of interrelated information - not isolated facts.

Second, if the learner wants the information to be learned in ways that make the information learned transferrable to new situations where they can think, reason, make decisions, solve problems or apply the information, 7

then the reader must understand the facts and ideas they are learning in the context of a conceptual framework.

This involves knowing how to develop a conceptual framework for the subject matter in the course being studied.

Third, retrieval and application is dependent on organizing the knowledge being learned. The learner needs to have strategies for organizing what is being learned within the conceptual framework of the subject and or discipline.

It is within the goal of developing competence in an area of inquiry that transfer learning occurs. Competence - thinking like a psychologist, a historian, or a biologist means being able to think critically in the discipline. The means for developing competence involve the three criteria above.

The Brain

First, how the brain learns naturally: Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what they already know. This is why activating prior knowledge in the construction of meaning is so important (Smilkstein).

Second, they learner will learn how neural pathways are strengthened to increase the speed of transmission and reduce forgetting: “Every human skill is created by chains of nerve fibers carrying a tiny electrical impulse – basically a signal traveling through a circuit. Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers in a fatty insulation the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and faster by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the right way our myelin responds by wrapping layers of insulation around the neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our thoughts become” (Coyle, 2009). This is why re-exposure with elaboration to new information being learned is so important and why deliberate practice is important.

The learner should expect to learn in the reading course about how the brain learns and how every mental process they will employ reinforces how the brain learns naturally. This will serve two purposes. First, it provides a reason for using any given reading strategy and second, as learner learns how the brain learns, they can begin to think about their thinking and they will begin selecting appropriate learning strategies based on how they learn.

Third, how organizing newly learned information builds neural networks that facilitate retrieval and application:

There will be four areas of brain learning that the learner will need to understand:

The brain contains many billions of very special kinds of cells - the nerve cells or neurons. These cells are organ8

ized into a very complicated intercommunicating network. Typically each neuron is physically connected to tens of thousands of others. Using these connections neurons can pass electrical signals between each other. The better organized these networks are the easier it is to retrieve related information which facilitates retrieval and application. The learner will learn how to organize the information they are learning to maximize retrieval, thus making new information more useful.

Fourth, is the concept of working memory and the role attention plays in manipulating and constructing meaning and storing those constructions in long-term memory. With this understanding the learner will be able to: • Apply re-exposure techniques for moving new information from working memory to long-term-memory.

• Apply elaboration techniques for moving new information from working memory to long-term-memory.

• Apply organizing techniques for moving new information from working memory to long-term-memory.

• Re-expose memory strategies in time intervals that facilitate moving new information from working memory to longterm-memory.

9

S ECTION 2

Deep Foundation of Factual Knowledge

Developing a Deep Foundation of Factual Knowledge Rote knowledge (facts) alone with no meaning is of no value to transfer learning - reasoning, justifying, planning, decision making, and problem solving. As a result, learning facts has been underestimated. However, when the facts carry with them meaning for the learner, the facts or ideas become shallow knowledge and have value as an intermediate step toward deep learning in which the learner has to understand the relationship among facts. There are many ways of moving from shallow facts (facts with meaning) to (deep learning) interrelated facts - it is what facts and ideas have in common that is important and understanding those commonalities in the context of a conceptual framework deepens the learning. Deep learning involves reflection - thinking about one's thinking observing one's own thinking - metacognition. There are also habits of mind which prompt re-exposure with elaboration of the fact's meaning, learner's prior knowledge, and relation to other facts. Developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge provides the foundation (prior knowledge) for constructing meaning, as well as critical thinking; however, that knowledge base must be learned in the context of a conceptual framework. That is key to transfer learning.

Brain Note: learning only occurs if new information interconnects with prior knowledge and new dendrites grow. Learning is physiological. It takes repeated exposure to new information with elaboration to deeply strengthen new dendrites or they will reabsorb in the brain (forgetting).

Brain Note: “We now know that every brain can change, at any age. There is really no upper limit on learning since the neurons seem to be capable of growing new connections whenever they are used repeatedly. I think all of us need to develop the capacity to motivate ourselves. One way to do so is to search for meaningful contact points and bridges, between what we want to learn and what we already know. When we do so, we cultivate our neuronal networks. We become our own gardeners.” (Zull) What does the research say about the role of factual knowledge in providing an advantage when learning new information? Research finds just what would be expected. "Comprehension demands background knowledge because language is full of semantic breaks in which knowledge is assumed and, therefore, comprehension depends on making correct inferences" (Willingham). (Note: Because this seems so obvious, reading instructors often try to teach "making inferences" as isolated units of instruction, but this is based on misunderstanding the role of factual knowledge plays in inferencing. A more sound approach is helping the learner develop the mental processes for developing a deep foundation of factual 10

knowledge; that is the key. One sees this misunderstanding with all the isolated skill instruction (main idea, supporting facts, drawing conclusions, etc.), which are ends in themselves, thereby failing to address the problem of transfer learning. "Knowledge brings more knowledge" (Willingham). It is knowledge that facilitates inference. Most reading texts and reading software ignore the problem of transfer; they still tend to focus on units of isolated skill instruction with a few strategies thrown in.

11

S ECTION 3 Understanding Facts and Ideas in the Context of a Conceptual Framework

Developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge is much more than learning a lot of facts.

IMPORTANT: Chapman’s research found, “when one focuses on remembering the minute details, it may adversely affect the ability to engage in more strategic abstract thinking. In essence, trying to remember as many details as possible can actually work against being selective about what you let into the brain” or as Bransford would say, “Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.”

“Contrary to popular belief, John Bransford, learning basic facts is not a prerequisite for creative thinking and problem solving -- it's the other way around. Once you grasp the big concepts around a subject, good thinking will lead you to the important facts.” (John Bransford)

Understanding Facts and Ideas in the Context of a Conceptual Framework A conceptual framework is a set of loosely defined concepts which are systematically organized All new facts and ideas need to be understood in the context of a conceptual framework if those facts or ideas are to become useful in transferring to new situations.

“A key finding in the learning and transfer literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly.” (Bransford)

Brain Note: The main limitation for many developmental and non-developmental students regarding transfer learning (usefulness and application in new situations) is the limitation of working memory. Working memory can hold only about four unrelated facts and for only a short time (seconds). It is in working memory that information is mentally manipulated. Facts and ideas that have not been learned in the context of a conceptual framework take up to much of working memory when trying to retrieve and apply these facts. Facts and ideas learned in the context of a conceptual framework enable the facts and the whole related conceptual framework to be avail12

able in the present moment in working memory. Without this ability, transfer learning is severely limited. Transfer learning is dependent on learning facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework. It is the big picture that makes learning related facts an ideas easier to learn.

Think of understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework as building cognitive capacity. The latest research findings indicate that cognitive capacity is built by doing anything involving novelty, variety, and challenge, which stimulates the brain and in doing so builds brain reserve.

(More on identifying or developing a conceptual framework instruction later.)

Brain Note: “ Networks of neurons are built following the principle that ‘cells that fire together, wire together’ (Hebb’s rule). In short, neurons that are frequently active at the same time tend to become associated and end up connecting to one another. This principle has major implications for brain fitness. First, the more a network of neurons is activated (i.e., the more often the neurons fire together), the stronger the connections become. If a network supporting a brain function is repeatedly stimulated through practice and training, it will become stronger, contributing to the optimization of that brain function. Second, by contrast, the less a network of neurons is activated the weaker the connections become, and weak connections end up dying.” (Fernandez and Goldberg) 13

S ECTION 4 Organizing Knowledge in Ways that Facilitate Retrieval and Application

Again, “A key finding in the learning and transfer literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly.” (Bransford, 2002)

Organizing Knowledge in Ways that Facilitate Retrieval and Application "The ability to chunk and its reliance on background knowledge has been tested in a number of studies. The important aspect of chunking is that it leaves more free space in working memory, allowing that space to be devoted to other tasks" (Willingham) such as reading to learn, critical thinking, or solving a problem. A rich network of associations makes memory strong: New material is more likely to be remembered if it is related to what is already in memory. Remembering information on a brand new topic is difficult because there is no existing network in one's memory that the new information can be tied to" (Willingham). Most educators are well aware of this fact; however, a great many are unaware about what to do

about it. This is where cognitive science is making great strides. Again and again, studies are finding that students need to understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework and building and learning within a conceptual framework is dependent on organizing facts and ideas. A conceptual framework is systematically organized defined facts and ideas, and to understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework is to define and organize new information in the given conceptual framework.

Instruction: The implications for educators is that they must help the student learn how to construct a conceptual framework within which to understand facts and ideas for which they have limited background, especially when reading to learn. Content instructors need to keep this in mind when selecting textbooks. Content instructors need to select textbooks that provide contextual frameworks for learning new facts and ideas. The conceptual density of large comprehensive textbooks for which the learner often has sparse background knowledge make this a first imperative. Isolated facts are of little value to transfer learning. Developmental reading instructors need to help students identify or develop their own conceptual framework and this is where instructors need to spend the most instruction and practice time. An example of identifying and using an overarching conceptual framework in a content textbook will be presented in chapter 4. (More on understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework instruction later.)

14

It is understanding the big picture (conceptual framework) first that makes learning related facts easier and more transferrable. It is not the other way around. As facts and ideas are understood in the context of a conceptual framework, reflection on the relationship among new ideas and the conceptual framework further expand conceptual understanding.  Note: Almost always students on the attention deficit continuum (mild autism, ADD, Aspergers Syndrome, which is now being redefined in DSM-5) are put through programs of units of isolated skill instruction, when they need to be learning transfer learning mental processes with special attention to reflection instruction. Often the assumption is that these students lack ability or that they are just not "smart" - not so - their working memories are limited, not their ability, and the mental processes mentioned above are valuable in creating space in working memory for these students as it is for all students.Â

15

C HAPTER 3

Reflection "There is one factor that trumps all others in determining what is remembered: what the learner thinks about when they encounter the material. The fact that the material the learner is dealing with has meaning or that the learner constructs that meaning does not guarantee that the meaning will be remembered." (Willingham).

S ECTION 1

Reflection

steps in developing rigor both by the instructor and student.

Transfer learning depends on the mental process of reflecting, especially when the reader is trying to: • Develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge • Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework • Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

Reflection "There is one factor that trumps all others in determining what is remembered: what the learner thinks about when they encounter the material. The fact that the material the learner is dealing with has meaning or that the learner constructs that meaning does not guarantee that the meaning will be remembered." (Willingham). For transfer learning to occur, it needs to meet the three criteria above, as well as reflecting while doing so. Recall that reflection is thinking about one's thinking while learning. It requires reflection to move newly learned information to the prefrontal cortex (executive functions) where planning, reasoning, decision making, and problem solving occur. Otherwise the information is stored in areas like the striatum where it is difficult to recall. Reflecting when reading to learn has to be taught and it takes time to develop the mental processes for doing so. This is the foundation for teaching metacognition and also one of the most neglected intermediate

Note: "The most important factor determining whether or not a memory is long lasting is how much the learner thinks about it" (Willingham).

The more reflection incorporates re-exposure to facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework with elaboration the longer lasting memory will be and the deeper the conceptual framework will become.

Notes: Bransford enjoins us to resist substituting strategies for thinking. Learning strategies can be basically mindless unless the learner can step back and observe their thinking. Research is indicating “working memory (the stage) sits “above” our other working memory functions, monitoring our thinking and choosing how best to allocate resources (cognitivie strategies)” (Rock). “It gives us the space of mind in which we can consider various options and then choose the most appropriate ones” (Siegel).

17

Mindful internal dialogue questions activate this executive function of providing space for directing thinking. We have learned about how the brain learns and are now learning about awareness of what the brain is actually doing moment by moment. “Knowledge of your brain is very helpful, but one also needs to be aware of what ones brain is doing at any moment for knowledge to be useful” (Rock).

Notes: The good news is that “Mindfulness is a habit, it’s something the more one does, the more likely one is to be in that mode with less and less effort” (Rock). That is why the whole reading course is learning and practicing how to become aware of what the brain is doing moment by moment using cognitive strategies driven by internal dialogue.

“One of the best ways of having our director handy is practicing using your director regularly (internal dialogue questions). A number of studies now show that people who practice activating their director do change the structure of their brain. They thicken specific regions of the cortex involved in cognitive control ad switching attention.” (Rock).

Brain Note: Reflection moves information being learned to the prefrontal cortex, the home of executive functions. Why is this important? “Executive functions are abilities that enable goal-oriented be-

havior, such as the ability to plan and execute a goal, These, among others, include: Flexibility: the capacity for quickly switching to a different mental mode, revising plans, adapting (think metacognition).

Anticipation: prediction based on pattern recognition.

Problem-solving: defining the problem in the right way to then generate solutions and pick the right one.

Decision Making: the ability to make decisions based on problem-solving, on incomplete information, and on emotions.

Working memory: the capacity to hold in mind and manipulate information in real time.

Emotional self-regulation: the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions. inhibition: the ability to withstand distraction and internal urges.” (Sylweater)

Executive functions are crucial to transfer learning - the goal of education and meeting the goals of college readiness.

18

One of the most powerful cognitive strategies the reader can apply when stepping back and reflecting before, during, and after reading is re-exposing themselves to what is being learned with

• Focusing attention • Organizing thoughts and problem solving • Foreseeing and weighing possible consequences of behavior

elaboration.

A Few Notes About Reflection “Reflection is a meaning-making process that moves a learner from one experience (in this case reading) into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. It is the thread that makes continuity of learning possible” (Carol on Dewey, 2012).

Reflecting on what is being read or learned is the core mental process of this reading course.

The first thing the learner should know is that stopping and reflecting as they read is essential for the information they are learning while reading to move to that part of their brain which enables them to meet the overarching goals of any course, that is the goals of “being able (1) to use what the learner reads in later reasoning in new situations and (2) to make later related learning easier.” That part of the brain is called the prefrontal cortex and it is where the learner makes decisions. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the frontal lobes lying just behind the forehead, is often referred to as the “CEO of the brain.”

• Considering the future and making predictions • Forming strategies and planning • Ability to balance short-term rewards with long term goals • Shifting/adjusting behavior when situations change • Impulse control and delaying gratification • Modulation of intense emotions • Inhibiting inappropriate behavior and initiating appropriate behavior 19

• Simultaneously considering multiple streams of information when faced with complex and challenging information (Wikipedia)

The learner can see why this is so important. Memorizing definitions, for instance, does not move that being memorized to the prefrontal cortex unless the learner understands the meaning of the definition; that is where reflection or reflecting on that being learned comes in.

Rules of Consolidation Rule Two: “Re-expose yourself to the information being learned with elaboration” As a learner, one is elaborating any time one is having an internal dialogue (creating mental images or having a mental conversation with ones self. The learner is using one of the most powerful elaboration strategies for storing information in long-term memory – Saying what one has just learned in their own words. (Anything one does to interconnect what they are learning to what they already know is an elaboration.) Writing to learn (see Appendix A) is very powerful for helping clarify, organize and construct meaning as one learns.

Elaboration refers to any method of "thinking about new ideas and prior knowledge together" so the two become more deeply interconnected.

When elaborated and richly integrated, the new knowledge becomes meaningful and useful.

Knowledge can be called "meaningful" only after it is richly interconnected with related knowledge. Knowledge can be called "useful" only if you can access it under appropriate circumstances. Meaningful knowledge is filed and cross referenced with other knowledge to which it is connected. Useful knowledge is filed and cross-referenced in the brain when you use elaboration strategies, so that you can find it when you need it.

Internal Dialogue Stuff to know about Internal Dialogue Bringing Prior Knowledge Into Consciousness Through Internal Dialogue How to Start?

The most elementary steps are (1) to learn when and where to use questions and deeper inquiry, (2) initially learn sets of questions to ask to force the seeking of prior experiences, and (3) most important, initially write down the internal dialogue to learn how to get in touch with and strengthen internal dialogue.

Learning takes place when the new information becomes a part of the existing knowledge network.

20

(1) Questions and (2) Deeper Inquiry Questions 1. Questions: Change headings, subheadings, 1st sentences in paragraphs, and new concepts into questions.

2. Deeper Inquiry Questions That Should Be Built Into Moments of Reflection: •What do I already know about what I am reading?

•Are there examples and can I think of examples?

•How is this like or different that what I know?

•Where is this going?

•Can I visualize what I just learned?

•How does it relate to the conceptual framework?

To learn how to get in touch with prior knowledge and develop internal dialogue, the reader must externally express their internal conversation. There are many ways of doing this, but the most straight forward ways are self-talking about their internal dialogue or writing about their internal dialogue in which they attempt to clarify or organize what they are learning. Writing down internal dialogue forces the reader to slow down and get in touch with the mental process (thinking about thinking – make thinking visible) while refining those processes at a much deeper level.

21

S ECTION 2

Where to Spend Time

Where to Spend Instruction and Practice Time Units of Isolated Units of Skills, Strategies, or Competence in Areas of Inquiry (transfer learning) As each instructor looks at their program, the questions to ask are what instruction and practice will produce the most positive outcome for meeting the goal of college readiness - being prepared to be successful in entry-level content courses and having learned the entry-level content well enough to be successful in subsequent courses?

While isolated units of skill instruction is prevalent, the skills learned are sophisticated conventions that are ends in themselves and are not bridges for preparing learners for meeting the goals of college reading to learn readiness. Yes, standardized reading test still tests for these skills and test for these skills for placement in modules of instruction and test for exiting those units of isolates skills, but that does not mean that

they have enough value in meeting college readiness goals for the time spent on them and their relevance to college reading. Strategies are relatively easy to learn and do aid comprehension, but comprehension is an intermediate step to college readiness - having learned the entry-level content well enough to be successful, that is useful in subsequent courses in programs of study. Developing mental processes for developing competence in areas of inquiry (transfer learning) is literally the goal of college readiness as defined by the Council on Postsecondary Education and transfer learning is the goal of education.

For many in developmental reading, challenging the basic assumptions about reading instruction causes stress as all change does. The question is inevitably asked, should we ignore the Common Core Standards - the answer is no. It does mean, as the Standards recommend, selecting those standards that meet the specific goal(s) trying to be achieved. Transfer learning mental processes - developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge, understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application, and reflecting (thinking about thinking about that being learned) while doing the afore mentioned - are all within the Common Core Standards.Â

22

C HAPTER 4

Illustrating Application of Mental Processes for Tansfer Learning Note: Keep in mind that the criteria for developing competence in an area of inquiry for transfer learning are not independent of each other. Understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework; developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge, organizing knowledge, and ongoing reflection are just like this paper - redundant, self-referring, spiral and recursive mental processes that together complement one another and create an ever-expanding whole. They are not isolated skills. Textbook typically do lend themselves to presenting information this way and the learner has to learn how to develop mental processes for being redundant, self-referring, and building in mental processes for processing information spirally and recursively.

Brain Note: Â Redundancy, re-exposure, and recursive reflection are essential for myelin to build around the axons of brain cells to provide the insulation needed for electrical signals to move swiftly (300 times faster), thereby dramatically speeding up processing transmission, which helps working memory by facilitating faster retrieval.Â

S ECTION 1

Quick Review Factual Knowledge The more factual knowledge or conceptual frameworks of factual concepts about the reading material the reader brings to the reading the easier it is to apply the transfer learning mental processes. Transfer learning then has a leg up as it is an ever expanding conceptual framework of interrelated factual knowledge. Factual knowledge is not just about knowing a lot of facts; it is rather about knowing a lot of facts that are systematically organized. Â Keep in mind that the goal is preparing learners for developing competence in their areas of inquiry in their programs of study.

When the reading content is somewhat unfamiliar to the reader, the reader will need to either identify the overarching conceptual framework or develop one fairly quickly. This is essential if the reader hopes to learn the information -develop deep factual knowledge - in a way that will transfer and make future related learning easier. For example, explained in more detail later, knowing the psychological disorders is not sufficient to think like a psychologist (critical thinking), rather it is understanding the criteria for abnormal behavior that distinguishes normal from abnormal behavior that allows the learner to transfer the information to new situations - that is, Bob exhibits a set of given behaviors; are those behaviors nor-

mal or abnormal, and therefore, meet the criteria for a psychological disorder. Knowing the psychological disorders alone will not produce competence; however, understanding the the facts organized around the criteria for abnormal behavior (conceptual framework) will, and as will be illustrated later provide the foundation for problem solving. Developing a Conceptual Framework Some content instructors are savvy enough to provide the learner with an overarching conceptual framework or an overarching big picture question within which new facts and ideas relate and are understood. (This is not a study guide of the main concepts to be learned,) In such cases, transfer learning is greatly facilitated if the learner is also using mental processes to organize and retain this new information. Some textbooks are also better at providing the overarching conceptual framework, which readers need to identify and reflect on as they encounter new facts and ideas. Remember, transfer learning is strongly dependent of the learner understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, so a conceptual framework needs to be identified or developed early.

In some textbooks, concepts build on previous chapters and when systematically organized when they were studied act as the conceptual framework for each successive chapter; however, the process must be one in conscious awareness. Â In other textbooks, title, objectives, introductions, headings, questions, and summaries are all the reader have to go on and the learner needs to learn how to construct these text clues into conceptual frameworks.

24

Text Excerpt of Conceptual Framework

view; although review needs to happen, but not before reflection and elaboration occur. The goal is a metacognitive reader.

TEXT EXCERPT Chapter 6 Psychological Disorders Defining and Explaining Abnormal Behavior

Text Excerpt Illustrating a Conceptual Framework In the following text excerpt from a popular psychology textbook is the development of what constitutes abnormal behavior and the conceptual framework that provides the context or big idea for understanding the specific psychological disorders that will follow. This is where the learner needs to spend time understanding and reflecting as the ability to transfer what will be learned in the psychological disorder chapter to new situations is the lynchpin of transfer learning; otherwise, the specific psychological disorders presented in the chapter will be learned in isolation.

Almost every sentence needs to be reflected and elaborated on as it is read before proceeding to the next sentence, and the relation of each sentence to each other needs to be understood.

This is not a time for highlighting and coming back later to re-

What makes behavior “abnormal”? The American Psychiatric Association (2001, 2006) defines abnormal behavior in medical terms: a mental illness that affects or is manifested in a person’s brain and can affect the way the individual thinks, behaves, and interacts with with others. Three criteria help distinguish normal from abnormal behavior: Abnormal behavior is deviant, maladaptive, or personally distressful over a long period of time.

Let’s tale a closer look at what each of these characteristics of abnormal behavior entails.

• Abnormal behavior is deviant. Abnormal behavior is certainly atypical or statistically unusual. For example, Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James, and Steve Jobs are atypical in many of their behaviors - and yet we do not categorize them as as abnormal We do often consider atypical behavior abnormal, though, when it deviates from what is acceptable in a culture. A women who washes her hands three or four times an hour and takes seven showers a day is abnormal because her behavior deviates from what we see as acceptable.

• Abnormal behavior is maladaptive. Maladaptive behavior interferes with one’s ability to function effectively in the world. A man who believes that he can endanger others through his breathing may go to great lengths to isolate himself fro people for what he believes is their own good. Hiis belief negatively affects his everyday functioning: thus, his behavior is maladaptive. Behavior that presents a danger to the person or those around him or her is also considered maladaptive (and abnormal).

25

• Abnormal behavior involves personal distress over a long period of time. The person engaging in the behavior finds it troubling. A woman who secretly makes herself vomit after every meal may never be seen by others as deviant (because they do not know about it), but this pattern of behavior may cause her to fee intense shame, guilt, and despair.

when the reading is relevant than in isolated units of instruction. Just how the learner might build in the mental reflecting and elaboration processes while reading is the focus of the next sections.

Only one of these criteria need be present for behavior to be labeled “abnormal”, but typically two or three may be present. When abnormal behavior persists, it may lead to the diagnosis of abnormal behavior.

The reader needs to spend time using re-exposure with elaboration with the content of the conceptual framework above, which introduces the criteria for abnormal behavior which makes a given behavior(s) a mental illness that affects thinking, behavior, or social interactions. This information needs to become over-learned knowledge and well organized in the learner's mind if later specific psychological disorders are to be deeply integrated within the conceptual framework, which is again essential for later transfer learning and problem solving, as well as making it easier to learn related new facts and ideas later. Remember, reading for meaning only results in shallow learning; it will only be when the commonalities of concepts are integrated in the context of the conceptual framework (in this instance, criteria for abnormal behavior - deviant, maladaptive, and personal distress) that later application is possible.

It is important to note that the author has already begun to distinguish between normal and abnormal behavior, a pattern that reoccurs over and over in the chapter. With authentic reading, learning patterns of organization has more relevance 26

S ECTION 3

Text Excerpt of Specific Psychological Disorder (Anxiety Disorder) But First, REFLECTION Reflection is the stepping back and observing one thinking (reflection) that is the foundation upon which deep learning builds.

Stepping back and reflecting is about taking control of learning while reading. Reflection gives the learner the space of mind in which they can consider various options for learning and then choose the most appropriate ones. This process of awareness is referred to by many names - metacognition, reflection, mindfulness; however, they all refer to actively taking control of ones thinking by observing thinking and manipulating those thoughts while learning.

Where We Are Headed?

Below is a reading selection from an introduction to psychology textbook on anxiety disorders in a chapter on psychological disorders that are abnormal behaviors. Psychology has already been defined as “the study of how the mind or brain affects behavior.” Abnormal behavior already has been defined as “a mental illness that affects behavior, thinking, or group interaction.” We know that good readers reading to learn not only stop and observe their thinking (reflection) about what

constitutes abnormal behavior, but they also incorporate mental processes for consolidating the information into long-term memory, as well as trying to understand the information in the context of a conceptual framework (purpose of psychology and the meaning of abnormal behavior). (More on Consolidation of memory in section 7.

Note that the compare and contrast pattern of organization (ex. “In contrast ...”) is continuing in this excerpt on anxiety disorders, as it will in all the specific anxiety disorder that follow it.

Also note that the three criteria for abnormal behavior that make up the conceptual framework and context for transfer learning will be present. In the process of reflection, the reader needs to try and see the connection between deviant, maladaptive, and personal distress in the explanation of an anxiety disorder (ex. “involve fears that are uncontrollable, disproportionate to the actual danger the person might be in, and disruptive of ordinary life.)

Anxiety Disorders (Text Excerpt) Think about how you felt before a make-or-break exam or a big presentation – or perhaps as you noticed police lights flashing behind your speeding car. Did you feel jittery and nervous and experience tightness in your stomach? These are the feelings of a normal anxiety, an unpleasant feeling of fear and dread.

In contrast, anxiety disorders involve fears that are uncontrollable, disproportionate to the actual danger the person might be 27

in, and disruptive of ordinary life. They feature motor tension (jumpiness, trembling), hyperactivity (dizziness, a racing heart), and apprehensive expectations and thoughts. In this section we survey five types of anxiety disorders: • Generalized anxiety disorders • Panic disorders • Phobic disorders • Obsessive-compulsive disorders • Post-traumatic disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Text Excerpt) When you are worrying about getting a speeding ticket, you know why you are anxious; there is a specific cause. Generalized Anxiety disorder is different from such everyday feelings of anxiety in that suffers experience persistent anxiety for at least 6 months and are unable to specify the reasons for the anxiety (Kendler & Others, 2007). People with generalized anxiety disorder are nervous most of the time. They may worry about their work relationships, or health. That worry can take on a physical tool and cause fatigue, muscle tension, stomach problems, and difficulty sleeping.

Note: in the explanation of “general anxiety disorder” below, notice that the comparison/contrast pattern of organization appears again (ex. “Anxiety disorder is different from such everyday feelings of anxiety ...”). Also, the learner needs to understand how general anxiety in the context of the criteria for abnormal behavior (here, personal distress over a long period), learned earlier (ex. “suffers experience persistent anxiety for at least 6 months and are unable to specify the reasons for the anxiety (Kendler & Others, 2007). People with generalized anxiety disorder are nervous most of the time. They may worry about their work relationships, or health. That worry can take on a physical tool and cause fatigue, muscle tension, stomach problems, and difficulty sleeping.”

That is, what the new information have to do with deviant, maladaptive, and personal distress of a long period of time. That is the essence of transfer learning.

28

S ECTION 4 Text Excerpt Examples of Compare/Contrast Patterns of Organization and Understand Facts and Ideas in the Context of a Conceptual Framework

(specific psychological disorder). Specifically that criteria is - psychological disorders are mental illnesses that affect thinking, behavior and social interactions with others. The criteria for abnormal behaviors are deviant (atypical), maladaptive (interferes with effective functioning), and personal distress (over a long period of time).

How Comparing and Contrasting May Show Up in Working Memory

Second, in these text excerpts, the author uses comparison/ contrast patterns of organization.

“Comparing and contrasting new information can show up in (1) the writer’s organization of information – facilitates categorization, (2) as a way the experts in the discipline have categorized information – ex. what is a psychologist trying to learn – “the reader must keep the author’s overall purpose in mind while classifying, in order to group information by useful criteria.” (Zwiers), (3) in the reader’s head as a natural reminder of what the reader already knows – putting new information into categories, or as (4) an internal dialogue question (cognitive strategy – decision making) in which the reader is trying to take control of their thinking (metacognition) to construct meaning.”

In the following text excerpts on specific psychological disorders (panic disorder, phobic disorder, and obsessivecompulsive disorder) note the need for two mental processes for understanding these disorders for transfer learning.

First, the criteria for abnormal behavior needs to have been over-learned, so that the criteria are available in working memory for manipulation with new information

Text Excerpts Below are first of the first two paragraphs of a number of specific physiological disorders to help get a sense of the mental processes.. The initial goal is recognizing and reflecting on how the disorder meets the criteria for abnormal behavior (key to transfer learning.

Panic Disorder Much like everyone else, you might sometimes have a specific experience that sends you into a panic. For example, you work all night on a paper, only to have your computer crash before you saved your last changes or you are about to dash across a stret when you see a large truck coming right at you. Your heart races, your hands shake, and you might break into a sweat.

In panic disorder, however, a person experiences recurrent, sudden onsets of intense terror, often without warning and with not specific cause.

Note: “In panic disorder, however, ...” tells the learner a contrast is coming. “...person experiences recurrent, sudden onsets of intense terror...” should alert the learner that to compare this information with 29

the criteria for abnormal behavior. If successful the learner will recognize the connection with the criteria of personally distressful over a long period of time

Phobic Disorder Many people are afraid of spiders and snakes, indeed, thinking about letting a tarantula crawl over one’s face is likely to give anyone the willies. It is not uncommon to be afraid of particular objects or specific environments such as extreme heights. For most of us, these fears do not interfere with daily life. Some of us, however, have an irrational, overwhelming, persistent fear of a particular object or situation - and anxiety disorder called a phobic disorder (phobia). Whereas generalized anxiety disorder cannot pinpoint the cause of their nervous feelings. Individuals with phobias can.

Note: In setting up a comparison/contrast pattern between a fear of objects or situations and phobias, the author makes a connection with criteria of abnormal behavior (personal distress over a long period of time) - “For most of us, these fears do not interfere with daily life.” The author further makes a comparison with “For most of us, these fears do not interfere with daily life...”, and at the same time taps into the criteria for abnormal behavior with “Some of us, however, have a an irrational, overwhelming, persistent fear of a particular object or situation - and anxiety disorder called a phobic disorder (phobia).”

The learner needs to make a connection with “irrational” being atypical, “overwhelming” with maladaptive - interferes with effective functioning, and “persistent fear” with personally distressful over a long period of time.

Then the author ends with a comparison between general anxiety disorder and phobic disorder.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Just before leaving on a a long road trip, you find yourself checking to be sure locked the front door. As you pull away in your car, you are stricken with the thought that you forgot to turn off the coffeemaker. This kind of checking behavior is normal.

In contrast, the anxiety disorder known a obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features anxiety provoking thoughts that will not go away and/or urges to perform repetitive, ritualistic behaviors to prevent or produce some future situation.

Notes: In the first paragraph, the author provides a number of checking behaviors and lets the learner know that these checking behaviors are normal. In the second paragraph, the author begins by alerting the learner know that a contrast (“In contrast, ...”) is coming to normal checking behavior. The author then defines the disorder and it is at this point that the learner should be checking the definition or examples against the conceptual framework of the criteria of abnormal behavior (deviant, maladaptive, and/or personally distressful (ex. “will not go away”) - personally distressful over a long period of time.

There is a huge difference between identifying what is important and reviewing later to learn, and employing transfer mental processes that will result in transfer learning within the processes of reflection as one is learning.

30

Reviewing Reviewing is important and that will be dealt with in a later section, but reflection and the mental processes within reflection come first. Reviewing contributes to over-learning new information. The point to remember is that key to developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge is to first, understand the facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, then employing reviewing mental processes for consolidating the factual knowledge in long-term memory. It is understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework that enables facts and ideas to become. knowledge.

31

S ECTION 5

Example of When to Reflect and Use Dialogue Questions Try the following exercise for the text excerpt on anxiety disorder below, in which you are being asked to stop and reflect every time you see ( Reflect ) by asking yourself the following internal dialogue questions, especially, “What does this have to do with the criteria for abnormal behavior (deviant, maladaptive, and personally distressful over a long period of time). You will quickly learn whether you have overlearned the criteria for abnormal behavior or not. If you have not, then shallow comprehension and learning will occur. If you have and reflect, you are on the way to transfer learning. Then also ask yourself the following internal dialogue questions: Six internal dialogue questions that readers need to learn to use as part of their internal dialogue for establishing a metacognitive approach to learning while reading are: 1.

What do I already know about what I am reading? (learning – constructing meaning) 2. How does what I am reading reinforce or contradict what I already know (compare and contrast)?

3. What do the concepts (terminology) introduced in the reading have in common? (analyzing) 4.

How are concepts (terminology) introduced in the text different; how do they contrast? (analyzing) 5.

Are the new concepts (terminology) part of a larger concept (ex. folkways and mores are types of norms)? (classifying – inductive reasoning) 6. How are all the concepts in a reading related? (mind mapping – systematically organizing – deductive reasoning - synthesizing) TEXT EXCERPT Anxiety Disorders ( Reflect ) Think about how you felt before a make-or-break exam or a big presentation ( Reflect ) – or perhaps as you noticed police lights flashing behind your speeding car. ( Reflect ) Did you feel jittery and nervous and experience tightness in your stomach? ( Reflect ) These are the feelings of a normal anxiety, an unpleasant feeling of fear and dread. ( Reflect ) In contrast, ( Reflect ) anxiety disorders involve fears that are uncontrollable, ( Reflect ) disproportionate to the actual danger the person might be in, ( Reflect ) and disruptive of ordinary life. ( Reflect ) They feature motor tension (jumpiness, trembling), ( Reflect ) hyperactivity (dizziness, a racing heart), ( Reflect ) and apprehensive 32

expectations and thoughts. ( Reflect ) In this section we survey five types of anxiety disorders: ( Reflect ) Generalized anxiety disorders ( Reflect ) Panic disorders ( Reflect ) Phobic disorders ( Reflect ) Obsessive-compulsive disorders ( Reflect ) Post-traumatic disorders ( Reflect ) Generalized Anxiety Disorder ( Reflect )

deliberate instructor modeling and student practice in order develop the neural pathways needed to override years of shallow learning habits. Most students have a misconception about what deep learning is and some instructors are not sure what to do about it. The goal of education and college readiness is transfer learning.

When looking at any learning activity, explore whether at its foundation, it is preparing the learner for transfer learning. If not build it in, but don’t get sidetracked by spending hours of instruction teaching units of isolated skills that do not contribute to transfer learning, instead, build rigor into instruction.

When you are worrying about getting a speeding ticket, you know why you are anxious; there is a specific cause. ( Reflect ) Generalized Anxiety disorder is different from such everyday feelings of anxiety in that suffers experience persistent anxiety for at least 6 months ( Reflect ) and are unable to specify the reasons for the anxiety ( Reflect ) (Kendler & Others, 2007). People with generalized anxiety disorder are nervous most of the time. ( Reflect ) They may worry about their work relationships, or health. ( Reflect ) That worry can take on a physical tool and cause fatigue, muscle tension, stomach problems, and difficulty sleeping. ( Reflect ) This is the essence of metacognition and transfer learning, and has to be taught. The challenge for instructors is to unteach years of shallow learning habits by helping the learner develop the mental process of reflecting. This requires a lot of 33

S ECTION 6

Text Excerpt: Conceptual Framework and ProblemSolving

1.Abnormal behavior is deviant. Abnormal behavior is certainly atypical or statistically unusual.

2.Abnormal behavior is maladaptive. Maladaptive behavior interferes with ones ability to function effectively in the world.

3.Abnormal behavior involves personal distress over a long period of time.

Anorexia Nervosa: Specific Psychological Disorder

Thinking Like a Psychologist To become competent in psychology, the learner must learn how to think like a psychologist. Learning to think like an expert in any area of inquiry is the foundation of critical thinking in a given area of inquiry. This paper has been explaining what it takes to learn in a way to effectively transfer learning to new situations - planning, decision-making, problemsolving and application. Here is what we know so far: Psychology: The study of the mind and mental processes, especially in relation to behavior. There are a number of fields of psychology.

Criteria of Abnormal Behavior Psychological Disorders Under Abnormal Psychology: three criteria help distinguish normal from abnormal behavior:

In this chapter, there are many psychological disorders. In this instance under psychological disorders, the reader would be reading about eating disorders.

Examples: Eating Disorders • anorexia nervosa • bulimia nervosa • binge eating disorder

Transfer or Application: Without understanding anorexia nervosa in the context of the larger conceptual framework (merely memorizing the definition), future transfer may not occur, problems cannot be solved or decisions made. To illustrate how understanding new concepts (anorexia nervosa) in the context of the conceptual framework enables transfer learning, take the following problem (transfer - application): 34

The Problem You are a psychologist. Sue’s mother has referred her to you because she is worried that Sue has an eating disorder. Sue is to be married in two months. She has suddenly started eating as little as she can because she wants to fit into her wedding dress and look as good as she can on her wedding day. With this information and looking at the criteria for abnormal behavior, does Sue have a psychological disorder or an eating disorder based on the criteria for abnormal behavior, which would make it a mental illness affecting her behavior? Take the time to think through this problem and justify a possible answer. This type of problem illustrates how understanding in the context of a conceptual framework (criteria of abnormal behavior) provides the big picture for learning, making associations, and making interconnections between new information and prior knowledge, which is the foundation of constructing meaning.

From the Textbook: Eating Disorders Dieting is a national obsession in the United States. Many Americans feel that life would improve greatly if they could lose those 5 pounds. However, for some people, concerns about weight and body image become a serious, debilitating disorder. For such individuals, the very act of eating, essential for survival, becomes an arena where a variety of biological, psychological, and cultural issues are played out, often with tragic consequences.

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that involves the relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation. Anorexia nervosa is much more common in girls and women than boys and men and affects between 0.5 and 3.7 percent of young women.

Learning the definition of anorexia nervosa or that it is one of the three eating disorders discussed in the chapter is not sufficient for transfer learning. Anorexia Nervosa needs to be understood (integrated and interpreted) in the context of the larger conceptual framework (criteria for abnormal behavior).

Questions the Learner Should be Trying to Answer in the Context of the Larger Conceptual Framework What does anorexia nervosa have to do with the purpose of psychology? What does anorexia nervosa have to do with the study of the mind and mental processes, especially in relation to behavior.

What makes anorexia nervosa an abnormal behavior or psychological disorder? Does anorexia nervosa meet one or more of the criteria below and does Sue have anorexia nervosa?

1. Abnormal behavior is deviant. Abnormal behavior is certainly atypical or statistically unusual.

2. Abnormal behavior is maladaptive. Maladaptive behavior interferes with ones ability to function effectively in the world.

Eating Disorder: Anorexia Nervosa 35

3. Abnormal behavior involves personal distress over a long period of time.

Problem (Application) Answer: As one can see, with the information available, Sue’s behavior does not fit the criteria for being a psychological disorder as it is not deviant (not atypical; it is very common for young women in this culture to decide to lose weight to look good in their wedding dresses), maladaptive (interferes with her functioning in the world), nor does it involve personal distress over a long period of time (this is a short term behavior). The key to answering the question hinged on understanding the concept of anorexia nervosa in the context of the larger conceptual framework as do most applications of new information in new contexts.

36

S ECTION 7

Rules of Consolidation The Rules of Consolidation Rule One: Re-expose yourself to the information.

Rule Two: Re-expose yourself to the information with elaboration. You are elaborating when you redraw the pictures by using one of the most powerful elaboration strategies for storing information in long-term memory – Saying what you have just learned in your own words.

(Anything you do to interconnect what you are learning to what you already know is an elaboration.) Writing to learn (see below) is very powerful for helping clarify, organize and construct meaning as one surveys.

Rule Three: Re-expose oneself to the information within the conceptual framework using fixed timed intervals.

The First Rule: Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information if you want to retrieve it later.

It is a simple fact, the more exposure a learner has to new information they want to learn the greater the likelihood that the new information will move from short term memory (working memory) to long-term memory.

From the Research “The typical human brain can hold about 4 pieces of information for less than 30 seconds. If something does not happen in that short stretch of time, the information becomes lost. If you want to extend the 30 seconds to, say, a few minutes, or even an hour or two, you will need to consistently re-expose yourself to the information. This type of repetition is sometimes called maintenance rehearsal. We know that “maintenance rehearsal” is mostly good for keeping things in working memory – that is for short periods of time” (Medina, 2008).

If the reader wants to hold on to the new information long enough for the brain to store and manipulate that information the reader needs to do something to give the working memory time to do its job. Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information if you want to retrieve it later is the first “rule of consolidation.” Highlighting the information in the textbook in order to come back to learn it later is just simply a mistaken strategy for learning. It is an example of trying to hold the information outside the brain – the trick is to reexpose yourself to the information, even if one highlights, in order for your own brain to store and manipulate the information if you want to learn most effectively.

The Second Rule: Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information more elaborately if you want the retrieval to be of higher quality.

“More elaborately” means thinking, talking or writing about what was just read. Any mental activity in which the 37

reader slows down and mentally tries to connect what they are reading to what they already know is elaboration.

This means for the reader that he or she must slow down and have a conversation (reading, writing or talking) about what they are reading and wanting to learn in order for that information to be of a high quality. “High quality” means the information will be useable in the future for thinking reasoning or apply to new situations From the Research “We know that there is a better way to push information into long-term memory. That way is called “elaborative rehearsal” and it’s the type of repetition shown to be most effective for the most robust retrieval. A great deal of research shows that “thinking or talking” about an event immediately after it has occurred enhances memory for the event.” (Medina, 2008). The same is true for the information you are reading in a textbook.

The Third Rule: Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information more elaborately, and in fixed intervals, if you want the retrieval to be the most vivid it can be.

Forgetting occurs very rapidly if something is not done to strengthen new dendrites (learning). Research show us that a learner (reader) must not only re-expose themselves to new information they want to learn, but hat they also must think or talk about that information if they want to remember the

information. Research further shows that there are specific times for re-exposing ourselves to the information and elaborating on the information. We will go over the most important ones now: Fixed Time Intervals for Re-exposing and Elaborating As the reader identifies what is important while reading, stop re-expose yourself to the information and elaborate on the it (have an internal dialogue, what do you already know about what you are reading, write about it (take notes in your own words), explain it to yourself out loud.

Note: This time interval is specifically for holding and expanding the time new information has in working memory, which gives you and your brain more time to manipulate the information before it can be forgotten.

When you have read a new topic or paragraph, explain to yourself what you have just read; this is reexposure to the information.

Note: This time interval and the remaining time intervals take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen newly grown dendrites.

When you finish studying, take a few minutes to reexpose yourself to the information and elaborate.

38

Within 90 minutes to 2 hours, re-expose yourself to the information and elaborate.

Review again the next day as soon as you can.

From the Research “When a reader reads nonstop, new information is subject to being confused with other information. “The probability of confusion is increased when content is delivered in unstoppable, unrepeated waves. This causes newly encoded information to reshape (interference) and wear away previously existing traces. Such interference does not occur if the information is delivered in deliberately spaced repetition cycles. (This is where the reader can take control of learning.) Repeated exposure to information in specifically timed intervals provides the most powerful way to fix memory into the brain. When the electrical representations of information to be learned are built up slowly over many repetitions, the neural networks recruited for storage gradually remodel the overall representation and do not interfere with neural networks previously recruited to store similarly learned information. This idea suggests that continuous repetition cycles create experiences capable of adding to the knowledge base, rather then interfering with existing knowledge base” (Medina, 2008).Rules of Consolidation

39

S ECTION 8

The Challenge: A Reason to Persist when Reading to Learn

Most people easily give up and only identify the generalized ideas from specific readings - failing to creatively adapt these new concepts to inform new ways of thinking and acting.” (Chapman, 2013)

may be weakening your brain fitness at a time when you should be strengthening your brain’s strategic and deeper thinking capacity.”

Too often, the focus of instruction in reading is on reading to acquire facts, which shortcuts the development of higher-level cognitive capacity. The brain of the 17-25 year old is undergoing more changes that at “any other time except for the first two months of life. The years between 17 and 25 are a critical time for developing the fundamentally necessary strategicthinking skills to guide them for a lifetime, because their brain’s frontal lobe is primed to undergo rapid development.

The caveat is that it now appears that this higher-level cognitive capacity does not unfold on its own but requires proper stimulation, exposure, and training to fully develop” (Chapman, 2013).

Three Key Frontal Lobe Processes

Many of the 17 to 25 year old students we are seeing in our reading courses have learned to look for facts and correct answers, or as Sandra Chapman notes, “These students have been taught in a mechanistic rote style of stuffing away facts for a test and have built very different brains than those trained to abstract, synthesize, and connect meaning to their own world and other vast knowledge sources.”

Or as she further notes, learning that focuses on the search for the correct answer does not necessarily lead to expanding curiosity and enhanced capacity to store complex problems. “In other words, the emphasis on speed of information access

The Center for BrainHealth has identified three key frontal lobe processes that are responsible for higher-order brain function: strategic attention, integrated reasoning, and mental flexibility.

Strategic Attention - “How proficient are you at strategically evaluating information? Blocking information and avoiding distractions have become increasingly more difficult. It seems adults today literally strive to be distracted, unable to allow a solo entry of input for even brief lengths of time”

40

Integrated Reasoning - “What is the status of your current capacity to apply new information across situations? How often do you absorb new content and quickly synthesize the meanings for a vast richness of generalized applications? To succeed in a competitive work environment, one must have knowledge of facts and an ability to appropriately apply ideas and content at a more global context to strategically direct key changes in course and actions, and an ability to dynamically switch between the two. Switching, or quickly shifting focus between details at hand to bigger issues, is essential to successful brain function whether in the workplace, service of others, or home environments” (Chapman, 2013).

One can see why this reading to learn in content courses could benefit from the research findings of John Bransford for developing competence in an area of inquiry: • Develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge • Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework • Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

It is this foundation that is necessary for transfer learning to new situations. and for the research findings responsible for higher order function - innovation. It is the switching between factual knowledge and understanding in the context of the larger conceptual framework, while organizing new knowledge that develops brainpower.

Innovation - is the ability to generate and exploit new ideas to solve problems; to seek, devise, and employ improved ways of dealing with unknown and unfamiliar contexts; or to create something that is original and valuable.

“Imagination is more important that knowledge.

Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. “ - Einstein

Innovative brain building: Brain networks strengthen in response to new challenges or wither with status quo thinking at all ages. - Chapman

“Innovation and mental flexibility require embracing and learning from mistakes and challenges - overcoming insurmountable odds. Paradoxically, the tendency to not get stopped or stuck by failure is the fuel that leads to the greatest advances in these areas. The brainpower of paradox is enhanced when one reflects on a completed task and perceives the holes, and then dynamically and flexibly reworks and reinvents for a better product/output.”

“Why do these three areas - strategic attention, integrated reasoning, and innovation - matter so much? These cognitive areas are the foundation to achieve brain efficiency, ensure mental productivity, maximize brain-power.” (Chapman, 2013).

41

The key is to constantly push your cognitive

way around. Once you grasp the big concepts around a

performance to construct something novel and abstract.

subject, good thinking will lead you to the important

Chapman

facts.” (John Bransford)

“Cognitive brain health depends not on how much information a person takes in but rather how deep the person is reinterpreting and creating new meaning from information” (Chapman, 2013).

“

A Strategic Brain What is a strategic brain? When you use your brain strategically. It filters information by deliberately sorting input and output. The approach is two-pronged: (1) attending to unnecessarily essential information while (2) filtering out extraneous data that is less critical to the task at hand. In contract, a nonstrategic brain takes in all information” (Chapman, 2013).

IMPORTANT: Chapman’s research found, “when one focuses on remembering the minute details, it may adversely affect the ability to engage in more strategic abstract thinking. In essence, trying to remember as many details as possible can actually work against being selective about what you let into the brain” or as Bransford would say, “Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.”

Once again, “Contrary to popular belief, John Bransford, learning basic facts is not a prerequisite for creative thinking and problem solving -- it's the other 42

S ECTION 9

The Challenge Continues: Getting Unstuck - Yearning for Balance Key: Recognizing When We are Stuck and Sticking with it Until We are Unstuck Stuck “Perplexity is created when an individual encounters a situation whose “whole (understanding) is not yet determined.That is the meaning is not yet established. The internal experience for the learner is one of disequilibrium an unsettledness. It is the yearning for balance that in turn drives the learner to something to resolve it - namely, to start the process of inquiry, or reflection” (Rodgers).

Getting Unstuck: Caring and Wanting to Take the Time to Explore Why One is Stuck “A source of motivation is curiosity, without which there is little energy for the hard work of reflection: “until we understand, we are, if we have curiosity, troubled, baffled, and hence moved to inquire” (Dewey, 1933).) The trick is once stymied, caring or wanting to take the time to explore why one is stymied. “Curiosity, in contrast, bespeaks of a positive, wideeyed attitude toward both one’s own learning and other’s learning” (Rodgers).

One of the major aspects of a transfer reading course or reading in any content course is (1) simply learning to stop, mentally step back, and think about ones level of understanding of what is being read (reflection), and (2) being willing to become curious.

Curiosity Curiosity-drive model The curiosity-drive model states that experiences (reading) that are novel and complex create a sensation of uncertainty in the brain, a sensation perceived to be unpleasant. Curiosity acts as a means in which to dispel this uncertainty. By exhibiting curious and exploratory behavior, (learners) are able to learn more about the novel stimulus and thus reduce the state of uncertainty in the brain.

Back-away Behavior and Exploratory Behavior It is not unusual to find that some of us have developed “backaway” behaviors when we are reading and find ourselves not understanding. It has become a habit of mind. In a transfer reading course, we will replace this habit of mind to backaway and replace it with with reflection behaviors, which drive curiosity. We will learn mental strategies that make “exploratory behaviors” more likely and more productive. We will be learning to care and wanting to construct meaning where just moments before we recognized we were stuck.

43

Beyond Being Stuck An essential part of this course is how to learn (what to do mentally) that ensures that what we are learning is useful in the future. What we do mentally when learning affects where what we are learning is stored in the brain and where what we are learning is stored affects dramatically our ability to use the information being learned in the future. This is called “competence learning” (transfer learning - useful in new situations).

“A key finding in the learning and transfer literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly.” (Bransford) We will learn how to : • Develop a deef foundation of factual knowledge.

• Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

• Organize knowledge in application.

ways that facilitate retrieval and

Important: In order to learn how to do these things, we have to be willing to first, stop and reflect on what we have just read and train our minds to become curious enough to stick with those moments when we are stuck about any place we have become stuck. Curiosity has to be relearned.

44

A PPENDIX A

Developmental Writing - Shifting Emphasis to Include Writing to Learn and Writing to Communicate about Factual Knowledge Reading and writing instruction wear many hats - literacy and learning among them. College graduates need to have developed both literacy and learning mental processes. Both are highly dependent on building a base of factual knowledge.

Writing to learn is among the more powerful elaboration mental activities for learning and writing to communicate deepens that learning.

Ultimately learners must succeed in programs of study. It has never been more important than now for graduates in programs of study to be able to build an ever expanding interrelated foundation of factual knowledge. It is no longer acceptable to have just succeeded in programs of study. A strong foundation of factual knowledge organized within a conceptual framework(s) is being recognized as the key to critical thinking and problem solving and this kind of literacy and learning needs to be included in developmental writing courses as these mental processes have the most literacy and learning relevancy to the goals of the student. Literacy skills can be taught in writing to communicate activities that focus on developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge, under-

standing in the context of a conceptual framework, organizing facts and ideas in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

What an evaluation of college completion data is telling us is that students need to get into programs of study earlier and they need to be learning literacy and learning mental processes that are most relevant to their goals. The gaps between writing instruction, writing across the curriculum, and writing in the disciplines needs to shrink and inclusion needs to expand. Again, learning transfer learning mental processes is developmental and there is no reason to wait for some capstone course for students to start learning them Writing to Learn Don’t miss this point: Writing to learn activities are among the most powerful elaboration strategies. First a note on some boundaries for writing to learn: “Writing to learn emphasizes what is said (new ideas and concepts) rather than how it is said (correct spelling, grammar, and usage). Often, less structured and more informal writing to learn can take forms such as journals, summaries, responses to oral or written questions, free writing, and notes.” (Literacy Matters). Focus on meaning, not correct spelling, grammar, and usage in writing to learn strategies.

“All too often in education, instructors and students are focused only on final products: the final exam, the grade, the perfect research paper, mastery of a subject.

45

But how do we as learners get from here to there? What are the intermediate stages that help us develop the skills and habits of master learners in our disciplines?

What kinds of scaffolding enable us to move forward, step-by-step? How do we, as educators and students, recognize and support the slow process of progressively deepening our abilities to think like historians and scholars? (Bass and Eynon, Capturing the Visible Evidence of Invisible Learning, 2009).

Use writing as a tool for organizing information as a way of helping discover connections, discern processes, raise questions and discover solutions. In this way, writing to learn helps to not only acquire content information but also to transform knowledge and to generate new knowledge. Writing to learn is a powerful tool for clarifying thinking in preparation for organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate application (inquiry-based inquiry and problem solving).

Writing to Learn Writing to learn should take advantage of what is known about learning, especially re-exposure to ideas to build a deep foundation of factual knowledge, the use of elaboration to make interconnections with prior knowledge, clarification of ideas, and organization of facts and ideas in a conceptual framework.

Writing to Learn and Internal Dialogue Questions Learners can always use “writing to learn” activities to mentally respond to internal dialogue questions.

“Reflecting on what was just read helps clarify thinking and focus understanding. Full understanding cannot be achieved until students reflect in a meaningful way about their reading.

Reflecting has a couple of very important by-products. First, it helps students think critically about what they have learned and have yet to learn about what they have read. A second byproduct of reflective thinking is that it helps students retain material they have read” (Richardson, 2009). Writing to learn is a very useful reflecting activity and help us clarify and reorganize what we are reading.

Writing to Learn as Elaboration Elaboration refers to any method of "thinking about new ideas and prior knowledge together" so the two become more deeply interconnected.

Learning takes place when the new information becomes a part of the existing knowledge network.

When elaborated and richly integrated, the new knowledge becomes meaningful and useful.

Knowledge can be called "meaningful" only after it is richly interconnected with related knowledge. Knowledge can be called "useful" only if you can access it under appropriate circumstances. Meaningful knowledge is filed and cross refer46

enced with other knowledge to which it is connected. Useful knowledge is filed and cross-referenced so that you can find it when you need it. 
 
 Some of these points may seem obvious, but studies strongly suggest that this kind of mental housekeeping makes the difference between good and poor readers.

Writing to learn in learning situations should take advantage of what is known about learning, especially re-exposure to ideas to build a deep foundation of factual knowledge, the use of elaboration to make interconnections with prior knowledge, clarification of ideas, and organization of facts and ideas in a conceptual framework.

47

A PPENDIX B

Building a Conceptual Framework When a Learning Math

Building a Conceptual Framework When a Learning Math In arithmetic and math transfer learning the goal is moving beyond procedural learning to transfer learning. For math to become useful, this goal should be kept in mind by both the instructor and the learner. For learning to transfer facts and ideas (math procedures) need to under stood in the context of a conceptual framework and learning new math procedures need to be built on an contribute developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge.  The limitations of only learning arithmetic and math procedures is that the human brain always goes toward concrete example first therefore, developing a conceptual framework for learning new math facts, ideas, and procedures should always start with concrete examples, which need to be practiced beyond mastery if long-term memory is important. 48

A PPENDIX C

Teaching Units of Isolated Skills A Quick History of Reading Instruction “Many reading instruction programs, among them computerbased reading programs emphasize learning isolated reading skills and then testing for those isolated reading skills and declaring success if the student can successfully use those isolated reading skills. For example, MyReadingLab, emphasizes learning isolated skills such as main idea, supporting detail, patterns of organization, inference, and purpose and tone.

Many studies have found that the teaching of these isolated skills did little to foster transfer of learning. For examples, Complex processes appear to be more than the sum of heir parts, and skills do not seem to transfer automatically from one domain to another. Learning seems to take place best in the context of complex experiences and problem solving” (Starko. 2001); “Many critics have observed that instructional approaches to finding the main idea often involved sophisticated conventions that became ends in themselves and were too time consuming” (Carnegie, 2010).; and “For many years, reading comprehension instruction was based on a concept of reading as the application of a set of isolated skills such as finding main ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, comparing and contrasting, and sequencing.” Durkin found

that this type of instruction did little to help students learn how or when to use the skills, and these skills were not shown to enable comprehension” (Keys to Literacy).

Why Isolated Skill Instruction is Antiquated?

“Thinking cannot be divorced from content; in fact, thinking is a way of learning content (Raths and others). In every course, and especially in content subjects, students should be taught to think logically, analyze and compare, question and evaluate. Skills taught in isolation do little more than prepare students for tests of isolated skills (Spache and Spache).

Norton Grubbs in From Black Box To Pandora’s Box: Evaluating Remedial/ Developmental Education states it this way, “By far the most common approach to developmental education within community colleges is the approach I have labeled “skills and drills.” This tends to focus on arithmetic procedures, on grammar, punctuation and vocabulary, on math “problems” of the most contrived sort, and passages from texts that have been simplified for low reading levels.

Computer programs in remedial classes invariably involve drills. Following a rigid progression through topics, students move to the next level only when they have passed a short “test” on one subject. Often, students work on these programs in large labs overseen by a “manager” who typically has neither the time nor the training for instruction: students who get stuck have to go back in the computer program to try to work out the problem. There is no teaching in the conventional sense of the term.

49

Conventional “skills and drills� approaches violate all the maxims for good teaching in adult education (Grubb and Kalman, 1994).

50

A PPENDIX E Understanding What Happens in the Brain While Learning Facilitates Learning A Quick Lesson on How the Brain Learns If the learner knows what is going on in the brain while they are learning, they are more likely to take the time to develop learning skills and strategies that make deep and competent learning possible.

The first thing the learner should know and why they will be building conceptual frameworks about the topics in under study is that the brain learns virtually nothing if the learner is not tying what they are learning to prior knowledge (what they already know). Here is a quick explanation of how the brain learns:

cell body and down the axon to the end buds. If the signal finds information in other brain cells (their dendrites are prior learning) that is related to the new information, then a dendrite grows (learning) (fig.2) on the dendrite of related information (prior knowledge).

No learning occurs unless new information being learned interconnects with the learner’s prior knowledge. This fact will be the foundation for understanding how learning occurs when one uses learning strategies to learn when reading. We will go in much more detail later.

When%the%message%(new%informa1on%the%reader%is%reading)%reaches%the%neuron%ends% (end%buds),%the%end%buds%look%for%other%dendrites%on%other%neurons%that%have%related% informa1on% (prior% knowledge).% Remember,% learning% only% occurs% when% the% reader% interconnects%new%informa1on%with%what%they%already%knows%(prior%knowledge).%

Dendrites are Learning The neurons (brain cell) (fig.1) is the first of two illustrations you will learn about that will help you understand how learning occurs in the brain. In later chapters when you see the illustration on the following page; it will remind you about how the brain learns and that you have control over what is happening when you read to learn.

Cell Body axon

End Buds – dendritelike fibers that connect to other neuron dendrites (looking for related information)

synapse neurotransmitters

The first drawing on the opposite page is of a neuron (brain cell). Looking from left to right at the first drawing, the filament-like structures are dendrites. New information enter the brain cell through these dendrites and travel through the

dendrite

receptors

Figure 1 51

If the end buds find other dendrites of related knowledge, a new dendrite grows. That new dendrite is learning.

Dendrites Axon

Neuron Ends Cell Body

Rule 1: New dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.

Figure 2 Another strategy that builds on organizing knowledge in ways to facilitate retrieval and application is the use of visual graphics. One very popular form of visual graphic that is very powerful is mind mapping.

Mind Maps You will learn later that the most effective mind maps have the following characteristics and among them is drawing a picture of the concepts you are learning. (More in a later chapter on visualization and imaging to learn either mentally or on paper.)

ACTIVITY: Take time before ever beginning to read any chapter in the textbook and read any preface, introduction or those parts of the first chapter that indicate that the purpose of the discipline might be explained. This is like detective work that gets easier the more it is practiced. Instructor modeling and collaborative exploration for the propose of the discipline.

For deep and useable learning to occur the reader needs to reflect and have opportunities to explore their own minds about what they know about psychology.

Note: Keep in mind that it takes effort and repeated exposure to new ideas before the neural networks for those ideas are developed and strengthened in the brain. Finding the discipline’s purpose is the first of many opportunities for readers to learn to use the rules for moving new information from working memory to long-term memory for which the bottom line is re-exposure with elaboration (connection to prior knowledge.)

Using Text Clues to Further Develop the Conceptual Framework Text clues in content textbooks are like maps that when the organization is recognized help the readers to create the chapter’s conceptual framework. The title, forward, introduction, chapter outlines, the heading and subheading, and summary all provide an opportunity to further expand and prepare the brain for grasping the big concepts around a subject, as well 52

as prepare the reader for using cognitive strategies for incorporating important concepts and facts.

The Big Three Questions of Internal Dialogue Whether getting an overview of the chapter or reading the chapter, the reader should always have three question they are asking: 1. {What Do I Know} What do I already know? (Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 2. {Are There Explanations or Examples} Are there explanations or examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered? (Connection to Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 3. {Prediction} Can I predict where this is going? (Anticipate what is next) Those Three Questions Can Expand Into: • Why am I reading this selection? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• What do I already know about what I am Reading? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• Anticipating where is this heading going/what is coming next? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at

every level of the six levels of the neocortext the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • How can I use this information? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortex the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • What cognitive strategies do I have for strengthening new learning. (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced. Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow from stimulating experiences. Use it or lose it.)

• How does this apply to my own life? (“Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced.” Smilkstein) ACTIVITY: It takes a lot of effort to build these questions into the learner’s neural networks of cognitive processes and become so strongly developed that they become automatic.

Note: Once cognitive strategies become automatic, they no longer are crowding the learner’s working memory and then working memory can be devoted to further manipulation and

53

especially elaboration (connecting to the learner's prior knowledge.) More on working memory in later chapters.

around a subject, good thinking will lead you to the important facts.” (John Bransford)

The above questions and the questions to follow are not questions to be superficially learned, but must be over-learned to the point of being automatic. Neural networks need to be developed through repeated exposure to these questions in order to build myelin in neural pathways for these questions when reading that enable instantaneous application of these questions in the reading and learning processes. These questions then become part of the students mental processes for thinking about their thinking.

The Physiology of Practice

Note: Keep in mind that if the metacognitive processes do not become automatic (repeated exposure with elaboration), then working memory will not have the space to both store and manipulate the information (use cognitive strategies) being learned.

Reflection and Metacognition

“The question neurologist and educators have been asking is “why does it take so long for people to learn complex skills that result in application, decision-making, and problemsolving. The answer turns out to be both physiological and psychological. The physiological answer turns out to be myelination, the process of building a fatty insulation around neurons. “The brain senses nerve firing and responds by wrapping more myelin (fat) (fig.3) around the brain cell that fires.

The more the brain cell fires the more myelin wraps around it.

The more myelin wraps around it, the faster the signals travel, increasing velocities up to one hundred times over signals sent through an uninsulated brain cells.

Dendrites Myelin Sheath

The questions above drive metacognition (the reader thinking about their thinking). Metacognition has to be learned and mental activities that help the learner to automatically try to build a conceptual framework for what they are about to read and to expand that conceptual framework as they read is key to transfer learning (deep learning).

Again, “Contrary to popular belief, learning basic facts is not a prerequisite for creative thinking and problem solving -- it's the other way around. Once you grasp the big concepts

Axon

Neuron Ends Cell Body “Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and faster by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the right way – when we practice cognitive strategies when reading– our myelin responds by wrapping layers around the that neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts become.” (Coyle, 2010)

54

It is at this point that providing instruction becomes interesting. Mere repetition is not the key for accelerated learning of skills; it is here that scientist have discovered a twist – struggle is not optional – it is neurologically required; we tend to try to reduce struggle in learning; we try to make learning smooth, especially at the point of “assessment for learning.”

This does not produce optimal learning of skills. However, it is a combination of the following that accelerates deeper learning: “In order to get ones skill circuits to fire optimally, one must by definition fire the circuit suboptimally, one must make mistakes and pay attention to those mistakes; one must slowly teach their circuits. Myelination is the physiological manifestation of metacognition.” (Coyle, 2009) Metacognition and Internal Observation For rigor in learning to be successful, the learner has to be able to mentally step back and observe the learning process as it is occurring in the brain - this is the foundation of metacognition and it has to be taught. In order to take the most effective control of instruction and learning (rigor), the instructor and learner needs to understand what is occurring in the brain during instruction and learning that can transform both into rigorous learning.

“In the 1990s a committee of the National Research Council, led by John Bransford, Ann Brown, and Rodney Cocking concluded that metacognition is a key factor in learning that should be deliberately cultivated. They emphasized the particularly important role that metacognition plays in promot-

ing transfer learning. That is, students can more readily apply knowledge acquired in one context to another context if they have more awareness of themselves as learners, if they monitor their strategies and resources, and if they assess their readiness for tests and other performances” (Linda Baker).

Internal Dialogue Questions Can Drive All Cognitive Strategies Bransford enjoins us to resist substituting strategies for thinking. Learning strategies can be basically mindless unless the learner can step back and observe their thinking. This ability to step back while learning and observe ones own thinking David Rock calls “The Director.” Research is indicating “the director” (metaphor for observing ones thinking about thinking ability of the brain) sits “above” our other working memory functions, monitoring our thinking and choosing how best to allocate resources (cognitive strategies)” (Rock). “It gives us the space of mind in which we can consider various options and then choose the most appropriate ones” (Siegel). Mindful internal dialogue questions activate this executive function by providing space for directing thinking. We have learned about how the brain learns and are now learning about awareness of what the brain is actually doing moment by moment. “Knowledge of your brain is very helpful, but one also needs to be aware of what ones brain is doing at any moment for knowledge to be useful” (Rock).

55

Internal Dialogue (Comparing and Contrasting) One thing the brain tries to do automatically is to compare and contrast new information with what it already knows. The learner can take advantage of this fact by introducing further questions that if over learned helps the brain do more deeply what it tries to do naturally.

Six internal dialogue questions that readers need to learn to use as part of their internal dialogue for establishing a metacognitive approach to learning while reading are: 1.

What do I already know about what I am reading? (learning – constructing meaning) The good news is that “Mindfulness is a habit, it’s something the more one does, the more likely one is to be in that mode with less and less effort” (Rock). That is why the whole reading course is learning and practicing how to become aware of what the brain is doing moment by moment using cognitive strategies driven by internal dialogue. “One of the best ways of having our director handy is practicing using your director regularly (internal dialogue questions). A number of studies now show that people who practice activating their director do change the structure of their brain. They thicken specific regions of the cortex involved in cognitive control and switching attention.” (Rock).

2. How does what I am reading reinforce or contradict what I already know (compare and contrast)?

3.

What do the concepts (terminology) introduced in the reading have in common? (analyzing) 4.

How are concepts (terminology) introduced in the text different; how do they contrast? (analyzing) 5.

Are the new concepts (terminology) part of a larger concept (ex. folkways and mores are types of norms)? (classifying – inductive reasoning) 6. How are all the concepts in a reading related? (mind mapping – systematically organizing – deductive reasoning - synthesizing) 56