Talk:How people learn: brain, mind, experience and school

"Technology can help to create an active environment in which students not only solve problems, but also find their own problems. This approach to learning is very different from the typical school classrooms, in which students spend most of their time learning facts from a lecture or text and doing the problems at the end of the chapter." Technology to Support Learning--JWSchmidt 03:49, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Hi JWSchmidt, Don't be fooled by the fact this report mainly talks about learning in a school setting. The research is just as applicable to learning at Wikiversity. I've not fully read this report yet but the jist of it is that by applying the results of current scientific research in to learning huge improvements can be made in schools. This research shows that learning is enhanced by: using meta learning (learning to learn) techniques, taking account of learners prior knowledge, skills and attitudes, knowledge is deeper with understanding not just recall, learners are encouraged to solve problems and set their own problems, learners are supported in becoming independent learners. Much of the learning material on Wikiversity is of the school classroom type you mention, learners read long sections of text and then answer some questions at the end. I beleve this report will help Wikiversity expand its learning methods towards the problem solving, problem setting approach you are hoping for. Mystictim 12:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Opps! sorry I didn't realise you were quoting from the report. I hope we are in general agreement about the importance of this report. Mystictim 12:20, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Theories, Philosophies, Paradigms, etc
I think that one of the first step is to start collecting information on all the current and emerging educational theories, philosophies, paradigms, etc (Which from my cursory scan, seems to be classified as Educational Psychology). I am slightly familiar with constructivism, androgogy and I am starting to work on a new theory called the Systems And Tools Educational Philosophy, but I'm sure there must be more than these.


 * Yes, there are any number of Learning styles, and theories, but it seems to me that this page is slightly more narrow in focus than to encompass all of what you mention. This page is (i think) set up to explore a particular book (with the same title as this page) - whereas what you're talking about is not necessarily bound to that particular book, but is rather an overview/synthesis of "How people learn" (which we could make separately). All of this should be mapped out through categories (such as Category:Education) - and you might also want to look into Portal:Education and School:Education. Many people listed at these various education-related pages are all most likely willing to help out - I certainly am. :-) Cormaggio talk 16:00, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Application to Wikiversity
One of the highlights of this approach to learning is the focus on the learner's self-evaluation and the need for the learner to develop a meta-cognition about their learning. This has implications for the courses we develop and the need to embed self-evaluation within it - which would fit well anyway - we don't want to create a system where it is necessary to have a "teacher" to grade papers. Lesson plans can encourage learners to set goals for their own learning and then to evaluate it along the way in a variety of ways - starting with the traditional "quiz" but also through guided questions (as the primary years inquiry based International baccalaureate program does)--Vannin 22:43, 23 February 2007 (UTC)vannin