19 Designing the Learning

Dr. Anwara Hashmi

epgp books

Course Outline

 

  •  Introduction
  •  Objectives
  •  Concept of learning
  •  Concept of behavior
    •  Cognitive domain
    •  Affective domain
    •  Psychomotor domain
  •  Nature of clients
  •  Principles of adult teaching-learning
  •  Methods of delivery
    •  Individual contact methods
    •  Group contact methods
    •  Mass contact methods
  •  Learning styles of client
  •  Summary

Introduction

 

For designing learning programs for adults certain basic factors must be given consideration. These may include determination of needs, identification of learning goals,  designing of learning tasks and measurement of achievement. Here, we will discuss about designing of learning task. For designing of learning, one should have understanding of a) Learning and behavior b) nature of clients c) principles of adult learning d) methods of delivery and e) learning style of Clients. By the end of this module the students shall:

  1. understand the concept of learning and behavior
  2. come to know about the nature of clients and their learning behavior
  3. get acquainted with conditions of learning and principles of teaching
  4. get acquainted with various methods of delivery
  5. understand the implications of learning style for designing learning experience.

 

CONCEPT OF LEARNING

 

Learning involves change in behavior. It is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and skills. It enables the individual to make both personal and social adjustments. Since the concept of change is inherent in the concept of learning, any change in behavior implies that learning is taking place or has taken place. Haggard, (1963) has also mentioned that there is a remarkable agreement upon the definition of learning as being reflected in a change in behavior as the result of experience. Our job is to provide this new experience to the participants by providing new knowledge and involving them in learning task for change in their attitude and practices i.e. for changing behavior.

 

CONCEPT OF BEHAVIOR

 

Behavior has three main components i.e. cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Educators have determined that most adults, adolescents and children learn best by experiencing a blend of activities that promote these three learning domains. Cognitive refers to knowledge or a body of subject matter, affective refers to attitudes and psychomotor refers to practical application.

 

Learning process in the cognitive domain is associated with those mental operations which are used to manipulate information. Thus, the cognitive domain involves a number of activities varying from exposure to information to its organization or processing in the learner’s mind e.g, remembering, recalling of knowledge, memorization, abstraction, problem solving, thinking, creating and concept learning. Six levels of learning of the cognitive domain are: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

 

  1. Knowledge: Possession of knowledge or information is the foundation from which all higher thinking grows. Recall or recognition of specific elements in a subject area, i.e., memory level operations are involved at this level. Data, facts, concepts or principles are memorized at this level of learning. The knowledge forms core of many learning outcomes. It is also essential in learning and acquisition of motor skills. Changes in affect is also based on knowledge for example development of attitude, interest, positive feeling are based on acquisition of knowledge and information.
  2. Comprehension: Information is not useful unless it is understood. At this level, those mental operations which help in understanding of facts, concepts, principles and generalizations are included.
  3. Application: Information is meaningful when it is applied to a new, not previously encountered situation. The mental operations at this level involve the use of concepts, principles or theories in real/ concrete situations.
  4. Analysis: Creative thinking and problem solving begin with analytic thinking; mentally taking something apart to understand better the relationship of the parts to each other and to the whole. It is the breakdown of communication in to elements or constituent parts so that the relationship between the ideas expressed is made explicit.
  5. Synthesis: It involves putting together of the components or the parts of a concept, principle or generalization so as to form a whole.
  6. Evaluation: It is the qualitative and quantitative judgment about to what extent materials and methods have been put to adequate use.

Thus, while designing learning lesson or tasks one should not only emphasize on the provision of information and facts, but should also include concepts and principles so that a proper understanding of the subject is developed and suitable generalizations may be derived. Analytical thinking should be encouraged by breaking the knowledge of content into several parts and making understand their relationship with each other and to the whole. Provisions should also be made for the application of the new knowledge in real life situations. Some provision should also be made about evaluating the teaching learning efforts.

 

Learning in the affective domain includes changes in interest, attitudes, values and feelings. In cognitive domain, the main organizing principles were from simple to complex, from concrete to abstract, etc. In the affective domain which deals with attitudes, interests and values, it is very difficult to work on these principles. The main organizing principle in the affective domain is the degree of internalization, i.e. the extent to which the feelings or emotions are incorporated by the learner as a part of his/her personality. The organizing principles in the affective domain are: receiving, responding, valuing, organization and characteristics.

  1. Receiving: The learner becomes aware of the existence of phenomena or stimuli i.e he/she is willing to attend to it. While designing learning learner’s attention has to be captured so that they receive the stimuli.
  2. Responding: The learner at this point is sufficiently motivated and it’s not merely attending but actively attending and responding.
  3. Valuing: The learner perceive a concept or phenomena as having worth and consequently reveals a consistent preference or commitment in behavior towards it.
  4. Organization: For situations where more than one value is relevant, the learner organizes the values into a system and also determines the inter-relationships among them.
  5. Characteristics: After the values have been organized in the individual’s mind, they control his/ her behavior to some extent.

 

Above five organizing principles of affective domain helps in bringing about attitudinal change that can be observed in learner’s behavior. For example, a young mother might initially sit and listen (a type of receiving) to what was said about family planning practices. She should then also be motivated for responding. Gradually, she might get interested. She may be involved to participate in a lively discussion on the advantages of limiting family (a type of responding). Time should be devoted for discussion among participants. At this point the relative advantages of the new practices should be emphasized. Then she might comment to her friends/ participants that it would be advantageous to her and to her family if she underwent sterilization (a type of valuing). Later, she might follow through this intention by discussing it with others and arriving at a decision to undergo sterilization. A change in attitude can be clearly interpreted through her behavior.

 

Psychomotor domain pertains to the manipulative or psychomotor skills which can be developed under the supervision or guidance of an expert or skilled person. For example, the skill of driving a car can be acquired effectively under the direct supervision of a skilled instructor. Learning of skills, at times is a component of cognitive and affective learning too. As compared to the affective domain, learning in the psychomotor domain can be assessed with much more precision. Phases in learning of psychomotor skills are: cognitive, associative and autonomous phase.

  1. Cognitive phase: is the phase when the individual has little or no knowledge about the skill. Therefore the learner a) learns the rules of execution of movements b) movements are then performed naturally without thought c) the previously acquired movements form the basis for new motor skills
  2. Associative phase: is the phase of translating the information into action
  3. Autonomous phase: is the phase where learner acquires the knowledge and applied it independently and automatic.

There are number of skills whose acquisition requires knowledge as a pre-requisite. For example in learning to drive the car a driver must have knowledge of accelerator, break, clutch, gear, etc and their individual function and co-ordination function in relation with each other. For the purpose, the job is broken-down into small steps/tasks. A number of separate steps/ tasks and participation are used to promote the learning of a new skill or practice. The following demonstration sequence should be followed in which: a) the extension/adult educator introduces a task, explains and demonstrates it. Participants may ask questions and explanations. b) Participants explain the same task and demonstrate it. c) The instructor provides feedback on how well participants performed the task. To reduce errors right responses should be emphasized and wrong one should be cleared. d) Give time to perform again correctly. e) Extension/adult educator introduces another task and the steps are repeated through an entire chain of related behaviors or tasks. After covering all the steps, let the participants perform the complete practice by themselves, give time for practice. Through practice, coordination and integration of all movements is learned, now the movements are performed naturally. The learner can now drive without actually remembering the sequence of the steps to be followed.

 

Nature of clients

 

In any effort for designing learning, one must know who is the clientele. Most of the times the clientele of developmental programs is adult learner who may be a worker, farmer, housewife, parent and the like. Thus we need to understand the learning behavior of adults. Regarding the adults learning behavior Malcolm S. Knowles (1984), suggested the following.

The clientele may be literate or illiterate. Obviously no written messages may be planned for those who are illiterate. To reach/ teach them group extension methods like group discussion, method demonstration, brain storming, method demonstration and role plays etc are best. Radio, television and other audio-visual methods may also be used in planning learning efforts for them. For literates the printed lessons / messages can also be used. The adult educator should also get itself acquainted with the social and cultural aspects of the clientele. They should be careful not to include any message or promote any practice which is not compatible with the socio-cultural aspects of the clientele. The designer of the learning should also give consideration of the age, sex, occupation, area of residence, political orientation, level of aspiration, attitudes and other characteristics of his participants in order to fine tune the learning experiences to meet their needs.

 

Principles of adult teaching-learning

 

For designing learning experience for adults, the treatment to the contents, arrangement of environment and creation of learning atmosphere should be based on principles of adult learning. Malcolm S. Knowles (1986) has suggested following set of principles for teaching adults.

 

Methods of delivery

 

Methods of delivery may be defined, as the way of communication intervention for bringing about desirable changes in the voluntary behavior of the people. We must know when and where to use a given method or a combination of methods according to the clientele, program situation, available resources and time. These methods may be classified in to; individual contact methods, group contact methods and mass contact methods.

 

Individual contact methods provide opportunities for face-to-face or person-to-person contact between the clients and adult teacher. These methods may particularly be used to

  1. develop good rapport with clients and win their confidence
  2. overcome mutual information shortcomings
  3. structure and find the solutions of individual problems
  4. discuss complex concepts and situations
  5. overcome conflictive situations
  6. teach skills

These methods may be; Personal visit, office calls, telephone conversation, informal contact, personal letter etc.

Group contact methods involve one or few extension educators and a group of people in a learning situation at the same time and place. The group can be small involving 5 to 30 or big 100 to 200 persons. For intensive teaching and skill teaching it is better to keep a small group. When purpose is to provide information and persuasion large group may be called.

Group interaction provides the opportunity to exchange beneficial or useful experiences in order to integrate information from people and adult teacher, as well as to exert influence on group members’ behavior and norms. It offers a more reflective learning environment in which the people can listen, discuss and decide upon his involvement in extension activity. The group creates a supportive atmosphere, and individual can gain greater self-confidence by joining others to discuss new ideas and try out new practices. The support of the group helps an individual client to make decisions and determine a course of action. If the adult teacher has not expressed himself adequately as per the need of some persons, the members of the group frequently translate the message for him. Thus, functioning through group also facilitates the job of adult teacher.

These methods may be; method demonstration, lecture meeting, group meetings, conference, training courses, tour, the field day, seminar, brain storming, role play, workshop etc.

Mass contact methods: At times the adult educator has to approach a large number of people for disseminating new information and helping them to use it. This can be done through mass-contact methods conveniently. These methods are more useful for making people aware of the new technology quickly. These methods may be; radio, posters and charts, news stories, newspaper, campaigns, audio cassette, video cassette, pamphlets, folders, internet etc.

 

Learning styles of client

 

The three primary learning styles are: Visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

  1. Visual learners tend to learn by looking, seeing, viewing and watching.
  2. Auditory learners tend to learn by listening, hearing and speaking.
  3. Kinesthetic learners tend to learn by experiencing, moving and doing.

The table below shows some of the methods that appeal to visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners.

It is difficult to segregate the clients with respect to their learning style and accordingly plan and design the teaching- learning sessions. Moreover, most of the people, though may learn more by a given style, have the capability to learn via all three styles. According to Edgar Dale (1969), we tend to remember 10 per cent of what we read, 20 per cent of what we hear, 30 per cent of what we see, 50 per cent of what we see and hear, 70 per cent of what we say and 90 per cent of what we say and do also. Thus, the designer of learning experience besides planning the things that may be heard and seen should also plan the experience in such a manner that the participants speak the message and get involved in some kind of activity.

 

Summary

 

Learning involves change in behavior. Behavior has three main components i.e. cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Educators have determined that most adults learn best by experiencing a blend of activities that promote these three learning domains. Thus, while designing learning lesson or tasks one should not only emphasize on the provision of information and facts, but should also include concepts and principles. Analytical thinking should be encouraged by breaking the knowledge of content into several parts and making understand their relationship with each other and to the whole. Provisions should also be made for the application of the new knowledge in real life situations. Participants should be motivated for responding and be involved to participate in discussion. Time should be devoted for discussion among participants. Relative advantages of the new practices should be emphasized. For skill learning the interactive method demonstration should be used. Adults want to know why they should learn, need to take responsibility, bring experience to learning, are ready to learn when the need arises and are task-oriented. These characteristics must be considered while designing the learning. The contents and design should be based on principles of learning. Suitable method(s) of delivery should be selected based on the type of clientele, program situation, available resources and time. The designer of learning experience besides planning the things that may be heard and seen should also plan the experience in such a manner that the participants speak the message and get involved in some kind of activity.

 

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