Some thoughts on teaching and learning

In IP&T 620 we were assigned to write a reflection paper on our theory of learning. I'm including it below:

What does it mean to learn? What does it mean to teach? How can people improve their ability to learn? These are simple, and yet exceedingly complex questions.

First, different kinds of learning exist. One type of learning concerns factual information[1]. For example, a student could learn the names of people and places in the Book of Mormon. A second kind of learning is the acquiring of new skills. To continue the preceding example, students could learn how to search the Book of Mormon for patterns, or how to liken the scriptures to their lives.[2] A third kind of learning is more difficult to quantify. It involves personalized revelation from the Holy Ghost, and could include gospel insights, inspiration on what to do, and so forth.[3] As a learner and teacher I should monitor my study and pedagogical practices depending on the types of learning I hope to facilitate.

A second key facet of learning is the desire of the student. Meaningful learning occurs only when the learner wants to learn. From my own experience, I have sat in classes where a professor gave an informative lecture, but I did not learn anything from the lecture—because I chose to not focus on it. The same thing has happened to me when “involved” in a pair/share activity. It was meaningless because I did not want to learn. As a learner I need to increase my desire to learn, and as a teacher find ways to enhance students’ desire to learn. A key component of student desire is having a heart that is prepared to learn. Students have the main responsibility to prepare their hearts, but teachers also share in this role.[4]

Third, learning is enhanced when the learner has questions. [5] If I as a learner think I know everything, I will be less motivated to learn.[6] As a teacher I need to help students ask questions.

Fourth, learning is much more likely to occur when participants are actively involved in the process.[7] “Active involvement” includes reading, writing, speaking, engaging in hands-on activities, and so forth.[8] Listening in a lecture can also be an “active” process, as listening can be active, although this skill does take some practice.

Fifth, one of the most important parts of learning is the action it produces in the life of the learner. Knowledge that does not change what one does or is, may not be very important learning. [9] As a learner I should ask myself, “What will I do as a result of this class?” Similarly, as a teacher, I can help students apply what they learn in a variety of ways. I must help students make and keep commitments that will help them improve their lives. [10]

Sixth, some of the most important lessons that can be learned are based on observing the actions of others[11], and learning from the kind of person they are.[12] Some of my most valuable learning has occurred not from listening to a lecture, but from observing how my professor interacted with others. For example, one professor stressed in class the fact that teachers should encourage their students by getting excited about their ideas. On one occasion, when I shared an idea, she expressed genuine enthusiasm for my idea. What she did at that time has had a lasting impact on me.

Seventh, a key factor in learning is the expectations that the teachers and learners have about their capabilities. If I as a teacher can exhibit high expectations for my students, they will be more likely to attain those heights.[13]
Eighth, as President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, “Repetition is a law of learning”[14] I should not be afraid of re-learning concepts that I thought I already “knew.” Repetition often increases retention.

Finally, one of the most valuable sources of learning is gained through inquiring of the Lord.[15] This often comes through prayer, scripture study, and pondering.[16] As a teacher and learner I can inquire of the Lord to know what my next steps should be. The most valuable instruction I have received has come through this way of learning.

The preceding paragraphs have been an outline on some of my views on what it means to learn and teach. They hold keys to increase one’s capacities in these areas.

[1] “What have you learned by heart? Some of it is factual or informational. Such learning is useful. It helps us solve daily problems and meet immediate needs” (Susan W. Tanner, “Learning by Heart,” http://speeches.byu.edu/ [2006]).
[2] “As gospel instructors, you and I are not in the business of distributing fish; rather, our work is to help individuals learn to “fish” and to become spiritually self-reliant” (Elder David A. Bednar, “Seek Learning By Faith,” http://speeches.byu.edu/ [2006]).
[3] “The third level of learning comes from qualifying to obtain spiritual direction in your life. It is the most rewarding yet possibly the most difficult initially to feel confident in using” (Elder Richard G. Scott, “Learning to Succeed in Life,” http://speeches.byu.edu/ [1998].)
[4] “It’s important that you know this. The inspiration you may draw from the General Authorities as they come here to speak to you depends only partly in the effort they have expended in the preparation of their sermons. It depends much more considerable on what preparation you have made for their message” (Elder Boyd K. Packer, “Follow the Brethren,” http://speeches.byu.edu/, [1965]. Elder Gene R. Cook of the Seventy also stated, “You, as the teacher, must do all in your power to prepare the hearts of men so the Spirit can teach” (Ensign, Nov. 1988, 38).
[5] “The more questions we can get from the learners about something, the more they are engaged in the learning” (Julie B. Beck, Ensign, June 2007, 101).
[6] “But do you suppose that he [the slave] would ever have enquired into or learned what he fancied that he knew, though he was really ignorant of it, until he had fallen into perplexity under the idea that he did not know, and had desired to know?” (Socrates, in Plato’s Meno).
[7]“My personal experience confirms that to gain knowledge of great worth requires extraordinary effort through personal involvement. This is particularly true when our desire is to gain spiritual knowledge” (Elder Richard G. Scott, “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge.” http://speeches.byu.edu/ [1993]).
[8] “A skilled teacher...asks, ‘What will my students do in class today?’” Teaching the Gospel Handbook, 13.
[9] “When teachers present a doctrine or a historical event, they should teach a related principle—something hearers should do, something they should apply to their lives” (Elder V. Dallas Merrill, Ensign, October, 2001, accessed at http://lds.org/).
[10] “[Helping] individuals…become spiritually self-reliant…is best accomplished as we encourage and facilitate learners acting in accordance with correct principles—as we help them to learn by doing…One of the fundamental roles of a [teacher] is to help [students] make and honor commitments—to act and learn by faith. Teaching, exhorting, and explaining, as important as they are, can never convey to [a student] a witness of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. Only as an [student’s] faith initiates action and opens the pathway to the heart can the Holy Ghost deliver a confirming witness”” (Elder David A. Bednar, “Seek Learning By Faith,” Address to CES, [2006]).
[11]“As you study and learn and grow during your time as a university student, I hope you also are learning about and becoming quick to observe. Your future success and happiness will in large measure be determined by this spiritual capacity” (Elder David A. Bednar, http://speeches.byu.edu/ “Quick to Observe.” [2005].
[12] “Our children and the youth of the Church will learn the most from what we do and what we are—even if they remember relatively little of what we say. (Elder David A. Bednar, “Marriage is Essential to His Eternal Plan, Ensign, June 2006).
[13] “It begins with expectations, yours and theirs. If you expect little, they will feel your lack of faith in them and in the Lord’s promised outpouring of the Spirit. If you communicate, by word or action or even by your tone of voice, that you doubt their spiritual capacity, they will doubt it. If you see [powerful potential] in them, they will at least have the chance to see it in themselves. Your choices of what you expect will have powerful effect on their choices of what to expect of themselves.” (President Henry B. Eyring, “Raising Expectations,” [2004], 2.)
[14] President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 2000, 50.
[15] See Mosiah 26:13-14
[16] “Teach the importance and power of pondering; provide time in class to ponder, to think.” (Elder Robert D. Hales, Teaching by Faith [address to religious educators at a satellite broadcast, 1 Feb. 2002], 3–4.)