Central to ABC Course Design is the selection of relevant learning activities. The choice in learning activities actually determines how we want our students to learn. Before delving deeper into these learning activities, let us first explain what learning actually is....

What is learning?

Much has already been written and debated about 'learning'. However, there is consensus that learning (Clark & Mayer, 2016):

Implies a change
The change is located in the student (a change in knowledge, skills or competences)
This change is the result of an experience (the learning process)

Let us for a moment clarify what knowledge is (as a result of that learning) and how we arrive at this knowledge.

So knowledge is the result of learning. But what is knowledge?

Knowledge here refers not only to theoretical knowledge but also to knowledge about skills and competences. So it is a broader concept than what it suggests.

Did you know that experts don't simply know more than a novice?? They know DIFFERENT! What does that mean??

Watch the video below and find out for yourself!

The above video shows two things.

(1) As experts, we are going to structure our knowledge to make it easier to recall, see connections,.... It certainly pays off to support students in structuring that knowledge, by motivating them to make connections, link to prior knowledge...

(2) As experts, we are going to recall our knowledge quasi-automatically. It will cost us little energy even if we face more difficult challenges. This reasoning is also the explanation why experts name only a fraction of their actions when asked to name them out loud. Not because they don't want to, but because many of these actions are so automated that they become unconscious. Do the exercise for yourself: try explaining the steps to tie a shoelace....Not simple is it? Maybe, as a teacher (and thus expert), you also sometimes skip a few steps when explaining a difficult concept? Maybe it is better to let students discover it for themselves step by step, with your guidance?

As obvious-considered concepts/terms/actions are not so obvious for students. They literally take energy, energy we can compare to climbing a mountain.

So, we have to train them to climb this mountain. We have to teach them!

Learning activities to support student learning.

You were just given a brief introduction to neuroscience and learning theories. Probably it is clear to you that we will not simply absorb like sponges what we hear, see, experience. Real learning requires a lot more.

1 of the ways to deal with this is by having our students come to learning in different ways. Diana Laurrillard distinguished 6 concrete learning activities for this purpose. These form a useful tool to shape our course design.

Discover them on the next page!