Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
— Albert Einstein
As both a learner and an educator, it has oftentimes amazed me how easy it is to fall into lazy habits of thinking. Unfortunately, many students have never been taught what it means to think or process information, so they aren’t actually falling into lazy habits; they have simply never been taught proper habits of thinking. The Consider Stage of the AcaciAa™ Model (The College Network's recently released cognitive strategy) continues to assist learners in understanding what it means to be an engaged learner.
One of my professors used to tell us, repeatedly, that telling isn’t teaching. Yet, so often we as educators behave as if dissemination of information is enough to support learners in achieving the required learning. Not so—we must develop instructional experiences that engage our learners and move them along the continuum of engagement. The Consider Stage of the AcaciAa™ model moves learners from attending to information to more deeply processing information by introducing them to the value of three primary functions of basic information processing: reflecting, questioning, and expounding.
Reflection, Questioning, and Expounding
Reflection, in the learning context, is the deliberate act of thinking back on information previously encountered so that as learners take in information they can make meaningful connections between the different pieces and portions of information. So often we as educators conceive of teaching as starting with our knowledge rather than that of the learner. We ignore what may be our best opportunity to change a brain by refining and exaggerating the valuable connections that are already there (Zull 2002). Reflection is a way for learners to tie what they are learning to their life experiences. This also leads to emotional connections to the learning that allow neurons to work together, thus creating the desired connections (Zull 2002). The question posed to learning professionals is this—do you structure your learning experiences so that learners are required to reflect while they learn? As much as I hate to admit it, we have all run into colleagues who seem more concerned with the quantity (which can lead to loosely connected or worse disconnected meaning), rather than the quality, of information they share with learners.
Even if we are committed to changing our ways, how do we ensure that learners are integrating the act of reflection into their learning process? The answer to this question is so simple that it seems almost ridiculous. The answer? Require learners to stop reading or listening and think. That’s right. Provide activities and assignments that require them to stop and think about or question what they just heard or read. Have them restate in their own words what they’ve read. Once they can do that without too much effort, ask them what they think about what the author or speaker is saying and how it’s being said. Here are a few more items that you may want to include if you really want to be able to support learners in building a strong knowledge base.
- What was this passage about?
- Why does it matter?
- To what other information is this passage connected?
- Identify the most important aspect of this topic or concept.
- If it is a concept, ensure you understand all aspects of it and how they are related.
Notice that none of the items can be responded to with yes/no answers or without serious consideration of the material. These types of items don’t just get learners thinking; they lead them to expound on their initial thoughts. Too often our learners want to check the completed box before adequately expounding on what they are pondering. The reflective process, when done properly, leads to insight and has been shown to affect—and ultimately change—patterns in the brain (Ross 2006; Liggan & Kay 1999). The more a learner can reflect, question, and expound, the better they will be able to connect later in the learning process and avoid lazy habits of thinking.
Take Care,
cd