Knowing, Understanding, Thinking, and Learning How to Learn - The Goals of First-Year Instruction

#conceptual

Authors: Bette LaSere Erickson, Calvin B. Peters, Diane Weltner Strommer

Date: 2009-01-01

Insights

Effective teaching aligns course goals, activities, and evaluation methods to foster deeper learning.

Summary

  • Progression from Memorization to Thinking:
    • Knowing: Students begin with memorization to form a basis for thought.
    • Understanding: Students recognize relationships between specific examples and general concepts.
    • Thinking: Students apply knowledge to solve problems, requiring them to create or analyze beyond given information.
  • Practice and Connection: For students to retain information, they must practice retrieving and connecting it to their prior knowledge, making learning meaningful.
  • Complex Problem Solving: Teaching should include both structured and unstructured problems to develop students’ critical thinking skills.
  • Learning How to Learn: First-year students often lack study skills and metacognitive awareness. Instruction should incorporate strategies for self-monitoring and reflection.

Cite

Erickson, B. L., Peters, C. B., & Strommer, D. W. (2009). Knowing, Understanding, Thinking, and Learning How to Learn: The Goals of First-Year Instruction. In Teaching First-Year College Students. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.