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| A welding student performing a practical skills examination. |
Cognitive science tries to make sense of how people
learn. Studies show that different approaches work on different students.
Instructors need to have many tools in their toolbox to help students discover
true understanding of a concept or competency. Desirable Difficulties in the Classroom is an article
written by Jeffrey K. Bye, Ph.D. He is a psychology researcher at the
University of California, Los Angeles Reasoning Lab. Dr. Bye won the UCLA
Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award for Teaching Assistants in 2015
working with Dr. Patricia Cheng. In this article, he reviews key concepts and
ties several Psychologists together through their strategies that fit the
definition of desirable difficulties. Dr. Bye informs us that Instructors can
use techniques such as spacing, testing, learner generated material, varying
settings, less clarity and printed presentations as powerful educator tools.
The article is based on Dr. Robert Allen Bjork’s theories, research and
publications. He is a distinguished Professor in the UCLA Department of
Psychology. Now 78, he has been accredited with being the author of the term
“desirable difficulty”. This describes a learning task presentation that
requires a considerable but desirable amount of effort thereby improving
long-term performance (Bjork, 1994). He has had a distinguished career in
California and his discoveries are studied by modern teachers.
“The biggest obstacle in implementing desirable
difficulties into classroom curricula is likely to be convincing teachers and
students alike that these difficulties are indeed desirable.” (Bye, 2011)
The article information reliability is sound because I
have used techniques described in their work that fit with what I have learned
as good modern teaching practice. I know that I must take risks to stay away
from easy techniques that produce short term success but do not create lasting
learning.
This article
attempts to dispel myths that easiest methods used to get good short term
results do not ensure long term availability of information. If students are
confronted with challenges along the way they are forced to process the new
information when uncomfortable. This stress creates better relation to new knowledge
gained linked to past experience. The retention of these memories has proved to
be far superior than if you just tell someone test them and then move on. Test recall
at the end. Instructors are encouraged to revisit material often and in
different situations or use styles other than the ordinary. Desirable
difficulties are factors in which a student will develop longer term memory of
information that required effort to obtain. More processing power is needed
when humans’ problem solve and connect to what they know to work to help
understand the unfamiliar. Difficulty encourages the brain to develop more
stable pathways to existing knowledge. The strength of the access to the
memories are easier for longer (Bye, 2011). Students learn more from the
scenarios they must think about to understand, rather than having new
information spoon fed to them. He found that students taught then recall tested
then moved on, did poorly compared to students who were challenged and repeatedly
exposed to the content (Bjork, 2011). Educators must be strong to look past
doing what is easy and historically gives the students the best short-term
success. Be aware that some students will be unappreciative of your modern
style. Changing the Instructor - Student relationship. They realise it is more work
for them. Efforts to increase students long term retention of learned material
can meet protest due to your unfamiliar approaches. It will also be difficult
to evaluate the level of retained knowledge once the student has graduated off
into the world. The Instructor is asked to do these difficult things at the
expense of ease (Bye, 2011). Working with students is difficult sophisticated
work and should be treated as such. I have seen big payoffs in student
motivation when they can see the relevance of what they are learning. When
students understand the concepts clearly most often when they have had the
opportunity to discuss and process their experiences to promote teamwork among
all students. These classroom challenges need students to all work together to
achieve their goals.
I have had the opportunity to integrate desirable
difficulties into my Instruction of students at the VIU welding school. I have
been assigned to Instruct the welding module to mechanical trades for over a
year now. This appointment has given me the opportunity to develop and test
modern teaching techniques in new Weldor education. I want to integrate these
Doctor’s theories into my own presentation because encouraging long term
retention of welding performance objectives is my primary goal. When my
students get out in the work place and encounter welding equipment; Will they
understand the best practices to use their skills to get tasks done safely with
quality results?
“Education is supposed to be about teaching knowledge
and skills that students will use throughout their lives. So it should go without
saying that teachers should utilize methods that facilitate long-term
retention, especially when those methods are easy to implement.” (Bye, 2011)
Monday of
weld training starts with students finding themselves in unfamiliar
surroundings. The heavy mechanical, motorcycle/marine or automotive shop is
where the students have become comfortable. They all have an established daily
routine with other Instructors that will change now. Even the start time of
class is two hours later. They are subjected to a new classroom, a new shop,
new sounds and new smells. The uncomfortable environment surely is a desirable
difficulty when it helps attention and promotes processing (Smith, Glenberg,
& Bjork, 1978).
Last month I introduced new material in a lesson, had
groups create content from their past experiences, discussed it, then given
students a couple question written quiz. Students we asked to write down their
thoughts on open ended questions. This is a formative evaluation, I am happy
with any responses from students. They don’t even have to put their names on
it. It seems student also don’t hand write that much. To have introductory weld
processes and industry history evaluated, by something other than multiple
choice, is a substantial format change for them. The pressure of small tests
sharpens learners pay attention skills and burns deeper processing energy
(Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). Now if I can only get everyone to take notes
beforehand and enjoy the added mental processing that happens when we write the
new information down more than once.
While
preparing a lesson for the same group from last month, I specifically chose to
change my design, then inadvertently created a desirable classroom difficulty.
I used a different than expected font for my hand out worksheets and the first
day quiz.
Using ALGERIAN font mixed it up nicely.
There are many different ones available. I felt that
this font gives the letters a fancy craftsman look. Using a graphical
representation change gives the questions a unique flavour from other
government issued fonts. Students filled out group exercise worksheets and
performed well on the quiz. No students commented on the disfluency
(Diemand-Yauman, Oppenheimer, & Vaughan, 2010).
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| Almost all examinations completed. Ready for the marking rubric.
References:
Bjork, R.A. (1994). Institutional impediments to effective
training. In D. Druckman and R.A.Bjork
(Eds.), Learning, remembering, believing: Enhancing
human performance. Washington: National Academy Press.
Bjork, R.A. (2011). Desirable Difficulties Perspective on Learning. Retrieved from: https://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/07/RBjork_inpress.pdf
Bye, J.K. (2011). Desirable Difficulties in the Classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.psychologyinaction.org/2011/01/04/desirable-difficulties-in-the-classroom/
Diemand-Yauman, C.,
Oppenheimer, D.M., & Vaughan, E.B. (2010). Desirable
Difficulties Perspective on Learning. Retrieved from: Fortune favors the Bold
(and italicised): Effects of disfluency on educational outcomes.
doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2010.09.012
McDaniel, M.A.,
Hines, R.J., Waddill, P.J., & Einstein, G.O. (1994). What makes folk tales unique: Content familiarity, causal
structure, scripts, or superstructures? Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 169–184.
Roediger, H.L., III, & Karpicke, J.D. (2006). The power of testing memory: Basic research and implications for
educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 181-120.
Smith, S.M., & Glenberg, A., & Bjork,
R.A. (1978). Environmental context and human memory. Memory & Cognition,
6, 342-353.
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