Learning level

Definition

• From a learning psychological perspective, Levels of learning refer to competencies a learner can achieve.

• Taking into account learning levels is a key issue in instructional design

• Instructional design also has to clearly identify the level of instruction a design is aiming at.

See also concept learning

Taxonomies of learning levels

Bruner's

• Bruner (1966) distinguishes between passive and active learning, between what we know and what we do with what we know.

• He also presented a three stage learning model “which he calls enactive, iconic and symbolic and are solidly based on the developmental psychology of Jean Piaget. The first, the enactive level, is where the child manipulate materials directly. Then he proceed to the iconic level, where he deals with mental images of objects but does not manipulate them directly. At last he moves to the symbolic level, where he is strictly manipulating symbols and no longer mental images or objects. The optimum learning process should according to Bruner go through these stages.” (J.Bruner, retrieved 11:12, 26 June 2007 (MEST)).

Blooms taxonomy

In education, Blooms taxonomy of educational objectives is still the reference regarding detailed competencies that can be achieved through learning, i.e. that can be related to demonstrated skills (outcome-illustrating verbs). Firstly he distinguished among 3 broad categories:

1. the Cognitive Domain
2. the Affective Domain
3. the Psychomotor Domain

Within the Cognitive Domain, Bloom defines 6 levels of intellectual behavior that are important for learning.

1. Knowledge:
   • Recall data or information
   • Verbs: describe, identify, recall, arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, reproduce state.
2. Comprehension:
   • Understand the meaning of a problem, be able to translate into own words.
   • Verbs: comprehend, give example, classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate,
3. Application:
   • Use a concept in a new situation
   • Verbs: apply, change, construct, compute, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
4. Analysis:
   • Can split concepts into parts and understands the structure
   • Verbs: analyze, break down, relate, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, make inferences, find evidence, test.
5. Synthesis:
   • Produce something from different elements (e.g a report).
   • Verbs: summarize, arrange, combine, categorize, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.
6. Evaluation:
   • Make judgments, justify a solution, etc.
   • Verbs: appraise, interpret, argue, assess, attach, compare, defend, estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate, prove, deduct.

This taxonomy allows to defined the desired learning level of a target audience and then to develop an appropriate design that will help the learner achieve this desired learning goal.

In addition, this taxonomy (not just this short summary) is useful to build behavioral assessment instruments. The "verbs" in the above tell give a hint on what an evaluator should observe.

Examples in use

1. Bloom's Taxonomy for Corrosion Training]
   • This page shows how to apply Bloom's taxonomy to training levels in an engineering program.

Gagne's hierarchy

Gagne (1965 ?) also postulated a hierarchy of eight different learning types:

1. signal learning
   • learn how to respond to a signal, like Pavlov's dog
2. stimulus-response learning
   • learn precise responses to precise signals
3. chaining
   • lean to to follow procedures
   • able to chain 2 or more stimulus-response
4. verbal association
   • use terminology in verbal chains
5. discrimination learning
   • learn how to distinguish between similar stimuli
6. concept learning
   • singular response to an entire class of stimuli
7. principle learning
   • learn to apply rules
8. problem solving

On the basis of Bloom's taxonomy of learning, these levels were later, in the Conditions of Learning and Theory of Instruction (Gagné, 1985) reformulated as taxonomy of learning outcomes:

1. Verbal information: reciting something from memory, e.g. recall a definition, tell a poem.
2. Intellectual skills:
   • Discrimination: Recognizing that two classes of things differ, e.g. be able to identify objects, features, symbols, etc. as not being the same.
   • Concrete concept: Classifying things by their physical features alone, e.g. identify blue paintings, a symbol.
   • Defined concept: Classifying new examples by their abstract (and possibly physical) features, e.g. a identify an assignement in a computer program.
   • Rule: Applying a simple procedure (a single relationship) to solve a problem or accomplish a task, e.g. add two numbers.
   • Higher-order rule: Applying a complex procedure (multiple rules) to solve a problem or accomplish a task, e.g. write a computer program
3. Cognitive strategies: Inventing or selecting a particular mental process to solve a problem or accomplish a task
4. Attitudes: Choosing to behave in a way that reflects a newly-acquired value or belief
5. Motor skills: Performing a physical task to some specified standard

Within the intellectual skills group there is a learning hierarchy, e.g. rules can not be learned without mastering a defined concept. To prepare an instructional design for a given learning objective, one has to construct a learning hierarchy (sometimes called a task analysis) and ask "what are the intellectual skills one needs to have mastered in order to achieve an outcome ?" Since Gagne is also an instructional designer he formulated the "nine events of instruction" lesson design model that draws both from behaviorism (lower levels) and cognitivism (higher levels). An idea that has been taking up by many modern instructional design models is that teaching should transition from simple to complex skills. It should also be noted that outcomes can build on various components, e.g. a defined concept can build on facts (verbal information) and appropriate attitudes.

Levels of instruction

Mayes and Fowler model

In the context of usability of educational software, Mayes and Fowler (1999), present a simple three stage model that is popular in e-learning.

(1) Conceptualization

refers to the users initial contact with other peoples concepts. This involves an interaction between the learner's pre-existing framework of understanding and a new exposition.

(2) Construction

refers to the process of building and combining concepts through their use in the performance of meaningful tasks. Traditionally these were tasks like laboratory work, writing, preparing presentations etc. The results of such a process are products like essays, notes, handouts, laboratory reports and so on.

(3) Application

the testing and tuning of conceptualizations through use in applied contexts. In education, however, as Laurillard (1993) has pointed out, the goal is testing of understanding, often of abstract concepts. This stage is best characterized in education, then, as dialogue. The conceptualizations are tested and further developed during conversation with both tutors and fellow learners and in the reflection on these. ([1])

This leads to the distinction of primary, secondary and tertiary courseware.

Primary courseware is courseware intended mainly to present subject matter. It would typically be authored by subject matter experts, but is usually designed and programmed by courseware specialists. Increasingly, primary courseware will be seen as a publishing product, for wide distribution. Secondary courseware describes the environment and set of tools by which the learner performs learning tasks and the tasks (and task materials) themselves. Here, the products are volatile and of varied quality. Tertiary courseware is material which was produced by previous learners, in the course of discussing or assessing their learning tasks. It may consist of dialogues between learners and tutors, peer discussions or outputs from assessment. One kind of tertiary material will be compiled from the questions, answers and discussion that will typically be generated by a computer conference. ([2])

Merrill's Levels of Instructional Strategy

See Merrill's first principles of instruction for background information or Merrill (in press, 2006).

Critical variables are learning efficiency, effectiveness and engagement

• Level 0 Instructional Strategy -- Information Only
  • Presentation of information.
  • with or without accompanying recall questions

• Level 1 Instructional Strategy -- Information-only plus demonstration
  • adds consistent demonstrations (portrayals) of scaled complex tasks.
  • This will add some effectiveness and engagement under the condition that demonstrations use relevant contents and media (e.g. appropriate multimedia presentations).

• Level 2 Instructional Strategy -- Information-only plus demonstration plus application
  • adds consistent application of scaled complex tasks with corrective feedback.
  • In addition, application coaching should diminish gradually over time.

• Level 3 Instructional Strategy -- Task-centered with demonstration and application
  • includes consistent demonstrations, application of all component skills.
  • In addition, task progression will increase effectiveness, efficiency and engagement.

Links

• Kearsley's TIP Explorations in Learning & Instruction: The Theory Into Practice Database
  • This is one of the best sources on Learning Theory.
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• Learning Domains or Bloom's Taxonomy
• Major Categories in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Bloom 1956)
• Robert Gagne
• Applying Learning Theories to Online Instructional Design
• The Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives
• Bloom's Taxonomy (Wikibooks)

Links

• Bloom's Taxonomy Visualizations Cheat Sheet (edVibes / G. Alex Ambrose, 2009)

• Gagné's Contributions to the Study of Instruction

• Gagne's Outcomes of Learning, part of Edward Vockell's Educational Psychology: A Practical Approach on-line book, retrieved 21:12, 3 October 2006 (MEST).

• Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, part of Edward Vockell's Educational Psychology: A Practical Approach on-line book, retrieved 21:12, 3 October 2006 (MEST).

• riting Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy

• Bloom's Taxonomy and Critical Thinking, Barbara Fowler, Critical Thinking Accross the Curriculum Project.

References

• Bloom Benjamin S. and David R. Krathwohl. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, by a committee of college and university examiners. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. New York, Longmans, Green, 1956. ISBN 0582280109

• Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge MA: The Belnap Press of Harvard University Press.

• Driscoll, M. (1991, 1994) Psychology of Learning for Instruction: Allyn and Bacon.

• Gagne, Robert M. (1975). Essentials of Learning for Instruction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

• Gagne, Robert M. (1985). The Conditions of Learning and Theory of Instruction, Harcourt, ISBN 0030636884

• Gagne, Robert M., Briggs, Leslie, J., Wager, Walter, F. (1985). Principles of Instructional Design, Wadsworth, ISBN 0030347572

• Leonard, W. Patrick (1975), Essay Review - Instructional Design: An Essay Review of Three Books, American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 12, No. 4. (Autumn, 1975), pp. 507-511. Abstract /PDF

• Laurillard, D (1993) Rethinking University Teaching. A framework for the effective use of educational technology, Routledge, London.

• Mayes, J.T. & Fowler, C.J.H. ( 1999) Learning Technology and Usability: a framework for understanding courseware. Interacting with Computers 11, 485-497doi:10.1016/S0953-5438(98)00065-4

• Merrill, M. D. (In Press). Levels of Instructional Strategy. Educational Technology (2006) [PDF Preprint]

• Wilson, Brent, G. (1997) Reflections on Constructivism and Instructional Design, Preprint for (C. R. Dills and A. A. Romiszowski (Eds.), Instructional Development Paradigms Englewood Cliffs NJ: Educational Technology Publications. HTML

• Vockell, Edward, Educational Psychology: A Practical Approach, on-line book, HTML, retrieved 21:12, 3 October 2006 (MEST).

• Vockell, Edward, Educational Psychology: A Practical Approach Workbook, on-line bookHTML,retrieved 21:12, 3 October 2006 (MEST).

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