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.

Typologies 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.

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, 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.

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

Gage (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

Since Gagne is an instructional designer he then was able to suggest a design model that draws both from behaviorism (lower levels) and cognitivism (higher levels).

Levels of instruction

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

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) 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

• 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