Thanks, Janet.
An excellent point. One relevant not only to applied research in
education, but also to medical research as this fascinating article
demonstrates.
Best,
Nic
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/8269/
On Apr 27, 2012, at 11:00 AM, Norton, Janet L wrote:
> As ever, Nic, your posts are informative and a pleasure to read &
> consider.
>
> I'd like to add another issue that impacts our work, though it is
> not specific to learning assistance or developmental education.
> It's about statistics and research.
>
> For many people, the "gold standard" of traditional quantitative
> research is the ability to claim statistical significance. I am
> over-simplifying, but we look for methods that work 95% of the
> time. If we try Method G and it appears to help students, then we
> try G again and through statistics we find that such good results
> probably didn't occur by chance. So we share our results through
> publications and presentations. If we try Method G that second time
> and do not get results that are statistically significant, we might
> try again, but we aren't as likely to share, nor are publications
> and conferences especially interested in accepting what doesn't
> work. So one person who gets good results is heard, while many who
> don't get those awesome and/or consistent results sit back and feel
> bad about the failure.
>
> I once suggested -- not totally in jest -- that we need a forum for
> failures. It would give us all a much richer view of the
> realities. Anonymity, of course, would be critical. ;)
>
> So the idea that context and individuality, student and instructor
> differences, institutional culture and program management are all
> integral to successful learning is not a cop-out or easy excuse.
> The way we measure success does need to be reconsidered and made
> much richer than the happy-anecdote qualitative study or p-value
> quantitative study alone. Learning IS a complex process.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]
> ] On Behalf Of Nic Voge
> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 9:28 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Information about the Cone' fabricated data
>
> Well said, Patricia. I couldn't agree more about the over-
> application of general statements about learning. Virtually all of
> the statements I make to students are prefaced with, "It depends..."
>
> However, I would add an additional reason why these statements are
> made and are appealing beyond mere fadishness. Much work on learning
> processes and strategies comes out of an experimental psychological
> paradigm. In an effort to emulate the natural sciences, most
> psychological science seeks to make universal statements about human
> processes. This is both an imperative and an assumption of much
> psychological research. However, in our field we are usually making
> statements about, as you quote, "methods" (approaches, strategies,
> techniques, tools) and these are inherently applied and contextual.
> Thus, variety is introduced by the individual learner and the
> situations in which he/she is acting in ways that experiments seek
> to control and thus eliminate. In short, there is a tendency to
> make claims about the application and reach of these principles
> without proper qualification. Experiments ARE contexts, and they are
> quite different than the contexts of college classrooms in many
> respects.
>
> There are alternative theoretical and research paradigms that have
> been developed that are better suited to our work than conventional
> experimental psychology. There is, for instance, a much more robust
> tradition--I am told--in studying individual differences in the
> continental tradition of psychological research. Additionally,
> situated learning and literacy, cognitive anthropology,
> phenomenology, and other socio-cultural and socio-cognitive
> approaches do a much better job of theorizing and accounting for the
> contexts of learning.
> But, we don't have to get all theoretical about it. Our experience
> tells us that these general statements are insufficient, and similar
> observations were made long before highfalutin' terms like "situated
> cognition" were ever imagined. Mina Shaughnessey made a compelling
> case over 30 years ago in her book Errors and Expectations. Her
> thesis could be simplified to: We must understand the institutional
> expectations if we are going to understand students' errors.
> Correspondingly, I would argue, we must understand the context (and
> more importantly, students must understand their learning
> situations), if we are to create or "choose" appropriate learning
> strategies.
>
> Thanks for raising this point,
> Nic
> On Apr 27, 2012, at 9:47 AM, Maher, Patricia wrote:
>
>> Hello Saundra and others in this conversation,
>>
>> I have been following it and enjoying it, and also want to follow up
>> Saundra's encouraging words to all of you who offer your expertise
>> here.
>> So I couldn't resist this one and thanks to Saundra for sharing the
>> link where this was debunked.
>>
>> As learning specialists, this statement from the website article
>> should become our mantra . . .
>>
>> " general statements on the effectiveness of learning methods are not
>> credible---learning results depend on too many variables to enable
>> such precision."
>>
>> Having been in education for longer than I care to admit, I have
>> always worried about the tendency in the field to latch on to the
>> latest "recipe" for success. And yes, in many of the study skills
>> books and materials we all use still do this. In our workshops, we
>> emphasize that learning is complicated, highly individualized,
>> contextual, and that there are no "one size fits all" strategies.
>> We focus on helping students understand their own learning profiles,
>> and then help them learn to analyze the learning tasks, leading to
>> strategies based on the task and capitalizing on their learning
>> preferences, or determining how they may need to develop adaptive
>> strategies. Better understanding the task is what should drive the
>> strategic approach. We refer to it and understanding the "target
>> zone" In our Strategic Learning class we use the Let Me Learn system
>> for this. But in workshops, where we only have an hour, the point is
>> simply to debunk the idea that there is one way to !
>> study and learn, and focus on the task analysis.
>>
>> And by the way, the "Count the Vowels" activity (which I picked up on
>> this listserve!) is a great interactive exercise to demonstrate this
>> idea of studying with the wrong target zone in mind. I wrap up the
>> discussion with this quick funny video on the target zone:
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE8CUT66AMs
>>
>> Comments from the students after attending this workshop regularly
>> mention that they never thought to think first about the task before
>> they determine how to proceed.
>>
>> Thanks for all the great ideas and discussions. Keep them coming!
>>
>>
>> Pat
>>
>> Patricia A. Maher, Ph. D.
>> Director, Tutoring and Learning Services University of South Florida
>> 4202 E. Fowler Ave.
>> Tampa, FL 33620
>> LIB 206
>> (813)974-5141
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]
>> ] On Behalf Of Saundra Y McGuire
>> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 9:08 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Information about the Cone' fabricated data
>>
>> http://www.willatworklearning.com/2006/05/people_remember.html
>>
>>
>> Saundra McGuire, Ph.D.
>> Assistant Vice Chancellor for Learning, Teaching, and Retention
>> Professor, Department of Chemistry 135A T Boyd Hall Louisiana State
>> University Baton Rouge, LA 70803
>> 225.578.6749 phone
>> Saundra Y. McGuire, Ph.D.
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]
>> ] On Behalf Of M.E. McWilliams
>> Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2012 7:29 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: A great website
>>
>> The website listed below claims that Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience
>> fabricates percentages but doesn't give documentation to
>> substantiate that claim. I have used the pictured chart in several
>> workshops so the matter is of concern to me. Anyone have a comment
>> on the subject?
>>
>> wOO HoO!
>> M.E. McWilliams
>> AARC Tutoring Center Director
>> FACEBOOK US!
>> Stephen F. Austin State University
>> 936 468 1439
>>
>> The views and opinions expressed in this message are my own and do
>> not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Stephen F. Austin
>> State University, its Board of Regents, or the State of Texas.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]
>> ] On Behalf Of Saundra Y McGuire
>> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 11:53 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: A great website
>>
>> https://sites.google.com/a/uwlax.edu/exploring-how-students-learn/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Saundra McGuire, Ph.D.
>> Assistant Vice Chancellor for Learning, Teaching, and Retention
>> Professor, Department of Chemistry 135A T Boyd Hall Louisiana State
>> University Baton Rouge, LA 70803
>> 225.578.6749 phone
>> Saundra Y. McGuire, Ph.D.
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your
>> subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your
>> web browser to http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html
>>
>> To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your
>> subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your
>> web browser to http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html
>>
>> To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your
>> subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your
>> web browser to
>> http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html
>>
>> To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your
>> subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your
>> web browser to
>> http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html
>>
>> To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]
>
> __________________________________
> Dominic (Nic) J. Voge
> [log in to unmask]
> (609)258-6921
> http://www.princeton.edu/mcgraw/us/
>
> Associate Director
> McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning
> 328C Frist Campus Center
> Princeton University
> Princeton, NJ 08544
>
> Individual Appointment Times:
> By appointment for Fall 2011
>
>
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your
> subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your
> web browser to
> http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html
>
> To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your
> subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your
> web browser to
> http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html
>
> To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]
__________________________________
Dominic (Nic) J. Voge
[log in to unmask]
(609)258-6921
http://www.princeton.edu/mcgraw/us/
Associate Director
McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning
328C Frist Campus Center
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544
Individual Appointment Times:
By appointment for Fall 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your
subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your web browser to
http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html
To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]
|
