Palestine Polytechnic University

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Theories in Teaching & Learning in Higher

Education
Adnan Shehadeh
December 2016
 Agenda
• Introduction
• Levels of thinking about Teaching & Learning
• How do students learn
• Theories of teaching & learning in H. Ed,
• Constructivism & phenomenography
• Surface & deep approaches to learning
• Sociocultural approaches to learning
• Threshold concept.
• Paradigm shift in higher education.
 Your own Theories
• What are your theories of teaching & learning:
• 1. Learning is…………………
• 2. Teaching is…………………
 Student & Teacher
• What do you think of the student ? What student
is? How do you explain their results?

• What do you think of the teacher ?What the

teacher does?

• What the student does?

 Levels of thinking about teaching
• Level one: What the student is.
• good & poor/ knowing the content/ students should attend,
take notes , read ..etc.
• Teaching is transmitting information
• Differences in learning is attributed to differences between
students ability, motivation, high school ..etc.
• Quantitative way of thinking.
• So, everything( assessment, teaching, classrooms..etc.) is
designed according to this understanding, Transmitting
information.
• Teacher is , the sage on the stage,
 Level 2
• Level 2 focus: What the teacher does.
• based on transmission but concepts &
understandings not just information.
• Learning is a function of what the teacher is
doing.
• Different skills are needed, materials include
complex understandings and required much
more than chalk & talk.
 Level 3
Level 3. Focus: what the student does.
• Student-centered model of teaching,
• The purpose of teaching is learning,
• The emphases is on what the student does and how well
the outcomes are achieved.
Questions:
• What are the desired ILO's?
• What it means to understand?
• What activities needed to have this level of
understanding?
 Your own Theories
• What are your theories of teaching & learning:
1. Learning is…………………
2. Teaching is…………………
 How do Students Learn?
• Learning was a main theme for the research in psychology for over a
century. However, little has been directly resulted in improving
learning.
• Psychologists were involved in looking for One Grand Theory of
Learning rather that the context where people learn. (Biggs 1993a)
• This theory is dead but the role of psychology on education is still
alive.
• In North America the applications of theories of psychology was top-
down ( Gardner MI theory 1999 & Schunk 2002 Motivation
individual factors).
• In Europe it was bottom-up by observing students in context.
• Surface vs. Deep learning (Marton & Saljo , 1976a, 1976b)
 Constructivism & phenomenography
Level 3 theories are based on two main theories: Constructivism & Phenomenography.

• Constructivism:
It can be traced to cognitive psychology & Piaget(1950)
Today it covers different related forms, individual, social,
cognitive, postmodern.
• " Learners construct knowledge with their own
activities , and that they interpret concepts and
principles in terms of the schemata that they have
already developed" (Biggs & Tang 2011).
• Teachers need to engage with and challenge the existing
conceptions of students in order to bring about learning.
 Phenomenography:
• A term that was used by Marton (1981) to refer to the theory built on his
studies with Saljo on approaches to learning.
• It refers to," the idea that the learners perspective determines what is
learned, not necessarily what the teachers intends should be learned."(
Biggs & Tang 2011)
• Outcomes-base teaching & learning.
• The emphases is not on defining learning outcomes, but on changing the
learner's perspective or the way how he sees the world and how he
represent knowledge.
• Using various ways of presenting information and perspectives.
• Both theories believe that education is about conceptual change that
can be achieved by constructing the information rather than acquiring it.
 How to make changes
• What should we do as teachers to make this
change?
 When can this change take place?

• Intended learning outcomes should be clear to

both teachers & students.
• Student experience is an important need to
achieve the outcomes.
• Students feel free to focus on the task.
• Students work collaboratively and in dialogue
with others.
.
 Surface Vs. Deep Learning
Activity:
• Reading a text :
 Surface and Deep approaches to learning

Surface Approach:
• Get rid of the task as soon as possible while appearing to meet the
requirements.
• Low –level cognitive activities are used.
• Students focus on the "signs of learning", the words used, isolated facts, items
treated independently of each other.
• Negative feelings about the learning tasks: anxiety, boredom,
• Several factors encourage this approach: from students side
, the intention is to have the minimal pass, non-academic priorities, insufficient
time, workload, misunderstanding requirements, high anxiety, inability to
understand the content at a deep level.
• The teachers: teaching separately, assessing for independent facts, teaching
and assessing in a negative attitude, providing insufficient time, creating low
expectations of success.
 Deep Approach: How to achieve?
• Arises from a felt need to engage the task appropriately and meaningfully.
• Students try to use the most appropriate cognitive activities.
• Focus on meaning, main ideas and themes,
• Positive feelings, sense of importance , challenge.
• Several factors encourage deep learning: students intention to engage the task
meaningfully, appropriate background knowledge, ability to focus on high
conceptual level.
• From the teachers side:
teaching in a way that bring out the structure of the topic, elicit active
response from students, building on what students already know, confronting
students misconceptions, assessing for structure rather than for independent
facts, teaching and assessing in a way that encourage positive learning,
emphasizing the depth of learning rather than the breadth of coverage. Using
teaching and assessment methods that supports the outcomes.
 Surface Vs. Deep Learning  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M6YZ-iOU5E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6BmbdzPcrY
 Sociocultural Approaches to Learning:
• The focus is on the interaction between learning and the social and cultural
environment and how participating in social activity influence learning.
• Learners develop new identities as participants in learning communities.
• Teachers should give students the opportunities to be engaged in collaborative
activities using the same tools of the intended community.(scientists, linguists,
…)
• These approaches focus on the community dimensions of learning more than
on individual learners.
• Lev Vygotsky (1978) Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) two levels that a
learner can perform independently and the one that needs scaffolding.
• He developed the framework of , communities of practice, appears whenever
people get together in an activity.
• Learning depends on mutual engagement, access to information, shared ways
of doing things
 Sociocultural…..How to be implemented in
H.Ed.

• Involving students in curriculum design, real-life

experiences,
• Larger classes limit the engagement.
• Create opportunities to have a community of
competent and incompetent, novice and
experience.
• This shows the importance of informal learning.
 Threshold Concepts:

• Threshold concepts are," key concepts held in the disciplines that are
central to the mastery of their subject."
• It is better to focus on these concepts rather than a lot of content.
• The focus is on learning as transformation and changing of existing
schemata. ( like constructivism)
• How to identify threshold concepts? They are:
• Transformative.
• Irreversible
• Integrative
• Troublesome.
• They are good for developing the curriculum,
 
 Activity
• In groups,
What are the threshold concepts in your field ?
 Reflection
• What are your theories of teaching &
learning?
Teaching is…………………..
Learning is …………………
 Section 2.

Paradigm Sift in Higher Education

 Policy trends in Higher Education
• Shifting policy focus from elite to mass
• Shifting quality assurance regimes from input to outcomes
• Shifts in degree structuring
• Shifts in policy expectations: education as commodity in
knowledge society, private good economic drive, credentials,
education as a social right, widening participation, lifelong
learning
• Shift in preferred outcomes and styles of teaching:
vocationalism in learning and professionalisation of teaching
• Shifts in student populations and expectations
Current trends in teaching and learning
• Shift from teaching to learning
• Shift from input to outcomes and from content coverage to
constructive alignment
• Shift from knowledge to skills in learning , Increased focus
on student-centered teaching and evaluation of teaching.
More sophisticated and progressive methodologies
• Shift from intuitive and private teaching practice to
professional and public teaching practice
• Calls for excellent and scholarly teaching based on genuine
pedagogical content knowledge
 References
• Biggs, J. (2011) Teaching for quality learning at university . Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press.
• Race, R (2015)The Lecturer toolkit: A practical guide to assessment, learning and teaching. New York,
Routledge.
• Baume, D & Kahn, P (2004) Enhancing staff & Educational development. London, Routledge.
• Cowan, J. (On becoming an innovative university teacher: Reflection in action. Buckingham: SRHE and
Open University Press.
• Fray, H. , Ketteridge, S. , & Marshall, S. (2015) A handbook for teaching & learning in higher education:
Enhancing academic practice.
• What causes the surface approach in students? Surface learning
Deep learning (Biggs 2003:15-16)
• an intention to achieve a minimal pass (low or external motivation)
non-academic priorities exceeding the academic ones (external
motivation) insufficient time, too heavy workload misunderstanding
the requirements and criteria for assessment a cynical view of
education high anxiety a genuine inability to understand a particular
content
• an intention to engage in the task meaningfully (motivation,
curiosity, determination) appropriate background knowledge and
study skills an ability to work at a high conceptual level, starting from
principles a genuine preference for working conceptually rather then
listing unrelated detail
• What about deep and surface teaching? Surface factors Deep factors
• teaching in a way that explicitly brings out the structure of the topic teaching to
elicit an active response from the students teaching by building on what the
students already know. confronting and eradicating students misconceptions.
assessing for structure and understanding not for facts. positive working
atmosphere. emphasizing the depth of learning not breadth of coverage.
practicing what you preach.
• Biggs, John. (2003) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Buckingham: SRHE
and Open University Press
• teaching that concentrates on enumeration of points without bringing out the
intrinsic structure of the topic assessing for independent facts, such as in short
answer and multiple choice questions. teaching and assessing in a way that
encourages cynicism providing insufficient time to engage the tasks creating
undue anxiety or low expectations of success teaching on too low cognitive level,
providing no intellectual challenge