The Goal of Education Is Learning, Not Teaching

By Soumil Sheth, Pharmacy Practice Resident, Howard County General Hospital 

Traditional education is defined as teacher-centered teaching to students who are the receivers of information⁵. It is pretty well known that traditional education emphasis more on teaching rather than learning (Bacon and Stewart, 2006). In most classes, memorization is thought to be the key to learning. Most of the information memorized is only remembered for a short period of time and then is forgotten. You can improve your students’ academic performance by incorporating concepts derived from research into how students gain, process, integrate, and apply information and skills. Research has shown that students who have inaccurate or incomplete assumptions and beliefs about a topic will have difficulty grasping new concepts and information (Bransford et al. 2000). Research has also shown that students can more easily recall what they already know and integrate new material when given a conceptual framework (Bransford et al. 2000). I strongly believe that in order to improve students’ academic performance, we will have to optimize student learning for long-term retention and retrieval, and application of information in a real-world setting.

One way we can optimize student learning is by promoting students’ intellectual development. Belenky and associates define students’ intellectual development in three different stages. The earliest stage is known as “received knowledge” where students believe that there is a single right answer. Students believe that knowledge is established facts and that education consists of a professor providing explanations. Students begin to realize, over time, that in many instances there is no perfect answer and learn to revise their thinking. Belenky et al. (1986) define this developmental stage as “subjective knowledge” where knowledge no longer consists of right and wrong answers; knowledge becomes a matter of educated opinion. In the final stages of cognitive development, students begin to have their own opinion on issues on the basis of their own analysis. Belenky et al. (1986) define this stage as “constructed knowledge” where students integrate knowledge from others with knowledge learned from self-experience.

One way to optimize students learning is by helping them retain, retrieve, and apply information. One of the most important concepts is to emphasize the value of the review, reviewing important concepts every few days or weeks. Research suggest that more than half of the new material is forgotten within a matter of days or weeks if they do not continue to review that material as needed based on a student. Strategies such as developing mnemonics, charts, tables and visual images tend to help students retain key concepts. Reiteration of key concepts throughout the semester also help students retain information (Bransford et al. 2000)

In addition, providing opportunities for active learning will also help students grasp important concepts. Students learn by doing, writing, and discussing. Such activities allows them to test what they have learned and how thoroughly they understand the material. The more opportunities students have to restate or apply key concepts, the better they will be able to remember those concepts. Furthermore, creating opportunities for students to learn in the context of real-world challenges will enhance these concepts. Real-world challenges reflect how knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations, also known as situation learning. Examples of situation learning include asking students to research literature in order to provide optimal care for their patients, giving a presentation on a disease state, or developing a treatment plan for a patient based on patient related factors and evidence based medicine (Anderson et al. 1996)

Lastly, design tests that emphasize what you want students to learn. Studies show that studying for frequent quizzes enhances students’ long-term retention. What students remember is also influenced by the kind of material that appears on the tests. Cumulative tests are extremely effective because they require students to continually review and integrate the course material.  (Bacon and Stewart, 2006)

Overall, improving students’ academic performance is a multi-factorial approach. The process initiates with optimizing students’ learning to providing opportunities to help them retain, retrieve, and apply information.

References

1)      Anderson, J. R., et al. “Situated Learning and Education.” Educational Researcher, 1996, 25(4), 5-11.

2)      Bacon, D. R., and Stewart, K. A. “How Fast Do Students Forget What They Learn in Consumer Behabior> A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Marketing Education, 2006, 28(3), 181-192.

3)      Belenky, M. F., et al. Women’s Way of Knowing: The Development of Self, Body, and Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1986.

4)      Bransford J. D., et al. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington DC: National Academy Press 2000.

5)      Hearst Newspaper. The Advantages of Traditional Schools.http://education.seattlepi.com/advantages-traditional-schools-2140.html. Published 2016. Accessed March 16, 2017.