{"id":2,"date":"2016-11-25T20:16:54","date_gmt":"2016-11-25T20:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/physicsbasics\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2016-12-01T13:52:24","modified_gmt":"2016-12-01T20:52:24","slug":"sample-page","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/physicsbasics\/sample-page\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Philosophy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teaching Philosophy and Teaching Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n

My teaching is grounded in a constructivist learning theory. Constructivism posits that new knowledge and new skills cannot be imparted from one individual to another, i.e. the instructor does not simply transfer his or her knowledge or expertise. Rather the learner re-constructs new knowledge and integrates it in his or her existing knowledge system thereby not merely adding to, but changing what has been acquired previously. Constructivism sees the teacher as a facilitator to this process of building and transforming the learner\u2019s mind. Active and interactive learning activities are an essential part of this learning theory and its realization in educational institutes, such as universities. Currently, my lectures build entirely on this learning theory, as I structure and organize the students\u2019 learning through active and interactive learning tasks exclusively.<\/p>\n

The design of specific learning tasks<\/strong> in my courses is strongly influenced by R. Mayer\u2019s theory of multimedia learning (Mayer 2014) and its derived principles.<\/p>\n

\"a00\"<\/p>\n

(Image\u00a0<\/em>of Mayer\u2019s model from\u00a0http:\/\/mathewmitchell.net\/multimedia\/mml\/ (with permission))<\/em><\/p>\n

Meaningful learning happens when the learner engages in five cognitive processes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. selecting<\/strong> <\/span>relevant words for processing in verbal working memory<\/li>\n
  2. selecting<\/strong><\/span> relevant images for processing in visual working memory<\/li>\n
  3. organizing<\/strong> selected words into a verbal model<\/li>\n
  4. organizing<\/strong> selected images into a pictorial model<\/li>\n
  5. integrating<\/strong><\/span> the verbal and pictorial representations with each other and with prior knowledge.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A key idea underlying this model is the limited capacity of working memory (Baddeley and Hitch 1974) and cognitive load (Paas and Sweller in Mayer 2014). There is a limit to the amount of information that can be held at one time in working memory (up to 7 items for approximately 20s, Miller 1956). Information in sensory memory disappears in less than a second and information can be stored in long-term memory for many years.<\/p>\n

    The limitations of working memory make it necessary that the learner selects information in real time and decides what seems to be important. The selected information is organized and integrated with knowledge that is retrieved from long term memory to construct new knowledge. Finally, (some of) the new knowledge is transferred back to long-term memory.<\/p>\n

    The learner develops increasingly sophisticated \u2018schemas\u2019, which are cognitive constructs that organize information for storage in long term memory. Learned procedures are transferred from controlled to automatic processing. I think of this as algorithms that an expert can invoke when classifying a problem question as an \u201cenergy-question\u201d or \u201cNewton\u2019s 2nd<\/sup> law-question\u201d. Automatic processing frees capacity in working memory for other tasks.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    In Mayer\u2019s model, twelve evidence-based principles<\/strong> are grouped based on the three types of cognitive load):<\/p>\n