Week 3 Discussion Questions

Reading

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How Learning Works:

• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4

Discussion Questions

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1. What stood out to you from this week’s reading? Think of things that made sense in light of your own experience, things you’re not convinced of, or questions that you have.

• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4

How Learning Works

Chapter 3: What Factors Motivate Students to Learn?

2. Take a moment with Figure 3.2 (p.80). Can you think of an situation you’ve encountered in a classroom that is explained by this figure?

3. Do you think learners at Carpentries workshops will have primarily learning goals or performance goals? How about at Instructor Training events?

4. This chapter offers a number of strategies for establishing value and building positive expectancies (p.83-89). Which are most relevant to Carpentries workshops and trainings? Are any of them not relevant in this setting? Why or why not?

Chapter 4: How Do Students Develop Mastery?

5. This chapter discusses expert “blind spots” (now re-named in our curriculum as “expert awareness gaps”) and cognitive load. How might these affect learners during Instructor Training? How about Trainers?

6. When students learn skills but don’t learn how to apply them, they may fail to use those skills when they are relevant. How can we help learners bridge the gap between learning and application? Is this different for Instructor Training vs Carpentries workshops?

Key Points

• Learner motivation in Instructor Training can be very different from the motivation we see in workshops.
• Instructors can influence learner motivation with three ‘levers’ of value, expected efficacy, and a supportive environment.
• Carpentries Instructor Training aims to teach several component skills of teaching. However, this does not guarantee that all skills will be actively used. Trainers can prepare trainees to bridge this gap by explicitly discussing application as well as supporting practice and feedback.
• Trainers experience expert awareness gaps and cognitive overload too!