200-03 THREE STRAND MODEL OF LEARNING

Community Learning Development Resource 200 – 03

 

A THREE STRAND MODEL OF LEARNING

SUMMARY

We are suggesting that within any learning engagement or experience, the process has three key strands of learning. Awareness of these strands enables us to plan for success, and through reflection and evaluation of the experience, we can seek to make the learning processes more effective.

NOTES

  1. The Learning Strand, which supports the gaining of the learning
    • The learning content –  ‘what is to be learnt’ the intended/planned learning – the scheme of work, subject, syllabus, knowledge and skills
    • In most traditional and formal ‘education and training’ teaching and learning situations this LearningStrandis the dominant strand
    • The learning outcomes are predominantly to do with gains in knowledge, understanding and skills areas.

 

  1. The Learner Development Strand, which is about how the adult develops through the learning experience
  • How the learning experience, enables the learner to develop and grow as a learner – more focused on their feelings and thoughts about learning
  • In learning experiences, which are about the individual’s personal development and their learning abilities, this strand becomes dominant
  • This is the key learner capacity-building strand – individually and also contributing to collective capacity
  • Understanding how the learning experience has benefited the individual in ways that  they recognise, understand and value – including how they then feel about themselves.

 

  1. The Feedback Strand, which is about the feedback to the teacher or source of the learning, e.g., the learning, from the experience, for the learning provider
  • What the learning provider can learn from the experience, for example – what the worker or agency can learn from the learning experiences of those who participate
  •  This strand is always there but not always effectively understood or used
  • Principal application of this strand of learning is to ’’do it better next time’’!

 

REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

Consider an adult learning experience:

We can put before people (learners) the necessary learning – the facts and figures; the subject knowledge and understanding; the practical skills within the subject – but can we now expect that this will result in successful learning and that they will be able to choose to use and apply the learning in appropriate ways?

 

For individual learners, does learning success depend upon:

  • How well the learning has been taken on by each individual learner?
  • How aware the individual is of what they have learned and what can be done with it?
  • How relevant the learning is and how motivated is each individual to use it?
  • How confident is each individual to use and apply the learning?
  • Is it evident that what is learned – the Learning Strand, does contribute to the development of the learner as a learner and a whole person?
  • Do learners naturally grow in confidence and self-motivation because they now know more or can do more? Does being a successful learner always build an individuals self-confidence?
  • Can subject-learning success and achievements contribute significantly to improving the learners’ self-esteem and sense of self-worth?
  • Should we be concerned how the learner perceives their success? Does the learner need to become aware of their success and value it?
  • When learning is assessed, how is feedback to the learner provided?  How significant is this in ensuring that the learning is owned and valued by the learner, and that she/he is empowered by the experience?

 

Assessment of learning is not just about measuring and estimating whether or not learning success has been achieved and to what degree. Within the assessment process, providing effective feedback to the learner, can crucially build learner confidence and their ownership of the learning. Assessment feedback is a key process within the Learner Strand, concerned not just with what has been learned, but how the learner feels about it.

 

The Learner Development Strand causes us to focus holistically on the learner as a human being interacting with the learning rather than on simply being a passive recipient of what is to be learnt. The Learner Development Strand prompts us to build effective working relationships with individual learners, such that we are able to build their individual abilities and capacity as learners.

 

The Feedback Strand is about what we learn from the learning experience:

  • Did the experience work successfully?
  • Did the learner(s) learn successfully and benefit from what we did with them?
  • Could it have been done better and if so what changes or improvements would we make next time around?
  • What was the quality of the learning experience for the learner?
  • Can we learn from this learning experience, useful things which we can transfer and apply to improve other situations?