ASSIGNMENT # 2: SYNTHESIS AND ANALYSIS PAPER

Designing Effective Learning Environments: Importance

of Metacognition & Transfer of Learning


Lysa Samuel
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Instructor: Bill Hunter Course: Principles of Learning Course Code: EDUC 5001 Due Date: July 23, 2012
Metacognition and Transfer of Learning 2

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Introduction:
Imagine being a new graduate, heading off to a new country with an entirely different school curriculum
and culture, to teach mathematics. Well this paper will describe my first teaching experience, where I
threw myself into the unknown and came out of it in one whole piece. Maybe it was the high of
surviving a very tough year but I did feel I had one class that was the best in terms of great teaching and
learning practices. We will breakdown the learning that actually occurred to see if this is true.
A day before school started in September I was given my class lists; two year sevens, one year eight, two
year tens, and two year 11, and why not throw in a year 12 tutor group, I was of course the newbie. The
first two months I was struggling with the administrative and behavioral needs of the classroom. Luckily
I had a good idea about the curriculum (the only thing I was able to prepare for before arriving). I went
by the book. I used strategies that I was familiar with, and made it work for my classes. Many of my
classes required inventing strategies and re-inventing strategies based on the attitudes and behaviors of
the learners. There was one class in particular that I had the easiest time with, which helped me be
more creative and allowed for more freedom when designing lessons. This was my dream class and I felt
a lot more learning was happening as the students were engaged and responsive.
The Class:
The grade 7 mathematics class was taught at a public school which I was teaching overseas in England.
The school was a sport oriented school and catered to a mixed group of students with high emotional
and behavioral needs. Behavior issues were at a minimum for this class as they were the youngest
students in the school, since grades start at year seven and go up to year twelve. The class had 19
students and was part of the higher set. Schools in England have sets which are almost equivalent to
applied and academic in Canada. The difference is that students are placed into different sets according
to test scores which are given throughout the school year (this means they can be switched to the lower
set mid-term, or moved up from a lower set). Most of the students were working at the same level
according to test scores, I had one student who was diagnosed with ADHD but was taken out of school
on Fridays, and I also had 4 gifted students in math.
The classroom was equipped with a SMART board and a whiteboard. I had a desktop computer to access
attendance and input marks; it was also hooked up to the SMART board to utilize different software. The
curriculum although new to me was easily accessible for teachers, and was straightforward for grade 7.
The standard routine of the class followed the departments policy for all classes. Students would line up
outside of the class until they were invited in, after entering the class they would stand behind their
chairs and show they have all the materials and homework for the day by placing it on their desks. When
they are requested to take their seats they start on the introduction work which consisted of drill
questions, or review questions from the previous days homework or lesson. On top of the board would
be the learning objectives for the day, and the lesson would precede. After the first two months of
getting to know my class and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, I started to reward their
hard work during the week with a game day on Friday. During game Friday students, in groups of 3 or 4,
would rotate through 5 game stations which were 10 minutes each. The first time game Friday was
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introduced, students were prepped on Thursday on how each game was played so there would be a
smoother flow and more play time on Friday. The games included math board games, worksheets, and
interactive SMART board activities.
The learning that occurred during these game days seemed to be an effective way of reviewing
material. I wanted to focus my analysis on this class because I thought it was my best class. My students
seemed to really enjoy my lessons, they completed their homework, scored well on tests, had very little
behavioral issues, and loved my class (at least that is what they told me). Maybe there was more to their
learning that I overlooked. Maybe there was room for improvement or opportunities for learning that I
may have missed. By analyzing the methods of my teaching through the different perspectives and
theories of learning we will breakdown the learning processes that did occur and see if it truly was the
best.
Learning Theories and Perspective of the Class:
Behavourism:
If we look at the learning that was occurring from a behaviorists perspective we will see the
research of Skinner, Pavlov and Bandura come to life. B.F. Skinners theory of operant conditioning
states that behaviors that are reinforced will keep occurring whereas behaviors that are undesirable and
punished will stop (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012). The conditions of game Friday were clearly
stated to the students as being a reward for a productive week Monday through Thursday. Students
quickly learned that if they did not exhibit the proper classroom etiquette they would not be rewarded
at the end of the week, this directly displays the operant conditioning Skinner referred to. Ivan Pavlov
had a similar theory of conditioning but it differed as it was an automatic response (Learning Theories
Knowledgebase, 2012). Pavlov looked at reflexes exhibited in response to a stimulus that was already
evoked by the same stimulus previously. My students showed this type of behavior with their daily
classroom routines, and with game Fridays. The students had already gone through the motions of lining
up, entering the classroom, displaying their equipment and homework on their desks and so they would
automatically know what to do the next class without me reminding them. The same type of behavior
was displayed on game Friday after the first three weeks. Students became very familiar with the
requirements of that lesson, showing that automatic learning occurred as explained by Pavlov (Learning
Theories Knowledgebase, 2012). The social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura also found its
place within my grade 7 math class. Bandura describes his theory as an observational theory where
individuals learn from each other through observing, imitation, and modeling (Learning Theories
Knowledgebase, 2012).During game Friday and during lessons I would have the students watch me work
through the example, have them try one on their own. Most methods used in classrooms display a social
atmosphere of learning where students imitate the teacher and each other as stated in Banduras
theory (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012).

Constructivism:
I also felt quite a bit of the learning that was occurring was through a constructivist point of
view. Lev Vygotsky stated social interactions must occur before development can (Learning Theories
Knowledgebase, 2012). Even though my students were interacting with myself in class discussions and
during lessons, few opportunities for interaction between peers was done during the lesson. Game
Fridays gave the students the opportunity to interact on a social level for the entirety of the lesson.
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Students were able to demonstrate their understanding of previously learned concepts by applying it to
a different niche/ situation. Wenger described a community of practice was created by groups who
were passionate about something and try to make it better, the communities of practice I created
during game Fridays were intentionally created which did seem, for the most part, to work out well.
Overall the constructivist nature of these lessons gave the students the opportunity to actively involve
themselves in their learning and reinforce their previously learned concepts (Learning Theories
Knowledgebase, 2012).

Making it better:
What could I have done to redesign the classroom environment to welcome more effective methods of
teaching and learning? Although I felt like I had done a good job integrating social interactions, and
construction of knowledge, I could have restructured the environment to include deeper metacognitive
processes and created opportunities for transfer of knowledge.
As eloquently stated by Donovan and Bransford (2005):
As teachers and researchers become more familiar with some common aspects of student
thinking about a topic, their attention may begin to shift to other aspects that have previously
attracted little notice. And as insights about one topic become commonplace, they may be
applied to new topics.

A lot of the time I would practice teaching techniques that got content to my students, gave good test
results, and worked consistently. By not taking risks I hindered my students to grow further in their
learning.

Metacognition:
Metacognition is the ability to know how you learn best, and to have the insight to think about thinking
(Wasilow, 2009). It is important for the classroom teacher to create opportunities for their students to
collaborate together and to have a collective construction of knowledge through problem solving and
reflection (Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2008). How does this translate to designing an effective learning
environment? Research has suggested different methods teachers can apply to classrooms to create an
effective learning environment (Boettcher, 2007). Within her ten core principle of design, Boettcher
(2007) concludes the important role that educators have to recognize the unique attributes each learner
brings with them and to use this insight to develop knowledge, content, and skills. With stronger
metacognitive skills learners can function better within their learning environment and self-regulate
their learning within different contexts (Roll, Aleven, McLaren & Koedinger, 2007). This is reassuring as I
find it near impossible to understand every aspect of all my learners, but I do find it plausible to help my
students reach and understand of themselves so they can advocate for their own learning.
Roll, Aleven, McLaren & Koedinger (2007) stated:
However, not every system that supports metacognition also teaches it. Merely channeling
students toward more productive metacognitive behavior may lead to increased learning at the
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domain level, but is not likely to improve the students general learning skills. The improved
metacognitive behavior in such cases is not likely to persist beyond the scope of the tutored
environment; one might say that it is the result of a metacognitive crutch, as opposed to a
metacognitive scaffold.
To become a mentor in guiding our learners to understand how they think is not an easy task. It is
important to break down the skills they need and build them up bit by bit. In order give my students an
opportunity to learn how they learn, implementing a metacognitive environment will help them get
there. Three phases are required when implementing metacognition into instructional design ; 1 intent
of lesson, 2- opportunity to reflect, 3- assessment of task (Wasilow, 2009). I believe I successfully
covered phase 1 by outlining expectations, covering topics, and connecting it to similar topics covered,
but I did not give them the opportunities to discover connections on their own. By asking monitoring
questions I could have guided their focus for the task and helped them to self-regulate their learning
(Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2008). Phase 2 was completely overlooked; I did not create an environment
for reflection and analysis of their own learning, I did not check in with them to see if they were reaching
the goals of the task. Allowing the students to collaborate and ask high-level questions would help to
catalyze reflective thinking (Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2008). Lastly with phase 3, I looked more at formal
assessment rather than guiding my students in assessing their own learning processes. The best way to
implement the three phases is to consider myself a facilitator who is present to support knowledge
building, and becoming a model of these practices (Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2008).
Hmelo-Silver & Barrows (2008) suggested:
Statements were coded as metacognitive statements if they were geared toward monitoring
collective or individual understanding (e.g., I think this makes sense), task-related progress
(e.g., we need to write a new problem denition), and self-directed learning (e.g., I think that
should be a learning issue).
Allowing students to learn how they learn can be done through modeling the appropriate steps and
behavior in my own metacognitive processes. Thinking out loud, breaking down my methods of analysis
will help them understand why they understood something, and how they can learn something new.
Transfer of Learning:
Processes of learning and the transfer of learning are central to understanding how people develop
important competencies. (Cocking, Donovan, Bransford, Brown, & Pellengrino, 2000). Research has
shown that the transfer of knowledge is not an automatic process but can be promoted through well
thought instructional design (Mark, 2006). As the instructor it is my responsibility to create a learning
environment by understanding the best instructional strategies that will promote transfer (Mark, 2006).
Transfer can happen is two different ways; 1- low-road transfer or 2- high-road transfer (Perkins &
Salomon, 1988). Low- road transfer is unconscious and occurs when a learner can relate a previous
situation to a similar one (Perkins & Salomon, 1988). In my class an example of low-road transfer would
be a student working through math problems in class and having the same type of question for
homework with different numbers. High-road transfer is a thought-provoked, conscience process that
can connect a previously learnt experience to something that is not similar. An example would be giving
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my students theoretical knowledge on a topic and having them apply it practically in another subject.
Game Friday would have been more effective if I introduced more practical hands on activities that
involved problem solving with low-road transfer and high-road transfer opportunities. If I taught my
students about fractions and instead of having them play a board game that made them solve fractions,
I would give them a real-world task where they would have to apply their new knowledge of fractions,
and old knowledge of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Perkins and Salomon (1988)
suggested two techniques to teach for transfer that included hugging and bridging. When you design a
lesson to mimic similar situations students have dealt with before it is known as hugging (Perkins &
Salomon, 1988). Bridging gets students to make conscious abstractions and connections to other areas
of learning (Perkins & Salomon, 1988). Not only would game Friday teach my students mathematical
skills, but it would provide them the opportunity to develop thinking and collaboration skills that they
could apply outside formal school settings.
Conclusion:
Learning is important because no one is born with the ability to function competently as an adult in
society (Cocking et al, 2000). As educators it has always been a goal to ensure all learners are able to
function as critical thinkers in society. In order to make this possible, understanding the dynamics
between the infrastructure of the classroom and the learners thinking is essential. Understanding this
process will make it possible for learning to occur in all places, for all people, at all times. The task of
taking the time to analyze and understand a common learning environment which we will encounter
within the teaching profession will give insight into the learning processes that are occurring, and help
us to make changes to the environment so other types of learning can occur.
Donovan & Bransford (2005) states:
How the balance is struck in creating a classroom that functions as a learning community
attentive to the learners needs, the knowledge to be mastered, and assessments that support
and guide instruction will certainly vary from one teacher and classroom to the next.
By designing game Friday more effectively students would have come out successful, not only in my
grade 7 mathematics class but as life-long learners. Giving my students tools for learning would have
allowed them to use these tools in all aspects of their educational and social experiences.
Through analysis of the learning environments we create as educators and by looking at each learning
experience through a different lens we can create an atmosphere where students can build on their
metacognitive abilities and transfer their knowledge to different learning situations.








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