Theory review by Sifat Baig

 

Theory Review: Environment and context in learning

Sifat Baig

EDAC 635; Spring 2022

Name	Commented on
Sifat Baig	Logan Marlatt
Sifat Baig	Dorcas Acherekoh

 

            In the past, learning was primarily focused on the individual with very little attention given to the learning environment. Recent studies have illustrated that the environment in which learning occurs can be very impactful on the success of that learning. A learning environment focuses on everything outside of the individual, “including the behaviors of the other learners as well as the facilitator (Mackeracher pg.186).” It is hard to encompass one environmental learning strategy because the learning environment is constantly changing. To counteract this change, facilitators must pay extra attention to certain environmental factors like “age, gender, race, ethnicity, lifestyles, religion, language, disabilities, and literacy levels. (Lawson, pg.71).” Some of the environmental learning strategies discussed in this literature review are the impacts of physical environment, how culture plays a role in learning, contextual learning, and situated learning. I will then discuss how these strategies are interpreted today and provide specific examples of how they can be applied to this new generation of students.

Main Points

            A research study conducted by Hwan-Hee Choi, looks at how the physical environment can impact the cognitive load of the learner. In order to understand how the physical environment impacts cognitive load, we must first look at the original cognitive load theory presented by Paas and Van Merriënboer. This model of cognitive load theory states that “cognitive load is a theoretical framework based on our knowledge of human cognitive architecture (Choi, pg.226)” This model breaks down the human cognitive architecture into two main groups, long-term memory and working memory. Paas and Van Merriënboer put cognitive load into categories, intrinsic load and extrinsic load. Intrinsic load is defined by the nature of the learning task, while extrinsic load is defined by how the learning task is presented. Choi states that a new model of cognitive load theory needs to be created in order to describe the physical properties of learning materials or the physical environment in which learning takes place. Choi describes physical learning environment as “a distinct causal factor that can interact with learner characteristics, learning task characteristics, or combination of both (pg. 225).” The physical learning environment should encompass all the physical properties of a place where teaching and learning takes place. Some of these properties include “physical characteristics of learning materials or tools, the physical attributes of the built environment, natural spaces, and physical presence of other people (Choi, pg. 230.).” In their new model for cognitive load, Choi looks at the cognitive effects of the physical learning environment, physiological effects of the physical learning environment, and affective effects of the physical learning environment.

            Choi states that environmental stimuli can have a tremendous effect on the learner’s working memory. Learning environments that are too noisy affects a person’s ability to retrieve information. These types of stimuli should be reduced to make sure there is no cognitive overload. Temperature and climate of the learning environment can lead to physiological effects on learning. Air-quality and thermal conditions can affect arterial blood oxygen levels within the body. Lower oxygen saturation usually occurs in offices that are warmer, causing the learner to exert lower effort. Presenting a high-quality physical learning environment will motivate the learner to exert more effort in their learning. “This perspective assumes that emotional state, mood, or motivation act as a mediator of the relationship between physical learning environment and learning performance (Choi, pg. 235)”

            Cultural environment is another factor that must be thoroughly looked at when discussing environmental learning strategies. Christine Legare defines culture in her research article, Cumulative cultural learning: Development and diversity, as “group-typical behaviors shared by members of the community that rely on socially learned and transmitted information (Legare, pg. 7878).” She goes on to say that humans are ultra cultural because they live in culturally constructed areas. These areas are filled with artifacts, skills, beliefs, and practices that have been inherited, accumulated, and modified over generations. (Legare pg. 7878) She goes on to say that human beings learn through cumulative culture which incorporates skills and knowledge specifically obtained from that culture. Legare explains how human beings learn through cumulative cultural learning. Cumulative cultural learning provides three distinct abilities which are teaching, high fidelity imitation, and language. Teaching and high fidelity imitation should be developed early on because they are the foundation to cumulative cultural learning. “Understanding cultural continuity and variation in teaching and imitation provides insight into the process by which cumulative culture allow humans adapt highly diverse environments. (Legare, pg. 7879)” Teaching styles and languages are cultural differences found across the globe. Every culture has their own distinct way of how they learn and socialize. Even though all languages have some similarities, each one is different depending on which culture it belongs to and how they use it. Creating new dialects is away many cultures use to make a specific language their own. Teaching strategies also vary based on cultural perception. The Western cultural perspective to teaching is very individualistic, whereas the Asian cultural perspective for teaching is more focused on the community as a whole.

            Situated learning focuses on how something is learned and used. In a research article by John Brown, John states that “situations produce knowledge through activity and, learning and cognition are fundamentally situated (Brown pg. 33).” Brown relates how situated learning is similar to how dictionaries use situated examples to define words. Learners can better understand these words when the words are presented in distinct situations to amplify their meaning. Although learning from dictionaries is a good strategy, a word cannot be strictly defined by its definition because the meaning of the word is dependent on the situation the word was derived from. Brown explains that “a concept, for example, will continually evolve with new occasion of use, because new situations, negotiations, and activities inevitably recast it in a new, more densely textured form (Brown, pg. 34)” The meaning of a word is similar to a concept because it is always under construction. According to Brown conceptual knowledge should be thought of as learning tools that may vary depending on the culture they are used by. These conceptual tools need to be used actively in order to gain proper understanding how the tool works. Communities and their viewpoints decide how tools should be used. To fully incorporate situated learning, a facilitator must incorporate cognitive apprenticeship and make sure the activities that they create are authentic activities.

            The last learning environment strategy discussed in this review is contextual learning. Ruzanna Davtyan, a technology manager at the University of Bridgeport Connecticut, defines contextual learning as “learning that only occurs when students process new information or knowledge in a way that only makes sense in their frame of reference. (Davtyan, pg.3)” Davtyan goes on to say that learning and teaching assume that the mind seeks meaning and context and does so by looking at relationships that make sense and appear useful. Educators need to provide learning environments that imitate real life. This type of environment allows students to find connections between non-realistic ideas and everyday world context. Contextual learning helps store short-term memory and strengthens long-term memory. Contextual learning can help teachers connect content with real world applications to help learners easily transfer knowledge from one context to another. Contextual learning applies the REACT model to encourage five forms of learning which are relating, experiencing, applying, cooperation, and transfer (Davtyan, pg.4).

Application

            There are many different factors a facilitator must consider in order to create an effective learning environment for their learners. Choi states that having “the color blue around the walls, having moderate noise, and having high ceilings” can boost the learner’s performance on the creative task (Choi, pg. 236). High ceilings are considered to activate freedom related concepts and improve rational processing. Choi also states that the colors red and blue can increase the learners levels of motivation and enhance the performance on creative tasks. Loud noises tend to be a distraction, but their study found that “moderate to high levels of noise lead to more abstract processing as compared to a low noise level, enhance creativity was only observed in moderate noise levels (Choi, pg. 236).” Another interesting trend found within Choi’s data is that experienced learners perform best in high fidelity environments that include lots of the relevant details and less experienced learners perform best in lower fidelity environments with less irrelevant details. Anxiety levels of learners were also evaluated in this study and the results illustrated that learners with high anxiety perform better when they have a teacher centered environment, and learners with lowing anxiety perform better in an environment where they can control their own learning.

            Cultural learning environments are created when a facilitator can engage their learners in group discussions that values each learner’s opinion. Facilitators should create and structure their learning activities to incorporate “authentic activity”. According to Brown and Associates, authentic activities are “ordinary practices of the specific culture. Their meaning and purpose are socially constructed through negotiations among present and past members (pg. 35).” A facilitator can take their class out into the community to provide concrete experiences based on cultural interactions. This activity can be considered as an authentic activity because it will allow the learners to witness the day-to-day practices of that culture.

            Situated learning is best applied when a facilitator can provide cultural apprenticeship opportunities to its learners. Randy Bell and his colleagues describe the aspects of cultural apprenticeship as “selecting authentic problems for students to solve and provides them with opportunities to apply the skills learned in solving this problem to new situations, gradually increasing task complexity (Bell, pg. 52).” There are four components to cultural apprenticeship which are coaching, practice, collaboration, and reflection. When coaching learners, facilitators must refrain themselves from directly telling students what they need to know. A facilitator should “provide scaffolding for learning and guides students to a place of understanding incompetence (Bell, pg. 52).” This can be done by providing numerous opportunities to practice and refine their skills. Practice and repetition allow the learner to get comfortable with performing a given task. Collaboration is another important component because it stresses the social construction of knowledge. This can be done in engaging the learners in discussions to try to make sense of their experiences and help them construct knowledge. Reflection is the last component of cultural apprenticeship, and it allows the learners to have time to reflect on what they have learned. This can be facilitated by asking students to make observations, predictions, and formulate theories based on what they have learned (Bell, pg. 52)

            Contextual learning can be applied in a classroom by providing concrete experiences based in hands-on learning activities. Ruzanna Davtyan created the REACT model to help facilitators incorporate contextual learning in the classroom. REACT stands for relating, experiencing, applying, cooperation, and transfer (Davtyan, pg. 3). The facilitator needs to start off by making the learning material relatable to the learner. An example of this could be removing technical jargon and replacing it in common terms. For example, referring the concept slope to a steep hill. The second component is providing concrete experience. This can be done by providing hands-on learning opportunities. An example of this would be fixing breaks in an automotive class. The third component is application, which teaches the learner how to apply what they have learned to real life situations. This can be done through simulations of real life problems. A flight simulator is a perfect example of this because it gives pilots a chance to apply their knowledge in an artificial situation that might feel completely real to them. The fourth component is cooperation, which elicits the learner to share, respond and communicate what they have learned to others. Working in groups helps to solve complex problems that would be hard to solve individually. The last component is transferring, which entails using what you have learned and applying it to new situations or contexts. An example of this would be to apply the concept of slope to figure out how a car might depreciate over time.

Reflections

Highlights

Learning is most efficient when certain factors like physical learning environment, context, situations, and cultural learning are incorporated into teaching strategies. Providing an adequate physical learning environment can reduce anxiety levels and increase retention levels for learners. Contextual learning provides learners with hands-on experiences that can transfer to other life situations. Situated learning is properly incorporated through cultural apprenticeships that emerges the learner into a specific culture. Cultural learning is best facilitated when the facilitator can provide authentic learning activities that showcase the day-to-day at procedures of a specific culture.

Process

My process for completing this assignment was to set personal deadlines throughout the week to make sure I got the assignment done in time. I started out by researching using databases provided by Ball State. My original research topic had to be refined, in order to find journal articles that were best suited for this assignment. Once the research process was completed, I highlighted certain key points within the research to use in my paper. I then used Microsoft Word and Dragon NaturallySpeaking to type up this research paper.

Table

Main Theological Ideas	Summary of how to apply ideas to practice
Physical Learning Environment	Facilitator should create a physical learning environment that reduces anxiety, elevates retention, and motivates learners. Present learning materials in colors such as red and blue. Reduce noise levels within your classroom to boost retention and reduce learner’s anxiety. Use classrooms that are spacious with high ceilings to boost creativity.
Situated learning	Provide a cultural apprenticeship. This can be done by assigning assignments that incorporate cultural immersion. Facilitators should ask their learners to observe different cultures and make educated predictions on what they might see. Facilitators should guide learners to use what they have learned to formulate a theory. Give opportunities to reflect and collaborate with fellow classmates on what they learned from their observations.
Cultural learning	Cultural learning can be facilitated by providing authentic activities. This can be done by taking field trips into the community to observe day-to-day activities of a specific culture. Field trips are an example authentic activities. Group discussion on cultural diversity and its related problems, can be a great tool to facilitate cultural learning.
Contextual learning	Contextual learning should be facilitated by using the REACT model. This model encourages the teacher to make learning materials relatable to the learners, give plenty of opportunities to practice and refine their skills, incorporate group discussion to tackle complex problems and provide specific examples on how this knowledge can be applied to different life situations.

 Work Cited

Bell, R. L., Maeng, J. L., & Binns, I. C. (2013). Learning in context: Technology integration in a teacher preparation program informed by situated learning theory. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(3), 348–379. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21075

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x018001032

Choi, H. H., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. (2014). Effects of the Physical Environment on Cognitive Load and Learning: Towards a New Model of Cognitive Load. Educational Psychology Review, 26(2), 225–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-014-9262-6

Davtyan, R. (2014, April). Contextual learning. In Asee 2014 Zone I Conference (pp. 3-5). USA: University of Bridgeport.

Lawson, K. (2015). The Trainer’s Handbook (4th ed.). Wiley.

Legare, C. H. (2017). Cumulative cultural learning: Development and diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(30), 7877–7883. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620743114

MacKeracher, D. (2004). Making Sense of Adult Learning (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division.