How Learning Happens

1. Learning is a change in long-term memory, not just performance.

Learning, simply stated, means that there has been a change made in one’s long-term memory.

Focus on retention. True learning isn't just about performing well during a lesson or on a practice task; it's about making lasting changes to what is stored in long-term memory. This permanent store of knowledge is the central, dominant structure of our cognitive architecture. Without altering long-term memory, temporary performance gains are unlikely to translate into robust, usable knowledge.

Performance vs. Learning. What we observe and measure during instruction is often performance, which can be a poor indicator of whether long-term learning has occurred. Techniques that boost immediate performance might not build the durable knowledge structures needed for later recall and transfer. The goal of instruction should be to facilitate long-term learning, supporting retention and the ability to use knowledge in new situations.

Building schemata. Long-term memory stores information in organized structures called schemata. Learning involves integrating new information into existing schemata or creating new ones. Effective instructional methods align with this process, ensuring that information is not just temporarily held in limited working memory but is successfully encoded for permanent storage and later retrieval.

2. Prior knowledge is the most important factor influencing learning.

The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows.

Foundation for new learning. What a student already knows is the primary determinant of what they can learn next. New knowledge must be related to and integrated into existing cognitive structures or schemata. This process, known as subsumption, assimilation, or accommodation, is fundamental to meaningful learning.

Bridging the gap. Teachers must ascertain students' prior knowledge to effectively bridge the gap between what is known and what is to be learned. Ignoring existing knowledge, especially misconceptions, can hinder the integration of new information. Techniques like advance organizers or starting lessons with reviews activate relevant prior knowledge and provide a framework for new content.

Impact on perception. Prior knowledge doesn't just affect how much a student learns, but also how they perceive and interpret new information and problems. Experts, with their rich, well-organized schemata, "see" underlying concepts and relationships that novices miss, influencing how they categorize and approach tasks. What you know truly determines what you see.

3. Novices and experts learn and think differently, requiring different instruction.

Not only do experts have more knowledge and can work faster than beginners, they also look at or tackle problems differently (i.e. what you know determines what you see).

Qualitative differences. The difference between novices and experts is not merely quantitative (experts know more) but qualitative (their knowledge is organized differently). Experts possess deep, conceptual knowledge and rich schemata that allow them to categorize problems based on underlying principles and work forward towards solutions. Novices rely on superficial features and often use inefficient means-ends analysis, working backward.

Expertise reversal effect. Instructional methods effective for experts can be ineffective or even detrimental for novices, and vice versa. This is known as the expertise reversal effect. Approaches that provide minimal guidance, like discovery learning, can overwhelm novices but might be suitable for experts who can provide their own internal guidance.

Tailored support. Recognizing these differences is crucial for differentiation. Novices need structured support, explicit explanations, and guided practice to build foundational knowledge and strategies. As they gain expertise, support can be gradually faded, allowing them to develop more independent problem-solving skills. Children are not small adults, and novices are not little experts; they require instruction tailored to their current cognitive architecture and knowledge state.

4. Working memory is limited; instruction must manage cognitive load.

There is significant evidence that the main distinguishing factor between experts and novices in problem-solving is domain-specific knowledge.

Cognitive bottleneck. Working memory, where conscious processing occurs, has severe limitations in both capacity and duration. When learning new, complex information, working memory can easily become overloaded, hindering the transfer of information to long-term memory. Effective instruction must respect these limits.

Extraneous vs. Intrinsic load. Cognitive load theory identifies different types of mental effort: intrinsic load (inherent task complexity), extraneous load (imposed by poor instruction), and germane load (effort contributing to learning). Minimally guided instruction often increases extraneous load by forcing novices to search for solutions, leaving insufficient capacity for germane load and schema acquisition.

Reducing overload. Instructional design should minimize extraneous cognitive load to free up working memory resources for processing the intrinsic load and building schemata. Techniques like worked examples, process worksheets, and presenting information using dual coding (words and images together) can reduce unnecessary mental effort and facilitate learning, especially for novices.

5. Deep processing and active retrieval are essential for retention.

The processing that a student consciously engages in determines what will be encoded into memory and retained.

Beyond superficial features. Simply encountering information is not enough for learning. Retention depends on how deeply the information is processed. Shallow processing (focusing on appearance or sound) leads to weak, fleeting memory traces. Deep processing (focusing on meaning, relating to prior knowledge, elaborating) creates stronger, more persistent traces.

Effortful retrieval strengthens memory. Actively retrieving information from long-term memory, such as through practice testing or answering questions, significantly enhances retention and strengthens memory traces. This "testing effect" is one of the most powerful learning techniques available. It requires more effort than simply re-reading or highlighting, but the effort pays off in long-term recall.

Stimulating engagement. Teachers should design activities that encourage deep processing and retrieval practice. This includes asking "how" and "why" questions, requiring students to explain concepts in their own words, making connections between ideas, and using low-stakes quizzes or retrieval exercises regularly. The more varied the ways students process and retrieve information, the better it will be retained.

6. Effective instruction provides explicit guidance and models thinking processes.

The most successful teachers spent more time in guided practice, more time asking questions, more time checking for understanding, and more time correcting errors.

Guiding the learner. Research consistently shows that explicit or direct instructional guidance is more effective and efficient for novice to intermediate learners than minimally guided approaches. Teachers should clearly explain concepts, demonstrate procedures, and provide structured opportunities for practice. This guidance reduces extraneous cognitive load and directs attention to the most important information.

Making thinking visible. Cognitive apprenticeship emphasizes making the expert's thinking processes transparent to the learner. Teachers should model not just the steps of a task, but also their reasoning, strategies, and problem-solving approaches, often by thinking aloud. This helps students build accurate mental models of how to approach tasks.

Scaffolding support. Effective instruction provides temporary support, or scaffolding, that is gradually removed as the learner becomes more competent. This allows students to attempt tasks just beyond their current independent ability level within their zone of proximal development. Scaffolding can take many forms, from worked examples to process worksheets, ensuring students are supported but not overly dependent.

7. Beliefs about ability and reasons for learning significantly impact motivation and achievement.

Implicit beliefs about ability predict whether individuals will be oriented toward developing their ability or towards documenting the adequacy of their ability.

Mindset matters. A student's belief about the nature of intelligence – whether it's fixed (entity theory) or malleable (incremental theory or growth mindset) – influences their goals and responses to challenges. Students with a fixed mindset may avoid difficult tasks to protect their perceived ability, while those with a growth mindset embrace challenges as opportunities for improvement.

Goals drive behavior. Students pursue different goals: performance goals (focused on demonstrating ability relative to others) or mastery goals (focused on learning and understanding). Mastery goals are generally linked to more adaptive outcomes, persistence in the face of failure, and deeper learning strategies. Performance goals can be adaptive if they are approach-oriented (aiming to do better than others) but avoidance-oriented performance goals (aiming to avoid looking incompetent) are detrimental.

Attribution and self-efficacy. How students attribute their successes and failures (to effort, ability, luck, task difficulty) affects their emotional responses and future motivation. Attributing failure to uncontrollable factors like fixed ability can lead to learned helplessness. Self-efficacy, the belief in one's ability to succeed in a specific domain, is crucial and is built through successful experiences, vicarious observation, and verbal persuasion. Teachers can foster positive attributions and self-efficacy by emphasizing effort, providing opportunities for success, and modeling effective strategies.

8. Learning is situated and social; context and community matter.

Learning is more than knowing what to do. It also involves knowing how to do it.

Knowledge is contextual. Knowledge is not abstract and context-free; it is deeply intertwined with the activity, context, and culture in which it is developed and used. Learning is a process of enculturation, where individuals gradually acquire the rules, norms, and practices of a particular setting. School learning, often divorced from real-world contexts, can make transfer difficult.

Authentic tasks. Situated learning suggests that instruction should embed abstract concepts in authentic tasks and contexts that students might encounter in everyday life or future professions. This helps students understand the relevance and applicability of what they are learning. Authentic whole tasks, rather than fragmented sub-skills, allow learners to see how different pieces of knowledge and skills fit together.

Communities of practice. Learning is also inherently social. Communities of practice, where individuals share a common domain, engage in joint enterprise, and develop a shared repertoire of resources, are powerful social learning systems. Participation in such communities, including legitimate peripheral participation for newcomers, facilitates the acquisition of both explicit and tacit knowledge through observation, interaction, and shared experience. Schools can foster communities of practice among both students and teachers to enhance learning and professional development.

9. Assessment should inform learning and teaching, not just evaluate.

Assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting pupils’ learning.

Beyond grading. The primary purpose of assessment should be to provide information that modifies teaching and learning activities, not just to assign grades. This "assessment for learning" (formative assessment) approach focuses on identifying gaps between current understanding and learning goals and determining the next steps needed to close those gaps.

Powerful feedback. Formative assessment provides feedback, which is one of the most powerful influences on learning. Effective feedback answers three questions: Where am I going? (Goals), How am I going? (Progress), and Where to next? (Next steps). Feedback should be specific, actionable, and focused on the task, process, or self-regulation, rather than just the self.

Shared responsibility. For feedback to be effective, students must be willing and able to act upon it. This requires cultivating a classroom culture where feedback is seen as a tool for improvement, not a judgment of ability. Students should be encouraged to take ownership of the feedback process, actively seeking clarification and using it to guide their practice. Formative assessment is particularly beneficial for lower-performing students, helping to reduce achievement gaps.

10. Beware of educational myths and counterproductive practices.

The beliefs that a person holds persist in the face of data that disproves or even contradicts those beliefs.

Urban legends in education. The field of education is susceptible to myths and fads that lack empirical support but persist due to intuition, commercial interests, or wishful thinking. Examples include the belief in distinct learning styles (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic) and the notion that today's students are "digital natives" who inherently know how to learn with technology and require fundamentally different pedagogy. Research consistently refutes the meshing hypothesis of learning styles and shows that digital fluency for social use does not equate to effective use for academic learning.

Mathemathantic effects. Some instructional approaches, despite good intentions, can actually hinder or "kill" learning. These "mathemathantic" effects occur when instruction introduces inadequate strategies, interferes with existing effective strategies (especially for more expert learners), or creates motivational mismatches. Forcing novices into unstructured discovery learning or allowing students to choose learning environments that don't match their needs (e.g., anxious students choosing unstructured settings) can be counterproductive.

Evidence-based practice. Teachers should be critical consumers of educational ideas and rely on research-based principles. What works for one student may not work for another, and catering to preferences (like non-existent learning styles) is less effective than using evidence-backed techniques like retrieval practice and distributed practice, which benefit all learners. Doing no harm should be a guiding principle; sometimes, it's better to stick to proven methods than implement unvalidated or potentially harmful interventions.

Last updated: May 10, 2025