PSYCHOLOGY’S RULES OF LEARNING

The objective of teaching a class is to have students learn something, and remember what they have learned. Instructor’s constantly employ many different psychological principles of learning. This section presents 20 principles of learning, established by psychologists, which are useful for training. Some of these principles have been followed by more experienced instructors for years. All should be useful to the instructor who wants to be effective and successful. 

-Stimulate Students. Unpleasant things may be learned as easily as pleasant things. The worst stimuli are those which cause little or no feelings. It is better to have rewarding conditions than unpleasant conditions, but either is better than neutral conditions.

-Recognize Individual Differences. What your students can do is important in determining what can be learned and how long it will take. The ability to learn changes with age. It reaches a peak around 16 years of age, then begins to decline steadily for most people. An instructor should be more patient if he is trying to teach older or slower students. 

-Understanding and Repetition Aid Retention. People remember what they understand better than what they try to memorize. Practicing a task over and over won’t help unless the reason for learning is understood by the students. However, remember that a lot of drill is still very important in getting facts across, in reinforcing them, and in creating performance habits. 

-Distributed Practice Aids Retention. Practice broken into several periods is better than the same amount of practice crammed into a single session.

-Show It Like It Is. Hands-on skills should be shown in the same way that the learner sees it in front of him. This is very important when you use classroom video. The video tape should show the student exactly what he would see if he were doing the task.

- First and Last Impressions Are Retained. The order of presentation is very important. Points or objectives presented at the beginning and end of the class are remembered better than those given in the middle. So, if four objectives are given during an hour, the two most important points should be given first and last.

- Exotic Experience Is Remembered. Students remember change or unusual examples better than normal ones.

- Showing Errors Can Aid Learning. Showing how errors happen can lead to increases in learning. Showing not only “what to do” but “what not to do.” This can be critical in teaching safety points. This doesn’t mean teach “the wrong way” to do something, just show what could go wrong.

- Rewards Aid Learning. Irregular or unexpected rewards are better then expected or constant rewards. Rewards that are always given at the same time (answering a question, when finishing a project, grading an exam, etc.) sometimes seems phony. Unexpected rewards provide tremendous encouragement and motivation and keep student’s “on their toes.” 

- Much Is Forgotten Rapidly. The rate of forgetting tends to be very rapid right after learning. It takes a lot of repeating in the early weeks of a class to overcome rapid forgetting.

- Known Authorities Are Believed. Students will believe a known expert’s quotes more than regular instruction. However, information which is repeated often enough works just as well as quotes. Good, lesser known instructors can help their students remember just as well as older or better known instructors.

- Exact Repetition Effective. Repeating the facts over and over helps memory just as much as using new examples each time.

- Fear Is Effective In Small Doses. The use of a moderate fear appeal is better than a strong fear appeal. “No stress produces no learning.” However, too much stress is likely to turn off the students. A good instructor finds the right balance.

- Success Begets Further Success. Knowledge of how well they are doing leads students to greater learning. So does telling them how the lesson will help them. Tell your students when they are doing well. 

-Tie-In Is Essential To Learning. The student must see some relation to his experience in order to learn. Few students can “leap frog” and learn facts that can’t match up with what they already know. New information is easier to learn and accept if it doesn’t go against earlier habits.

-“Belongingness” and “Satisfiers” Aid Learning. Just repeating facts does not always lead to learning. Two things are necessary - “belongingness” and satisfiers.” Belongingness means that the things to be learned must belong together. They must show some connection or order. It is easier to learn 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 which belong together, than to learn 2, 1, 5, 7, 43 which do not. Satisfiers are real or symbolic rewards. It has been shown that just saying the word “right” when the person is making the correct response is a satisfier. This helps speed up the learning process. The word “wrong” is an annoyer or “punishment” and is not as effective. 

- Old and Strong Ideas Are Best Retained. Review of an ideas that you have had for a long time causes more learning than review of a new one. You will not forget an old idea as fast as a new one. So, if you can tie your instruction to older ideas, your students will remember more. 

- Active Practice is Best. Learning is aided by hands-on practice rather than just listening. “Class Participation” is active practice. Make your students be an active part of your class. 

- New Learning May Detract From Previous Learning. Learning something new may cancel out something learned earlier. A person who studied French for an hour and then studies Chinese for an hour will not remember much French. He would remember more if he substituted an hour of rest in place of the study of Chinese.

 Instructors should not blindly attempt to apply every one of these principles. You will go crazy trying. But, use of those principles when you “can” fit them in will help your students to learn and remember.