More Than Something New Every Day: Engaging with Evidence-Based Learning Practices and Avoiding Myths

We are likely all familiar with that old saying, “Learn something new every day.” Under the right circumstances, everyone has the opportunity to learn more than just one new thing each day. As instructional designers and educators, we have a responsibility to promote these circumstances by utilizing research-backed practices and recognizing the errors in some commonly-accepted learning myths.

About Me

My name is Lila Cardillo, and I am in a unique and exciting phase of my life when it comes to learning: I am formally both a teacher and a student. By day, I currently work as an Associate Teacher in a second grade classroom at an independent school in Los Angeles, California. In the evenings, I am a student at the University of San Diego’s Learning Design and Technology master’s program. My goal is to become an instructional designer, leveraging my background in elementary education and developmental psychology research to create learning experiences that are inclusive, engaging, and backed by empirical evidence.

Defining “Learning”

There are many ways to define learning, but there are some basic truths. Lovett et al., 2023, begin their book, How Learning Works, with a definition of learning that comprises three key components:

1. “Learning is a process, not a product” (Lovett et al., 2023, p. 2).

   This means that learning isn’t simply about not knowing and then knowing; it’s about all of the moments experienced along the journey from that point A to point B.

2. “Learning involves change in knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, or attitudes” (Lovett et al., 2023, p. 2).

   Learning is not just about memorizing new facts. It can occur across any or all of these dimensions, and, importantly, learning is not confined to the classroom space.

3. “Learning is not something done to students, but rather something students themselves do” (Lovett et al., 2023, p. 2).

   As a teacher, this one is my favorite piece of their definition. In our second grade classroom, we frequently remind students of the importance of being an “actively engaged learner.” We could be standing at the front of the classroom, engaging in any sort of instructional strategy, evidence-backed or otherwise, but learning cannot occur unless the learner is an active and motivated participant in the experience.

Misconceptions: Admitting When We Are Wrong

Especially when working in industries that overtly focus on learning, it is important to stay up-to-date on which theories are rooted in evidence and which have been debunked. There are multiple widely-believed ways of thinking about learning that have been proven to be inaccurate.

Myth 1: Learning Styles

As a teacher, I have to come to terms with my own misconceptions. It was not until my introductory course in my masters program that I realized a major one that was holding me back. I was developing an eLearning course for early elementary teachers to help them create safe and engaging classrooms for all types of young learners with a specific focus on neurodivergent students. As I interviewed my subject-matter expert and conducted background research, I planned to include a section helping teachers plan lessons that accommodated different “learning styles.” Thankfully, my professor, Dr. Evans, was able to stop me in my tracks before I continued to perpetuate that myth!

The acronym “VARK” stands for Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic learning styles. There are plenty of online quizzes that can help you “determine your learning style.” In spite of this theory’s widespread popularity, there is no empirical evidence verifying the existence of these learning styles. For more information debunking this myth, watch the video “The Biggest Myth in Education” by Veritasium. What we have been trained to think of as different “learning styles” can be more accurately described as instructional style preferences. rather than determinants of learning outcomes. For example, someone who considers themself to be an auditory learner may prefer to hear instructions or content verbally, but that does not actually impact their learning outcomes. The reality is that individuals may have an aptitude for a certain topic or subject: someone who loves geography may think of themself as a visual learner because they are strong with their map skills. Across the board, however, learners perform better when content is presented with both words and pictures. This can be referred to as “multimodal” or “multimedia” instructional strategy (Veritasium, 2021).

Myth 2: Multitasking

In a culture that praises productivity and overcommitment, “multitasking” can sound like an enticing quick fix, helping you complete multiple to-do list items at once. Unfortunately for us chronic go-getters, “multitasking” as we know it is not an actual process. Rather than completing two tasks simultaneously, we rapidly switch back and forth between them. And while this sounds like it could be similarly effective, the rapid switching strains our cognitive resources, making us less efficient in both processes. This means we end up moving through more slowly and inaccurately than we would if we simply completed each task in sequence (Kirshner & van Merriënboer, 2013, p. 3). In this sense, as educators or learning designers, it is important to discourage our learners from trying to do too many things at once, and to design learning experiences that build in sequential tasks rather than concurrent ones.

Rooting Ourselves in Evidence: How to Get it Right

Now that we understand what not to do, we can focus on the positives and what does work. What are some learning theories and instructional strategies that we should build from?

At a micro level, each teacher has their own classroom philosophy and each instructional designer has their own design philosophy. At a macro level, there are many different theories of learning, each associated with certain teaching practices.

Instructional Practices and Associated Learning Theories

Instructional Practice 1: Observational Learning/Modeling

Observational Learning/Modeling refers to a situation in which someone, such as an instructor or superior, demonstrates a specific process or behavior while learners watch, and then the learners practice the skill. The modeling can be through live instruction, or via a written or spoken description, or a video or audio recording. This practice is part of the basis of Social Cognitive Theory, which emphasizes the importance of social behaviors in the process of learning (Wolters & Benzon, 2010, p. 834).

Instructional Practice 2: Guided Participation

Guided Participation is rooted in Sociocultural Theory, which emphasizes that joint participation and collaboration in activities promotes learning. In Guided Participation, a teacher or caretaker helps a learner participate in an activity or process, working alongside them to help with the practice. This extends beyond original conceptions of Sociocultural Theory, though, by acknowledging that the guidance does not have to be direct — it can be through written feedback or various other “tacit, distal, and non-verbal forms of communication” (Scott & Palinscar, 2012, p. 853).

Linking Principles of Learning to Design Implications

Lovett and colleagues (2023) describe eight principles associated with their definition of learning. These principles can help us design instructional experiences that are proven to promote true learning. I discuss some of these principles below, and how they can be applied in the context of Learning Design.

1. “Students differ from each other on multiple dimensions—for example, in their identities, stages of development, and personal histories—and these differences influence how they experience the world and, in turn, their learning and performance” (Lovett et al., 2023, p. 3).

   This principle reminds us to consider different types of learners when we design, not in the reductive “learning styles” sense, but in being intentional to consider for whom exactly we are designing.

2. “Students’ prior knowledge can help or hinder learning” (Lovett et al., 2023, p. 3).

   Similarly to the principle above, this one reminds us to acknowledge the different starting points at which our learners may arrive. Sometimes, a certain degree of “unlearning” must occur before we proceed with a new learning process, just as many of us had to unlearn the concepts of learning styles or multitasking.

3. “To develop mastery, students must acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have learned” (Lovett et al., 2023, p. 4).

   This statement reminds us that we have a responsibility to create content that promotes both skill-building and skill integration and offers opportunities to practice application.

4. “Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback enhances the quality of students’ learning” (Lovett et al., 2023, p. 4).

   To design high-quality learning experiences, we should clearly state learning objectives and goals, and provide specific and timely feedback.

Conclusion

Educators and instructional designers alike hope to help their students or users learn more than just something new every day. To ensure that this learning occurs, it is imperative that those of us in teaching professions ensure that we ourselves stay educated on best practices and are willing to acknowledge our own misconceptions. When we proceed without continued knowledge-building of our own, we run the risk of designing unsuccessful materials at the very best, and perpetuating harmful and oppressive stereotypes at the worst. If we center our planning and design around scientific evidence, we will help ourselves and our learners engage deeply with accessible, interesting, and resonant content.

References

Denler, H., Wolters, C. & Benzon, M. (2010). Social cognitive theory. In Anderman, E. M. & Anderman, L. H. (Eds.), Psychology of classroom learning: An encyclopedia. The Gale Group, Inc.

Kirschner, P. A., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2013). Do learners really know best? Urban legends in education. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 169–183. https://sandiego.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UOSD_INST/duochf/cdi_proquest_journals_1408082041 

Lovett, M. C., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Ambrose, S. A., & Norman, M. K. (2023). How learning works: 8 research-based principles for smart teaching (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 

Scott, S., Palincsar, A. (2012). Sociocultural theory. In Anderman, E. M. & Anderman, L. H. (Eds.), Psychology of classroom learning: An encyclopedia. The Gale Group, Inc.

Shuell, T. J. (2013). Theories of learning. In Anderman, E. M. & Anderman, L. H. (Eds.), Psychology of classroom learning: An encyclopedia. The Gale Group, Inc.

Veritasium. (2021 July 9). You are not a visual learnerLinks to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhgwIhB58PA (14:26) Closed captioning on site.