Learning©2014 Joe TritschlerDepartment of Biomedical, Industrial & Human factors EngineeringWright State University • Dayton, OhioWhy is learning so important?• Besides advancing your level of understanding of various subjects, which is the ultimate lifelong goal, “learning how to learn” serves a more immediate purpose – helping you get through your undergraduate degree in one piece!Levels of Understanding“Bloom’s Taxonomy” was first published in 1956 and defined a hierarchy of learning outcomes, from simplest to most complex:Knowledge → Comprehension → Applicaon → Analysis → Synthesis → EvaluaonBloom’s Taxonomy, viewed bottom-to-top:Evaluation↑Synthesis↑Analysis↑Application↑Comprehension↑KnowledgeThe following definitions of levels of understanding are taken from Introduction to Engineering by Brockman (2009):Knowledge• Knowledge is the ability to recall facts from memory.• Keywords: who, what, when, where, identify, select, define, recall, state.Comprehension• Comprehension is understanding what something means.• Keywords and phrases: state in your own words, summarize, explain, paraphrase, classify, what is the meaning of, interpret, give an example of, what part doesn’t fit, which is the best explanation.Application• Application means taking what you have learned and using it in a new situation• Keywords and phrases: construct, demonstrate, predict, explain how, what would happen if, show that, find, given assumptions.Analysis• Analysis is the ability to break a concept down into parts; it implies an understanding of the relationships between them.• Keywords and phrases: break down, what ideas apply, compare, contrast, what is the relationship between, what conclusions, decompose, what is the justification, what might cause.Synthesis• Synthesis is the ability to parts together into a new, integrated whole.• Keywords and phrases: create, compose, design, devise, develop, solve, formulate, prove, plan.Evaluation• Evaluation is making a judgment about the value of an idea; implies managing risk and uncertainty.• Keywords and phrases: judge, optimize, what is the best, decide, appraise, critique, defend, evaluate, what is most appropriate.• There is no easy way to ascend the ladder of Bloom’s Taxonomy; it takes hard work, practice, and problem solving.• It is generally accepted that in order to become an expert at something, it takes at least ten years of hard work; even for “prodigies.”• Certainly a four-year undergraduate degree won’t come close to achieving expert status, but deepening your level of understanding is crucialto your long-term success.Passive vs. Active Learning • As undergraduate students, you will not advance very far in your level of understanding of any subject unless you take an active learning approach, rather than a passive one!• So what’s the difference?Active Learning• In active learning, you, the student, are personally responsible for:– exploring and gathering relevant information; and – constructing personally meaningful schema, which add to your own individual knowledge and experience.Passive Learning• An example of passive learning is being spoon-fed factual information from the instructor, memorizing it well enough to regurgitate it on an exam (or worse, copying from a cheat sheet), and then forgetting about it; sadly, this is the typical outcome of many “educational” experiences at the college level.• This approach doesn’t result in long-term retention of knowledge; so you’re below the lowest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. (How does that make you feel?)Role of the Instructor/Professor• My job is to establish parameters and facilitate the learning process; and to serve, not as the primary source of information, but only as one of many potential resources.• A very old saying: “A Guide on the Side rather than a Sage on the Stage.”Helpful tips for learning1) Be mentally and physically prepared!- Get a decent night’s sleep, eat a decent breakfast, come to class on-time with necessary equipment, turn off your phone, and pay attention! Self-discipline is the key to success, despite all the well-known distractions in life, especially in this day and age and especially in this setting.2) Take stock of what you know- Skim the textbook ahead of time; be thinking of questions you might ask.3) Acknowledge misconceptions- Be prepared to have what you think you know about a subject be challenged.In the immortal words of the late, great James Brown, you need to Get Up, Get Into It, and Get Involved!PHOTO USED WITHOUT PERMISSION!And in the not-so-immortal words of a certainmathematics professor who once taught at thisUniversity and shall remain nameless:“If you do not enjoy what you aredoing, well…better not to do