Doing the inquiry project was an educational experience for me. I originally wanted to research the aspects of promoting learning and understanding over memorization as this is a key feature in many secondary schools around the world. However, I struggled to find credible sources and eventually found myself looking into Visible Learning. When I initially started my research into Visible Learning, I thought I was reading about visual learners, as in a learning style, but it turned out to be much more than that. Visible learning incorporates a framework for teachers to implement in their classroom that details how learning needs to be ‘as seen and as apparent as possible, and not assume’. Essentially, showing students what they are supposed to learn, helping students identify how they learn and how to self-assess and receive feedback.
Throughout my research I found that visible learning does promote understanding over memorization and this was very intriguing for myself. A study referenced that students are given too much factual information and are strained in traditional lectures for far too long. By introducing visible learning into the classroom, teachers are encouraged to use multiple strategies in order to engage as many students as possible. I find that in a classroom of 30 students, all with different interests and unique learning styles, it could be difficult to reach every single student but this can be made easier by switching how to deliver the message and incorporating appropriate feedback.
Overall, I found my presentation went well. My peers seemed to be engaged in learning about visible learning and the conversations during the activities were insightful and thought-provoking. All the groups came up with great ideas for activities to tailor their activity to specific learners and aspects of promoting understanding over memorization. My hope is that I dived deep enough into the literature review in order for others to be interested in promoting understanding over memorization, especially being surrounded by mathematics and physics majors. Traditional teaching is something I'm sure we have all gotten used to and by changing this framework, even for a portion of the time encapsulated in a semester, students can feel more engaged and more willing to be comfortable around their peers.
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