Declarative Knowledge

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Declarative Knowledge

• According to Gagne, Declarative Knowledge is
  knowing that...
• Also called Verbal Information or Factual
  Information
• More or less equivalent to Blooms Knowledge
  category of learning outcomes.

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Declarative Knowledge

• Learning OutcomesRecall or recognise
• labels or names
• facts
• lists

• images
• sequences
• events
• etc.

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Declarative Knowledge

• According to Bloom, the learning of knowledge
  level outcomes is prerequsite to learning
  comprehension, application, or higher outcomes.
• But Gagné says factual information is a
  fundamentally different type of learning (not
  lower), and does not have to precede other types
  of learning.
• What do you think?

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Declarative Knowledge

• General strategy declarative knowledge needs to
  be organised into meaningful and memorable ways.
• Should the instruction do the organising? Or
  should the learner find their own organisation
  scheme?

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Chunking Strategy

• Chunks of about 3 to 7 items can be kept in
  short-term memory.
• Break down the information into manageable
  chunks.
• Use presentation, practice, and feedback for one
  chunk till learners can master it.
• Review prior chunks when a new chunk is mastered.

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Mnemonic Strategy

• Acronyms
• Example KISS
• Keep It Simple, Stupid
• Rhymes and songs
• Example The ABC song

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Programmed Learning

• Based on behaviouristic principles
• Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement
• Practice over and over and over and over and
• It works well, but it is tremendously boring.

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Context-Dependent Memory

• Things are remembered and recalled more easily if
  the context for learning matches the context for
  recalling.
• This has been verified for many types of contexts
  and situations.
• What are the implications of this for preparing
  for a memorisation test?

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Decreasing Memory Load

• Why should we have to always remember things?
• Perhaps there are alternatives we can use to help
  people to access raw information instead of
  simple memorisation.
• Can you think of some alternatives?

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Concept Learning

• A concept is a set of specific objects, symbols,
  or events which are grouped together on the basis
  of shared characteristics and which can be
  referenced by a particular name or symbol.
• (Merrill Tennyson, 1977)

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Concept Learning

• Learning outcomes
• discriminate
• classify
• sort
• define
• describe attributes

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Concept Learning

• Concepts are categories of similar ideas, events,
  objects, people, etc.
• Concepts are abstractions.
• Concepts are ways to organise information.
• We continually form concepts from the moment we
  are born.

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Concept Learning

• Naturally, we look for patterns which help us to
  distinguish between things of one category and
  things not in that category.
• Mostly we use an inductive approach.
• We look at features (attributes) and sort things
  according to similarities and differences. From
  that process, concepts are born.

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Concept Teaching

• Not quite the same at natural concept formation.
• General strategies
• expository approach
• inquiry approach
• Some common elements which can be re-arranged to
  make instruction

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Expository Strategy

• Present name of concept and definition
• General category description
• Defining attributes
• Show prototype example
• Isolate (highlight) attributes
• Present other examples and compare with
  non-examples
• Learners practice classifying cases as belonging
  or not belonging

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Inquiry Strategy

• Present a number of labeled examples and
  non-examples
• Ask students to try to formulate hypotheses about
  different categories and their key attributes
• Teacher confirms the hypotheses, restates
  definition
• Learners generate their own examples and
  non-examples

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Concepts in the workplace

• Many concepts relate to people being able to
  distinguish or define highly subjective or
  qualitiative attributes
• Things that are Good, Correct, Effective, Proper,
  Acceptable
• vs non-examples of Bad, Incorrect, Ineffective,
  Improper, Defective

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Question...

• What is the difference between a concept and fact?