WHY WE DO IT? The thinking behind learning session 4!!

In our Design and Delivery class we are looking at where learning takes place and how we set up our class environments and how we can affect learning. We did some great activities that also looked at where learning comes from and then the approaches and climates to this learning. In my group we came up with these ideas as to where learning comes from…………..
Learning for me is created through classroom culture and how the teacher presents the content that needs to be learnt. Coming from an education system that taught you through didactic teaching methods I don’t feel like I learnt to my full potential due to the class environments that were set up. Having continued with further study after my school education I have learnt that I am a kinaesthetic and tactile learner, I learn from doing and seeing. This type of learning has been around for centuries..........

Confucius said: ‘I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand ’ 450 BC


This is something I’m aware of when I am teaching and trying to cater for the different learning styles and abilities. It can be hard in a class of 40 students however through getting students to engage in different learning activities this can be achieved. In my lectures last week I did a range of activities where they had to brainstorm information and then present to the class, group work and worksheet activities that were fun. Its trying to make sure they are all engaged in their practical sessions that can be a struggle as they are all at different levels of fitness. I try to do this by keeping the instructions short and sweet, demonstrate the the exercises and allow them to get a feel for the exercises so the students develop in their technique and skill and have more confidence to exercise correctly. As you can see from the chart below 50% of what is retained in a class is from seeing and hearing and the percentage gets higher as you work with others and use the theory in a practical sense. This concept is not an old concept and shows that what we teach needs to be meaningful in order for students to retain the knowledge we give them, so they can pass their learning on.


Most people learn …
10% of what they read
20% of what they hear
30% of what they see
50% of what they see and hear
70% of what they talk over with others
80% of what they use and do in real life
95% of what they teach someone else

Source: Attributed to William Glasser; quoted by Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development Guide 1988.