Over the last year I have grown interested in not only the ideas from empirical studies that we can use in the classroom to improve learning, but also the underlying functioning of the brain and what implications that has for our understanding of how we learn.
In particular I have done two free online courses:
- The Science of Learning through FutureLearn
- Learning How To Learn through Coursera
And on top of those I have been reading around the subject. Recently I finished reading the excellent MARGE: A Whole-Brain Learning Approach for Students and Teachers by Arthur Shimamura, which I discovered through this post by Tom Sherrington.
In this post I want to compare and contrast two of the models offered through these experiences: MARGE from Arthur Shimamura and EBC from the FutureLearn course.
First a brief overview of each model.
MARGE
MARGE is the acronym used by Shimamura to stand for Motivate, Attend, Relate, Generate, Evaluate. In the ebook, Shimamura gives both an overview of this model and goes into detail for each of the aspects. He also discusses the brain functions behind each of these.
MARGE is the acronym used by Shimamura to stand for Motivate, Attend, Relate, Generate, Evaluate. In the ebook, Shimamura gives both an overview of this model and goes into detail for each of the aspects. He also discusses the brain functions behind each of these.
I created this sketchnote summary of the main ideas on how they apply to the classroom (PDF available here).
In short, we must be MOTIVATED to learn before starting any learning session for it to be an optimal learning experience. When learning new information we must ATTEND our focus on what we want to learn, and make a conscious effort to RELATE this new information to knowledge and concepts that are already embedded. Once we have encountered information, the best way to strengthen our memories is to GENERATE the information in our own words (that is retrieve from memory rather than rereading notes), and we must regularly EVALUATE our learning by testing ourselves to see what we have actually learned, and what is merely familiar to us at any given time.
EBC
EBC stands for Engage, Build, Consolidate, and this was the model offered for the process of learning in The Science of Learning course through FutureLearn. The course goes into detail about each of these three stages, and the brain functions behind them, as well as looking at other areas of learning.
EBC stands for Engage, Build, Consolidate, and this was the model offered for the process of learning in The Science of Learning course through FutureLearn. The course goes into detail about each of these three stages, and the brain functions behind them, as well as looking at other areas of learning.
I blogged about the course giving a review of each week as I did it, and you can find these below:
In short, this model says that we need to at first ENGAGE the brain to be ready to learn before anything else. Then we need to BUILD memories of knowledge and skills in the optimum ways. Finally, in order for our memories to remain intact over a period of time, and for them to become more easily transferable to novel situations, we must CONSOLIDATE our new learning over time.
Comparing the Models
When I read MARGE I immediately saw some connections to the EBC framework I had previously seen, and as one of the techniques recommended was the 3 C's (Categorise, Compare and Contrast) to help develop schema, I thought I would do just that.
When I read MARGE I immediately saw some connections to the EBC framework I had previously seen, and as one of the techniques recommended was the 3 C's (Categorise, Compare and Contrast) to help develop schema, I thought I would do just that.
The most obvious first comparison to be made was between the two acronyms and the stages they represent.
The MOTIVATE and ENGAGE sections are covering the same ideas, and link up pretty neatly. To BUILD new knowledge we are using our ATTENTION and RELATING it to things we already know. But CONSOLIDATION also has some links to RELATING information (when you RELATE new information to old, you are consolidating the bits you already knew). GENERATING and EVALUATING are things you do once you have the new knowledge, so these pair up with CONSOLIDATE.
What is interesting about this diagram is the sizes of the sections. For MARGE each section came out as being equally important, but when making this comparison we see the increased size of the CONSOLIDATE phase. This would suggest to me that for all the new information we introduce to students we need to spend just as much time (if not more) consolidating the information in their minds.
I will now look at each of the broader sections (EBC) and look at the comparisons between what was said in each model.
ENGAGE
The ENGAGE/MOTIVATE section of learning was made very clear in both the MARGE document and the Science of Learning course. Without engaging the brain to learn, everything we do after that is not going to be as effective as it could be.
The ENGAGE/MOTIVATE section of learning was made very clear in both the MARGE document and the Science of Learning course. Without engaging the brain to learn, everything we do after that is not going to be as effective as it could be.
Both talked about the brain's reward system, and the release of dopamine into our brains when we experience something pleasurable. Many highly addictive drugs stimulate the reward system in the brain, thus releasing dopamine, making us feel happy. But more importantly there is a very simple way to trigger the reward system in a classroom setting: CURIOSITY! Both models discuss the way curiosity, or being introduced to something new that sparks a question, can cause the release of dopamine.
Curiosity is, in effect, a powerful drug. And, to make this even better, we appear to remember more about things which we are a curious about before we learn them.
Curiosity is given as one way to MOTIVATE students to learn, among others, and to get students brains ENGAGED in the learning that is about to take place.
The idea of schema is introduced in this section of MARGE (and developed further in the BUILD section below), and the importance of storytelling as a MOTIVATION technique is explored, since stories contain their own schematic structure by their nature (beginning - middle - end), and usually cause us to question
MARGE also discusses the importance of having a "big picture" of the topic before starting on the details to engage MOTIVATION, as this gives students a skeleton schema on which to attach more ideas as they develop.
The Science of Learning course also looked at the negative effects of anxiety on ENGAGEMENT, and the unconscious communication from the teacher to the students. If you are not engaged in the topic, then this will "rub off" on the students through the Mirror Neuron System.
What does this mean for the classroom?
Before starting a lesson or new topic, we should do something to ENGAGE the brain or MOTIVATE the learning. There are many options for this, including:
Before starting a lesson or new topic, we should do something to ENGAGE the brain or MOTIVATE the learning. There are many options for this, including:
- A starter question from a previous topic that will ENGAGE the brain to be ready for the new content (this has links to RELATE and BUILD);
- A question that sparks curiosity in the students and a MOTIVATION to learn to answer the question;
- An anecdote or story narrative which can create MOTIVATION by causing students to question ("What will happen next?");
- Give an outline of the big picture of a topic before diving into the details, to develop a sense of questioning around the specifics.
BUILD
The start of the BUILD section of learning is that we have to focus on what we want to learn. That is, we have to ATTEND to the information that we want to BUILD into our existing schema of knowledge. This is achieved by the Prefrontal Cortex (the bit of the brain at the front) which acts a bit like a conductor to the orchestra that is your brain, directing which bits of the brain need to be active to ATTEND to the given stimulus.
The start of the BUILD section of learning is that we have to focus on what we want to learn. That is, we have to ATTEND to the information that we want to BUILD into our existing schema of knowledge. This is achieved by the Prefrontal Cortex (the bit of the brain at the front) which acts a bit like a conductor to the orchestra that is your brain, directing which bits of the brain need to be active to ATTEND to the given stimulus.
This relates to the ideas of reducing cognitive load, so that we can ATTEND to the relevant information, and not have distracting ideas or stimuli pulling our focus away from BUILDING the new knowledge. This is because this ATTENDING to information happens in the working memory, which is very limited in the amount of things that it can process at any given time.
When ATTENDING to new information, students also have to be active in the process of BUILDING the new knowledge. This does not mean they have to be moving around the classroom, but rather active learning is that where students do not just passively listen, but rather do some mental work to incorporate the new information in a meaningful way to their prior knowledge.
This is where BUILDING new learning links to the idea of RELATE, as we need to RELATE new information to things we already know to BUILD a bigger schema of connected ideas.
Both models give an example on the importance of chunking to demonstrate the limitations of working memory, and hence the importance of this in BUILDING new memories.
First try to remember this list of letter strings
TVC IAY MCAJ FK
Now try to remember this string of letters
TV CIA YMCA JFK
Even though both strings are identical, it is easier to remember the second one since it is grouped into meaningful units (or chunked). These chunks are things we already know, and so by RELATING the list to these things it becomes easier to remember the new information.
Interestingly, the Science of Learning course pointed out that the prefrontal cortex of children is still developing (up until late teens, even early into the twenties), so we need to help direct students to make these connections, as they are sometimes unable to do it for themselves. Even though they have the prior knowledge, they are less able to make the connections, so we need to make the prior knowledge they have explicit to them, so they can RELATE the new ideas to the old.
MARGE discusses some other ways to help structure new information, and create RELATIONS between content, such as:
- Using acronyms (such as MARGE)
- Creating visual imagery
- Using the 3C's (categorise, compare and contrast, which is what I am attempting to do in this post)
- Make use of elaborative-interrogation (asking yourself "how" and "why" questions when studying)
- Using metaphors and analogies to RELATE new ideas to old ones
- Using conceptual hierarchies (to create an inbuilt schema for the information)
What does this mean for the classroom?
We need to help create environments where students can ATTEND to new information and RELATE it to prior knowledge in order to BUILD new knowledge. We can do this by:
We need to help create environments where students can ATTEND to new information and RELATE it to prior knowledge in order to BUILD new knowledge. We can do this by:
- Keeping the limited working memory of our students in mind, and removing unnecessary distractions (see Cognitive Load Theory for more on this);
- Focus students ATTENTION on the information that you want them to learn by insisting on silence when introducing new content;
- Get students thinking about the content as soon as possible;
- Help students to CHUNK ideas, by building meaningful models for them;
- Get students to RELATE new content to things they already know (and make this explicit for them)
- Have students use the 3C's, analogies, metaphors, concept maps, etc to help RELATE new information to prior knowledge
CONSOLIDATE
The process of CONSOLIDATION is about making material that we have seen long lasting AND more easily transferable. Physiologically, what happens is that the areas that are activated when we think about consolidated knowledge as opposed to new knowledge is that the active areas are further back in the brain. This "frees up" working memory in the prefrontal cortex to focus on other aspects of a problem or on learning even more new knowledge.
The process of CONSOLIDATION is about making material that we have seen long lasting AND more easily transferable. Physiologically, what happens is that the areas that are activated when we think about consolidated knowledge as opposed to new knowledge is that the active areas are further back in the brain. This "frees up" working memory in the prefrontal cortex to focus on other aspects of a problem or on learning even more new knowledge.
The only way to achieve CONSOLIDATION is through practice, and it is best if in that practice we are GENERATING the material ourselves from memory (that, retrieval practice). When we do this we should try to elaborate on what we mean, RELATING it to other bits of knowledge and schemas.
Simply saying the name of somebody back to them when they introduce themselves to you can improve your memory by 30-50% (according to MARGE).
However, it is even better if when we GENERATE information we do so in our own words, rather than just "rote memorisation".
By using different variations of how we GENERATE the known information, we can RELATE it to other areas of knowledge, and thus CONSOLIDATION helps make later GENERATION easier and more successful. The more often you GENERATE something the better you will "understand" it.
The process of CONSOLIDATING our knowledge will also involve EVALUATING if we know something. It is common to think we know something, when really we don't. Consider the student who comes out of an exam thinking they have aced it, when the reality is much different. They were unaware of how little they knew and could not EVALUATE their own performance effectively. This is a problem of being familiar with material (such as when you have first studied it, or recently looked at it) and the ability to recollect it (or GENERATE it by yourself with no cues). This is known as an illusion of knowing, and combating these is important.
One way to truly EVALUATE if you know something is to try GENERATING it after some time has passed since you last saw it. This is known as spacing, and it is the opposite of cramming (which will usually lead to illusions of knowing, allowing you to be successful in the immediate test, but then forgetting everything immediately after).
The true benefit of retrieval practice (especially spaced retrieval) is that it involves GENERATING the information, RELATING that information to new cues (especially if you use elaborative-interrogation) and EVALUATING your knowledge objectively so you don't fall prey to illusions of knowing.
The Science of Learning course also talked about the importance of sleep in the consolidation process, in "moving" information to different areas of the brain. In fact, a lack of sleep affects our learning in two profound ways:
- We are unable to consolidate the new things we have learned during the day;
- We are not in the best state to learn new things the next day.
What does this mean for the classroom?
We need to provide time for students to CONSOLIDATE their new knowledge into their long-term memory, by giving them plenty of opportunities to GENERATE the material and RELATE it to other things they know. We can do this by:
We need to provide time for students to CONSOLIDATE their new knowledge into their long-term memory, by giving them plenty of opportunities to GENERATE the material and RELATE it to other things they know. We can do this by:
- Giving students opportunities to teach others about what they have learned;
- Using quizzes as learning tools;
- Using interactive tools such as Kahoot and Quizlet to engage students in retrieving;
- Have students use the 3C's and other techniques, but from GENERATED material.
We also need to help students be better at EVALUATING their own knowledge, by:
- Using questions to identify missing knowledge;
- Leaving time between GENERATING material;
- Mixing up their study of different topics.
Contrasting the models
The EBC model is all about the general processes involved in learning new material whereas MARGE is about the specific things we as teachers (and our students) should be doing to improve learning. The overlap is that the aspects of MARGE help us do each of the principles from EBC.
The EBC model is all about the general processes involved in learning new material whereas MARGE is about the specific things we as teachers (and our students) should be doing to improve learning. The overlap is that the aspects of MARGE help us do each of the principles from EBC.
What was made very clear in the Science of Learning course was that EBC should NOT be seen as a three part lesson plan (Starter - Main - Plenary), and that these three stages of learning could all take place at the same time within the same activity, or be spread over a long period of time for a given learning objective. MARGE does not talk about the whole structure of planning, but does give some ideas for teachers and students for each of the five aspects.
The Science of Learning course was a 5 week online course, and so covered many more aspects of learning as well. The most important one of these (which was also a key point in the Learning How To Learn course) is that sleep is absolutely vital to the process of learning. Without getting enough sleep, it does not really matter what else we do, we will struggle to learn new things effectively. This is such an important aspect of learning (I am also currently reading Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker which I thoroughly recommend to anybody interested in the importance of sleep both to learning and our general wellbeing), that we should be making a big deal of this to our students. How many students stay up into the small hours of the morning playing computer games, on social media, or even just doing their homework, which means they do not get adequate sleep to prepare them for the next day, or consolidate the learning from that day (it should be noted that, as Walker points out, teenagers have a natural sleep rhythm which is later than adults, but I fear many are now going well beyond this)?
So which is the better model?
I actually think both models have a lot to offer to help teachers (and students) to understand the processes we go through to learn new things. Both in terms of the biological functions (what happens where in the brain) and the implications on what we should do. EBC offers an overriding set of principles that we need to consider when planning out long term units: how will we ENGAGE students in the learning; how will we BUILD the new knowledge; how will we CONSOLIDATE this in long term memory? And MARGE gives us some advice on how to achieve these things successfully; MOTIVATE through curiosity and questions; make sure students ATTEND to the new information we want them to learn; have students RELATE the new knowledge to what they already know; provide as many opportunities as possible for students to GENERATE the knowledge in their own words; and help students EVALUATE their own learning so they can avoid illusions of knowing and fix any gaps in their knowledge.
I actually think both models have a lot to offer to help teachers (and students) to understand the processes we go through to learn new things. Both in terms of the biological functions (what happens where in the brain) and the implications on what we should do. EBC offers an overriding set of principles that we need to consider when planning out long term units: how will we ENGAGE students in the learning; how will we BUILD the new knowledge; how will we CONSOLIDATE this in long term memory? And MARGE gives us some advice on how to achieve these things successfully; MOTIVATE through curiosity and questions; make sure students ATTEND to the new information we want them to learn; have students RELATE the new knowledge to what they already know; provide as many opportunities as possible for students to GENERATE the knowledge in their own words; and help students EVALUATE their own learning so they can avoid illusions of knowing and fix any gaps in their knowledge.
Other Models
Ollie Lovell wrote this short thread about MARGE which is an excellent summary of the main ideas.
Ollie Lovell wrote this short thread about MARGE which is an excellent summary of the main ideas.
Previously, I've shared the short booklet 'MARGE' by Prof Arthur Shiamura. It's a booklet on memory and learning using an acronym for Motivate, Attend, Relate, Generate, Evaluate. I wanted to share some takeaways, as summarised by @teacherhead in https://t.co/cmYtoMHRg0 pic.twitter.com/EHgBgoFnBB
— Oliver Lovell (@ollie_lovell) December 11, 2018
In particular, I like his comparison of MARGE with the model offered by Efrat Furst here.
Image from Ollie Lovell.
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