Teachers’ Opinion About Deep Learning

Abstract

Deep Learning is a very important and complex process involving internal and external factors. It cannot be reduced to the development of students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes by relating knowledge, assuring a student centered learning, ensuring interactivity and group learning, using formative and self-evaluation etc. Deep learning is supposed to develop an integrated approach to learning, to promote authentic learning, students’ metacognition and self-regulation and to develop inquiry, problem solving, project learning and communication skills. Teaching for deep learning has the holistic education as background, which means to develop students’ intellectual, physical, emotional, social and artistic skills and behaviours. On the other hand, Surface and Strategic learning are characteristic of those who memorize knowledge and learn for getting good grades, complete a task or pass an exam. This research investigates how teachers relate to Deep Learning. The investigation was conducted in the school year 2019-2020. The respondents were teachers with different school experience. The investigation was based on Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Student (ASSIST). The questionnaire searched to find out the teachers' opinion about: conception of learning, approaches to study and preferences for different types of teaching. The results show that the respondents’ interest for Deep Learning, for practicing Deep learning and encouraging their students to learn deeply is very high.

Keywords: Deep learningsurface learningteachers' opinionssurvey

Introduction

Teachers and researchers have been continuously preoccupied with identifying the characteristics of a learning environment that motivates students to learn and to obtain superior school performances. A solution identified by researchers and practitioners is the paradigm of deep learning. The founding of the concept is mainly owed to the researches lead by Marton and Saljo (1976), Biggs (1987; 1989; 1999), Entwistle et al. (1979). Many other researchers take over this concept and they develop it (Biggs & Tang, 2011; Entwistle, 2018; Hermida, 2015; Lublin, 2003; Matsushita, 2018).

Deep learning is centered on the student and on the learning process. Hermida (2015) defines deep learning as "a process of permanent knowledge construction" (p. 9), a process in which learners, colleagues and teachers participate. Deep learning has as its basis the identification of essential information and its understanding, the making of the connection between new knowledge and previous one or life knowledge (Ciascai et al., 2011). Through practising a profound approach, learning becomes meaningful and leads to mind restructuring, school progress and personal development (Lemnison as cited in Millis, 2010).

Jensen and Nickelsen (2008) mention some characteristics of those who practise deep learning: curiosity, interest, enthusiasm, perseverance, preoccupation with understanding knowledge, self-efficiency and optimism. Moreover, deep learners participate actively in activities, offer help to other learners, address questions, share opinions and results, do their homework or ask extra homework, they do not feel stressed and they are thankful for the learning opportunities.

The surface learning practitioners accept the information without analysing it critically, without being preoccupied about networking knowledge, about searching the meaning/understanding new knowledge, about memorizing information on a long term, but aiming only to promote evaluations/exams (Houghton, 2004; Millis, 2010).

Over time, these approaches have been diversified. Matsushita (2018) shows that through incorporating the theory of Pask (1976) about learning strategies, Entwistle (2000) identified two strategies of profound approach of learning: holistic and serialistic. The first one is centred on the making of connections between ideas and on the identification of the patterns of the general principles. The second approach is oriented on the search and the use of proofs and the examination of the logics of the argument. Moreover, Entwistle (2000) added to deep and superficial approaches the concept of strategical approach, characterised by the preoccupation about evaluation requests (Entwistle, 2000; Richardson, 2005).

Yew et al. (2016) show that teachers have to assure themselves that they know the way their pupils/students learn and that they monitor their cognitive development. Teachers can stimulate deep learning by creating challenging and motivating learning situations/contexts that connect the aims of teaching the school subject to the preoccupations and interests of the student, stimulating him/her to learn through engaging questions, problem-situations and through using adequate strategies and inductive thinking (Bain & Zimmerman, 2009; Hermida, 2015). Laurilland (1979, as cited in Richardson, 2005), Marton and Saljo (1976), Ramsden (2003), Richardson (2000) and Ciascai et al. (2011) show that a student can approach differently the solving of an assignment according to its content, context and requirements, his/her interests and motivation.

Problem Statement

Faculties and schools concerned with ensuring a high quality education must know their teachers' approaches to learning and interest and skills for developing deep learning in their students. Teachers also need to be aware of their own approach to learning.

Research Questions

Teachers involved in this research have different teaching experiences and it can be assumed that their perceptions regarding the characteristics of surface and deep learning are different. The present research aimed to identify these opinions and experiences.

Purpose of the Study

The research was conducted to investigate primary school teachers’ opinions on deep and surface learning: a) the preparation for learning/resolving the learning assignment; b) teachers’ feelings throughout learning/resolving the learning assignment; c) strategies used to solve the learning assignments; d) other characteristic of deep and surface approaches to learning.

Research Methods

Findings

The results of the survey were grouped into categories that describe deep and superficial learning practices.

Conclusion

The results allow us to pencil, in the light of the participants in the inquiry, the practice of deep and surface learning. So, people practising deep learning want to study in optimum conditions, they organize their time efficiently, they plan their works, they study throughout the semester and they are able to self-motivate. Also, it is important to them to feel that they get on, they are interested in important themes discussed in courses even if they sometimes panic if they fall behind with homework. Those who learn deeply are interested in new ideas, they search arguments, reasons, causes, they give personalized interpretations on things, they are interested in the message of the author, in the correlation between ideas and they operate on their own ideas. Alternatively, surface learners are interested in getting high grades, they learn selectively, generally what seems to be necessary for homework/exams, they want to impress; they prefer to be told what homework/essays have to contain.

The results are in agreement with the domain literature approaching deep and surface learning.

References

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