Methods of Teaching

85
Handout 6, Unit 1
Seven Principles of Learning
NOTE: This handout complements Dr Stella Vosniadou’s booklet, How Children Learn. 
This handout highlights principles of learning whereas Dr Vosniadou combines principles 
with classroom recommendations. Consider reviewing How Children Learn as reference 
for teaching and to gain a better understanding of how to apply these principles.
‘Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only what the student 
does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the 
student does to learn.’ 
–Herbert A. Simon, Nobel Laureate in Economics and a founder of the field of 
cognitive science
Learning defined
Learning is a process, not a product. Learning involves change in knowledge, beliefs, 
behaviours, or attitudes. Change produced by learning has a lasting impact on 
how students think and act. Learning is not something done to students, but rather 
something students themselves do. It is a direct result of how students interpret and 
respond to their experiences.
The seven principles
• Students’ prior knowledge can help or hinder learning.
• How students organize knowledge influences how they learn and apply what
they know.
• Students’ motivation determines, directs, and sustains what they do learn.
• To develop mastery, students must acquire component skills, practise integrating
them, and know when to apply what they have learnt.
• Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback enhances the quality of
students’ learning.
• Students’ current level of development interacts with the social, emotional,
and intellectual climate of the course to impact learning.
• To become self-directed learners, students must learn to monitor and adjust
their strategies for learning.
S

---