Meaningful learning: definition and characteristics

Throughout our school life, or simply observing in detail what happens to us, we quickly realize that when we compare deep learning, such as that derived from a topic of our interest, the result is very different from remembering something boring from literally and without giving it meaning. For this reason, David Ausubel studied the differences between these two learning processes and developed his theory of meaningful learning based on them.

Many educational psychologists have focused their efforts on trying to develop models that describe the way in which we acquire knowledge. Ausubel’s model of meaningful learning is one of the models that has most successfully explained how non-literal deep learning occurs. Thus, this is defined as knowledge constructed and related to previous knowledge, where the subject acquires an active role, restructuring and organizing the information.

In this theory we can glimpse great constructivist influences. For David Ausubel, true knowledge is constructed by the subject through his or her own interpretations. For this reason, all knowledge based on literal memory would be nothing more than the result of repetitions with little or no meaning. In this type of knowledge, the interpretation of the subject would not come into play and would hardly have a significant influence on the person’s life.

What is meaningful learning?

We could define meaningful learning in a very basic way: It is feeling how all the pieces of a concept, an idea, a theory, formula or reasoning suddenly fit together.. Most of us have felt that sensation. That what we learn is integrated into our mind and has meaning in itself.

Stuart T. Haines, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and Medicine, conducted a study among his own students to find out how they integrated information and what methods they used. In fact, if he was aware of anything, it was that the topic of memory was key in his subject.

Pharmacy curricula require each student to memorize thousands of molecular entities and drug names. Well, one thing she was able to prove is that Only when those data to be remembered were significant and made sense to the student, they not only retained the information much better, but also “transferred” it to long-term memory.

Thus, he drew certain conclusions from his experiment. With them are the fundamental pillars of meaningful learning:

Meaningful learning is active, constructive and lasting. It involves understanding, feeling that the information is useful and not limiting ourselves to just memorizing. It requires active learning techniques. It involves relating new information with prior knowledge.

The affective dimension of meaningful learning

The fact of attributing meaning to what is learned goes through an emotional process. It is given personal meaning and integrated into the individual mental map. Without this, data and skills are lost, since it is not possible to develop a “link” with what has been learned.

A change in the educational model

To know the nature of meaningful learning, it is necessary to understand that Ausubel’s theory is a theory intended for direct application. This researcher It did not simply seek to describe the different types of learning; he was interested in bringing about a change in instruction.

As we have mentioned before, it is difficult for literal or superficial learning to modify the student’s representations. This makes us question whether we can speak, in these cases, of real learning. Precisely from here arises the need to understand some key ideas on this topic.

Meaningful learning is a relational learning. It is linked to previous knowledge and lived experiences. It involves a modification or a way to complement our schemas or representations of reality, thus achieving deep learning. They are not simply memorized data, but a conceptual framework about how we see and interpret the reality around us.

The idea, therefore, is to help students activate what they already know in order to show them new information.. In this way, we get them to integrate this innovative data into their existing knowledge schemas (instead of asking them to create new knowledge schemas).

Another task of teachers will be to show students what they do not they know. In this way, we create a small cognitive imbalance in order to awaken intrinsic motivation in them, that is, the desire to learn.

Instructional Implications

This theory has strong implications for changing instructional methods. If we take even a superficial look at current education, we notice numerous errors. The system is made to promote rote or literal learning, making students learn data, formulas or names without any meaning.

Besides, Thanks to the current evaluation system based on objective tests, superficial learning is more favored. This is because significant learning is not necessary to pass the exams; And if what you are looking for is to get a good grade, rote learning will give better results with less effort.

The need for change is more than evident. Above all, because of the very positive data that all these attempts to apply and shape meaningful learning in the classrooms of high school and university students offer us. In fact, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University also carried out a program in its classrooms in order to encourage this type of approach and found very positive data: Meaningful learning enhances students’ sense of self-efficacy.

Ausubel’s keys

David Ausubel proposed the following principles that instruction should follow to achieve meaningful learning in his students. Let’s see them below:

Take into account prior knowledge. Meaningful learning is relational, its depth lies in the connection between new content and previous knowledge.Provide activities that awaken student interest. The greater the student’s interest, the more willing he/she will be to incorporate new knowledge into his/her conceptual framework.Create a harmonious climate where the student feels trust towards the teacher. It is essential that the student sees the teacher as a figure of security so that he or she does not represent an obstacle to their learning.Provide activities that allow the student to give their opinion, exchange ideas and debate. Knowledge must be constructed by the students themselves; they are the ones who, through their conceptual framework, must interpret material reality.Explain through examples. The examples help to understand the complexity of reality and achieve contextualized learning.Guide the cognitive learning process. As it is a process where students are free when constructing knowledge, they can make mistakes. It is the teacher’s role to supervise the process and act as a guide during it.Generate learning located in the sociocultural environment. All education occurs in a social and cultural context, it is important that students understand that knowledge is constructed and interpretive. Understanding the reason for the different interpretations will help build meaningful learning.

We can easily intuit that Committing to a model in which meaningful learning prevails requires resources. The price is much higher than the other way of learning that we have alluded to in this article (literal or surface learning) and which is much more common in today’s schools. However, the real question is, which one do we want? Or, deep down, which is really more expensive?

You might be interested…