The Learning Pyramid shows average learner retention rates for different methods of learning.
In short, people learn best when actively involved in the learning process.
Some theories explain why. For example, the Experiential Learning Model outlines a four-stage cyclical theory of learning. Learning by doing is also known as experiential learning. See also experiential education.
But what has conditioned humans to become so good at learning by doing?
Evolution and learning by doing
I’m reading Sapiens at the moment. This bit got me thinking:
Sapiens did not forage only for food and materials. They foraged for knowledge as well. To survive, they needed a detailed mental map of their territory. To maximise the efficiency of their daily search for food, they required information about the growth patterns of each plant and the habits of each animal. They needed to know which foods were nourishing, which made you sick, and how to use others as cures. They needed to know the progress of the seasons and what warning signs preceded a thunderstorm or a dry spell. They studied every stream, every walnut tree, every bear cave, and every flint-stone deposit in their vicinity.
Each individual had to understand how to make a stone knife, how to mend a torn cloak, how to lay a rabbit trap, and how to face avalanches, snakebites or hungry lions. Mastery of each of these many skills required years of apprenticeship and practice. The average ancient forager could turn a flint stone into a spear point within minutes. When we try to imitate this feat, we usually fail miserably. Most of us lack expert knowledge of the flaking properties of flint and basalt and the fine motor skills needed to work them precisely.
Humans have been learning by doing for over 2 million years. Human evolution has shaped our behaviours and how we learn. Our interactions with modern learning methods, such as sitting in lecture theatres, reading textbooks, and watching videos, are the blink of an eye compared to the hundreds of thousands of years of learning by doing.
The diagram below plots when humans were capable of engaging in certain learning methods. Dates are debatable, but not crazy. Notes at the bottom.
Learning by doing in educational products
I’m messing about with learning products for kids at the moment. I’m fascinated by all the tech education products available to kids. Things like Code Club, Kano, LittleBits, and Technology Will Save Us. Inspirational, wonderful examples of learning by doing.
The same can’t be said about design education products for kids. Why is tech education for kids so much more mature and sophisticated? I have some hunches, but that’s another post.
For now though, I’m prototyping design education products, with learning by doing at the heart of the learning experience.
A note on dates
- Lecture: Evidence suggests that lectures were invented during the High Middle Ages 1,000 years ago.
- Reading: Some believe that Literacy first emerged 10,000 years ago.
- Audio-Visual: Television sets were introduced in the 1920s.
- Demonstration: This is a tough one, but arguably, early humans were able to demonstrate how to do things.
- Group discussion: Some experts believe language probably started to develop around 100,000 years ago.
- Practice: Stone tools were being made 2.4–3.4 million years ago. We learnt to make tools by doing.
- Teaching others: It’s conceivable that early humans taught other humans how to do things, such as making stone tools.
