Learning how we learn

Christine Johnston of Rowan University in New Jersey, US, who developed the increasingly popular Let Me Learn (LML) concept in the early 1990s, was a keynote speaker at the first Malta International Forum on Learning held last month at the Dolmen Resort Hotel, Qawra.

Extensive research by Dr Johnston and her team has led them to conclude that there are four distinct learning patterns: precise, sequential, technical and confluent, and that everyone uses these patterns to varying degrees, ranging from 'use first' to 'use as needed' to 'avoid'.

A person's learning profile can be defined using a 'learning inventory questionnare' which establishes a score for each pattern. For example, people who use 'precision' first will require detailed instructions before attempting a project, while those who use the 'confluent' pattern first will be eager to put their own stamp on the task at hand. Thus, one can understand people's different learning patterns.

Johnston explains how children struggling at primary or secondary school benefit from LML. "I take the child out of class to administer the inventory, then we will go through the assignments the child is struggling with and he/she will often grow with it - because it works. The learning profile is so detailed that even teachers unfamiliar with LML have understood the child's learning needs."

Through this research it has been also been discovered that, while the brains of special needs children may work differently, their learning patterns are the same as those of other learners. "So if we can discover the learning profiles of special needs children and teach them in a way that is meaningful to them, they can learn," says Johnston.

In a conversation peppered with examples to illustrate her points, Johnston explains how far the LML process has developed in 15 years. She admits that in the beginning "we knew very little, but what we did know we took into the classroom. We would go back, read and study then try out our theory in a pilot project that would prove or disprove our findings.

Johnston says that along the way, some preconceived notions have fallen by the wayside. "Wherever we've been we've met people who have had questions that needed answering, and we go back to our studies to try and answer those questions. Then we pool all our research to establish whether what works in Malta will also work in Northern Ireland and the US; everything is double and triple checked this way."

Describing LML as "a tool in the teacher's kit, not another rock in their bag", Johnston says "teachers initially explain too much to their students, turning LML into another subject". In fact, she believes that although younger children need some time to understand the concept, they adopt LML very easily "because they see it in their parents, teachers, friends".

Johnston admits that it is harder for adults to adopt the process, "perhaps because we have been led to believe that learning is magical, a miracle we can never understand. Learning is all of that, but it is also a science which we now understand better than ever before."

She explains that when she teaches university students, she advises them to look into LML and undertake the inventory (questionnaire) online. She then decodes assignments during the course.

"I will not take up subject matter time to teach LML, but sometimes students will let me know that my 'sequence' is not working for them, although I may have thought I was very organised," she says.

The keystone of the LML process is that students become responsible for their own learning, capable of decoding instructions, understanding their learning needs and developing coping strategies whereby they consciously use their patterns as required for the task at hand.

Prof. Johnston's visit to Malta was sponsored by the US Embassy.