Six Components of Significant Learning
Fink (2013) presents another way to consider the design of significant learning experiences. He identifies and applies six interconnected components:
- Foundational Knowledge – students’ ability to remember and understand information
- Application – learning a new action, whether a new skill, way of thinking or how to manage projects
- Integration – making connections between ideas, learning experiences or from one area of life to another
- Human Dimension – learning about yourself and others
- Caring – developing students’ interest in or valuing of the topic
- Learning How to Learn – helping students become self-directed, self-regulated learners so they can learn beyond the course
Pros of Fink
- provides a framework for aligning learning outcomes with assessment
- includes focus ‘learning how to learn’ and how to promote skills students will use beyond learning content
- it identifies the importance of learning that extends beyond the classroom experience
Cons of Fink
- if you’re new to writing learning outcomes, Fink ‘s taxonomy is not as clear as Bloom’s in terms of how to apply it
- creating assessments that assess ‘caring’ can be hard, depending on the discipline
- fewer online resources to support how to apply Fink
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Each kind of learning is interactive – one kind of learning can stimulate another kind. Not all the kinds of learning need to be included in our courses, but the more we can include, the more interconnected the learning experiences will be. |
Questions to Ask
Here are some writing prompts/questions for you to consider when writing learning outcomes using Fink’s taxonomy
Foundational Knowledge:
- What key information (facts, terms, formula, concepts, relationships) is important for students to understand and remember in the future?
- What key ideas or perspectives are important for students to understand in this course?
Application:
- What kinds of thinking are important for students to learn:
- Critical thinking, in which students analyze and evaluate?
- Creative thinking, in which students imagine and create?
- Practical thinking, in which students solve problems and make decisions?
- What important skills do students need to learn?
- What complex projects do students need to learn how to manage?
Integration:
- What connections (similarities and interactions) should students recognize and make…
- Among ideas within this course?
- Among the information, ideas, and perspectives in this course and those in other courses or areas?
- Between material in this course and the students’ own personal, social, and work lives?
Human Dimension:
- What can or should students learn about themselves?
- What can or should students learn about interacting with people they may encounter in the future?
Caring:
- What changes would you like to see in what students care about, that is, any changes in their…
- Interests?
- Values?
- Feelings?
Learning How to Learn:
- What would you like for students to learn about…
- How to be a good student in a course like this?
- How to engage in inquiry and construct knowledge with this subject matter?
- How to become a self-directing learner relative to this subject? That is, have a learning agenda of what else they need and want to learn and a plan for learning it?
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Handouts: |
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Additional Resources:
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