Can you judge learning during a lesson? A.K.A. Learning vs. Performance

A good definition of 'learning' is the long-term retention of information and the ability to apply it across different contexts.

I have been wondering more and more therefore if it is possible to judge whether learning is occurring during the course of a single lesson. I can teach a student how to use a physics formula, or how to say 'I want a sausage' in German; they might, by the end of the lesson, be perfectly drilled in doing what I've told them and perform the new skill brilliantly. However, this is only 'performance' and not true learning as a few days or weeks later they have often completely forgotten the skill.

The same thing happens with adults: a couple of times a year my wife asks me how to do something in Excel. I show her, she practices it, and she can do it. For a day or two. Because she doesn't practise it regularly, a few months later she has completely forgotten it and I go over it again. This has been going on for years.

So do you think it is possible to judge whether students are actually 'learning' during a single lesson? Or does that judgement need to be reserved until we have seen if the learning is long-term? If the latter, is there any point in having teachers' lessons observed to judge the quality of 'learning'?

Submitted August 20, 2019 at 12:08AM by plcanonica https://ift.tt/30konfF