Learning out Loud: A Framework for Learning in an Era of Information Abundance

Abstract

Learning out loud (LOL) is an approach to learning and teaching in an era of information abundance and the changing state - and role - of formal education (K-12 and higher education, training and development programs). LOL frames a learning experience that extends beyond the traditional, centuries-old emphasis on encoding, or taking in information in formal settings, by expanding the storage, or sense-making process, stretching and sustaining retrieval, or application of content, and adding “bookends” of emphasis on motivation in the early stages and sustainability and flexible transfer toward the latter stages. In this way, a learning experience framed by LOL extends beyond the formal setting through authentic, emotional, and applied learning journeys. Based on theory and extensive empirical research from cognitive science and the science of learning, LOL addresses two pressing challenges for learners, the role and relevance of formal learning and the mismatch between how we feel we learn best and how we actually learn best. Learning out loud maps a learning journey to harness information abundance, seize the opportunities of the changing state and role of formal education, and scaffold individualized and collaborative sense-making.