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I understand your point Gunnar. Bigg's advises in an accompanying paragraph that we should not take these percentages too literally, but states 'the messages are clear, simple and basically right'. On what grounds he makes this comment, I'm not sure. I guess we have to decide on whether his decision to feature this table is something we trust and find useful in certain contexts. To a first year undergraduate, it might be appropriate as it stands. Perhaps a postgrad student will want to look further into it. In both cases I have used it as a prompt and useful model. Robert. Robert Harland Lecturer Loughborough University School of Art and Design +44 (0)1509 228980 [log in to unmask] http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ac/mainpages/Research/staffpages/harland/harland.htm On 25 Aug 2009, at 02:36, Swanson, Gunnar wrote: >> >> from John Biggs book 'Teaching for Quality >> Learning at University' (2nd Edition) (2003, p. 80), > [snip] >> Most people learn... >> 10% of what they read >> 20% of what they hear >> 30% of what they see >> 50% of what they see and hear >> 70% of what they talk over with others >> 80% of what they use and do in real life >> 95% of what they teach someone else >> >> (Source: attributed to William Glasser; quoted by >> Association for Supervisors and Curriculum >> Development Guide 1988). > > is a case in point. "Attributed"? If Glasser did say it, on what > basis? The nice round numbers make it clear that this is some sort > of "rule of thumb" but it's often quoted as if the numbers are > accurate descriptions of something. "Most people"? What does that > mean? Are these figures comparable? Is the "what they use and do" > eight times the "what they read" or is this a different sort of > stuff or a different kind of learning? Since 20% + 30% = 50% on the > chart, is this all additive? If you read something *and* used it and > did it in real life, would you learn nine times as much as you would > by reading? > > If you read something simple and short, do you really learn the same > 10% of it as if you had read something complex and voluminous? What > the hell could learning 30% of everything you see actually mean? Am > I learning 30% of everything on my television, 30% of the furniture > in the room, and 30% of my Mac keyboard as I type this? Huh? > > Education folk spend a lot of time telling us about how people have > different learning styles so how is it that "most people" hit these > nice, even percentages for each mode of perception?