Deep Learning is Doable:

Five Strategies for Supporting Deep Learning in Virtual Environments

Jay McTighe, Harvey Silver, and Matthew Perini

Learning is learning, whether it occurs in a classroom, at a library, or within a virtual environment. But regardless of the venue, learning can vary—from superficial to substantive. We wrote this blog post because we know that so many teachers across the country are looking for ways to make online and hybrid learning more substantive and less superficial. In it, we’ll describe five specific and practical strategies, along with associated tools, that promote deep learning in virtual and hybrid settings—as well as in traditional classrooms.

What is deep learning and how is it achieved?

While there are different connotations for the term, we propose that deep learning occurs when students come to understand important ideas and processes and are able to transfer that learning. Our conception aligns with that of the National Research Council (2012): “While other types of learning may allow an individual to recall facts, concepts, or procedures, deeper learning allows the individual to transfer what was learned to solve new problems.” (p 6) 

While information can be transmitted by telling, we contend that understanding must be “earned” by the learner. We can directly teach facts and procedures, but developing an understanding of more abstract, and transferrable ideas must be constructed in the mind of the learner through deliberate mental processing of new information. Indeed, the phrases, coming to understand and making sense of…, are suggestive of the fact that deep learning occurs over time and requires the active mental manipulation of content via “higher-order” thinking. We refer to this active construction of meaning by students as meaning making.

“While other types of learning may allow an individual to recall facts, concepts, or procedures, deeper learning allows the individual to transfer what was learned to solve new problems.”

Here are five practical and proven strategies for focusing content on bigger ideas to avoid superficial “coverage” and engaging students in the active, meaning-making process necessary to develop understanding in support of transfer.

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Deep Virtual Learning