Many of the informants include the learning process itself in their reflections on the construct. Several of them mention and describe the cognitive processes that learners (must) go through to achieve deep learning.
This viewpoint is most prominent with informant 6. She says that deep learning is about developing a tool box that is filled with the right tools to enable the learner to develop skills, knowledge and understanding (p. 89). She refers to Michael Fullan and quotes a
definition of deep learning relating to the development of interdisciplinary competencies. This
enables the learner to understand the connection between different subject areas. She then says that the development of these interdisciplinary competencies is in turn what enables someone to experience deep learning (p. 89). This could be interpreted to mean that an amalgamation of process and result becomes visible here. Deep learning is not just about the outcome of the processes, but the actual processes themselves. Unsurprisingly, this is
reflected in Fullan et al. who have defined deep learning as the development of the six global competencies.
Informant 4 says his perception of deep learning is that it relates closely to the ability, or the cognitive processes, of analyzing, reflecting, evaluating and assessing. He connects this to Bloom’s revised taxonomy which has a knowledge dimension and a cognitive process dimension. He also mentions Shamot and her focus on learning concepts and becoming able to see the connection between them. This process of learning the theory of a concept and then being able to form abstractions from specific examples and establish more general concepts is also a part of deep learning, according to the informant (p. 74). In Bloom’s revised taxonomy, metacognitive knowledge is specifically mentioned in the structure of the knowledge
dimension, point D. It is defined as “knowledge of cognition in general, as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition” (Kratwohl, p. 214). This involves strategic
knowledge, self-knowledge and knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge.
Informant 3 speaks about the element of meta- reflection as an element in the process of deep learning. When learners apply a “new” concept to a subject matter they have to question the relevance of this concept in a new setting. They have to anchor their decision to apply this concept in their own life experience and thus engage in a metacognitive process (p.
67). As examples of how to access these processes he mentions working with complex tasks over a long period of time, with metacognition as a key element in the process.
Informant 2 says he connects deep learning to an evaluation of one’s own learning process (p. 59), making it an element in the process of learning. By analyzing or discussing the work process itself, and its outcomes, students are supposed to become able to recognize how their approach affects their learning.
This element of metacognition is also reflected in the Hewlett Foundation’s
description of how the key to lifelong learning is that students develop the ability to decide appropriate learning strategies and evaluate if they are suitable to solve that task at hand (The
Hewlett Foundation, 2013). Metacognition is also recognized as important by Fullan et al. in the competency called Critical Thinking.
In NOU 2015:8 the Ludvigsen committee recommends four areas of competence that are seen as particularly important to the students and to society, and they are called cross-curricular competences, meaning that they are relevant for several subjects and areas of competency. The committee recommends that these cross curricular competences are used as a basis in the subject renewal. One of these are “being able to learn” (p. 23) and is explained as “metacognition and self-regulated learning” (p. 23). In White Paper 28, the Ministry of Education and Research agrees that metacognition is an important cross curricular
competence, and says that metacognition “encompasses more than strategies to acquire knowledge” (p. 39, my translation). Metacognition also includes “the ability to perform critical assessments and choose suitable strategies to solve problems in different subjects” (p.
39, my translation).
On a side note, the Ministry also states that the use of the construct cross curricular
“implies that something is placed outside the subjects” (p. 42, my translation). As a
consequence, The Ministry of Education and Research does not want to continue using this term, or follow the committee’s advice to use cross curricular competencies as the over-arching structure for the future curriculum, because these competences will be central to the content in several of the individual subjects in the revised curriculum (p. 42).
It is therefore interesting when informant 1 says that the frame of the work process is important and that compartmentalization of subjects can hinder the development of deep learning because it does not enable the integration of several subjects necessary to see the application of theoretical knowledge in real life situations (p. 54). The necessity of
interdisciplinary work in order to achieve deep learning is also visible in the second report from the Ludvigsen committee. Interdisciplinary work has not been completely disregarded in White Paper 28, but as mentioned above, it is not recommended as a general principle for the design of the new curriculum, but is seen as important as an element in deep learning
processes.
Having the opportunity to be creative in the learning process is mentioned by several informants, but most explicitly by informant 5. She uses the subject of English as an example, and says she thinks creativity is a key element in the learning process, but it seems to be left out in the competence aims. Being creative is a way of submerging yourself in something and it is a good way of acquiring competence that lasts (pp. 87-88). The term creativity in this
sense of the word is mentioned in Bloom’s revised taxonomy as the top level on the cognitive process dimension. The ability to create is defined as being able to put elements together to form a coherent whole or make an original product. It is the ultimate cognitive process that require that you have managed to remember, understand, apply, analyze and evaluate before you can engage in a creative process (Kratwohl, 2002, p. 215). The verb create is also mentioned in the SOLO taxonomy as a sample verb indicating the highest level of
understanding, where the learner is competent in generalizing her knowledge to new domains (Biggs, 2013).
Creativity is mentioned by Ohlsson as a factor that is enabled by the cognitive change that is a result of the deep learning processes. Being creative is the ability to produce
something new (p. 64). Creativity is also one of the six global competencies in Fullan et al.’s New Pedagogies for Deep Learning. It entails having an eye for opportunities, asking the right questions, considering and pursuing novel ideas and solutions, and the capability in leadership to turn ideas into action.