Deep Learning versus Surface Learning

In this video Anne-Marie contrasts Deep Learning with Surface Learning. The transcription is below:

Hello, my name is Anne Marie Langford and I'm a Learning Development Tutor. This recording is a snapshot of some content which gets covered in the "Introduction to Higher Education" Level Four session. This video has been created to support students who have had difficulty accessing the group session. The group session is activity based and designed to give you the greatest benefit. This video has been created to support that learning and not as a replacement. So, Learning Development, just a reminder, is here to give advice on these areas that you can see on screen. So, in this section, we're going to look at surface learning versus deep learning. So when you come to higher education,  you're expected to have a deeper level of learning or deep learning and this indicates your mastery of the subject. So, when you're at school, you're expected to understand information possibly in a more shallow way. So, let's have a look at some differences between surface learning and deep learning. So, surface learning emphasizes the memorization of key facts. In contrast, deep learning asks you to go beyond those facts and to further develop your ideas by relating them to each other and developing your understanding more deeply. Surface learning might enable you to list information but deep learning requires you to use evidence and build a coherent understanding, something like a, a net or a network or a web of understanding. So you're not just learning facts as a list, but you're understanding why that information belongs and goes together. When you're surface learning, you might understand, you might learn ideas that feel disconnected. but when you're doing deep learning, you understand and go deeper to see how ideas are connected and you can use evidence to build those links. When you're surface learning, you might take other people's ideas or decisions at face value and maybe, you know, tweak them but not really engage with them. But when you're doing deep learning, you might look at other people's arguments, ideas and decisions and try and understand the reasons why they have come to those conclusions using evidence. And this will involve testing assumptions. When you surface learn, you do the basics. So, you might look at the syllabus and do the bare minimum that you need to succeed. But at higher education, you are expected to go beyond the syllabus and develop your own understandings of the topic by engaging with existing theories and evidence. So, surface learning might be where you just scratch the surface and cope with whatever is asked of you. But deep learning is about understanding your practice and your body of knowledge and making it your own. So now that we've discussed deep learning, I'd like to invite you to think about how you can develop tools to assist you in your own deep learning. What specific steps can you use to take this tool forward when planning and writing your assignment? So be specific, think about what you will do. So instead of saying I will develop my deep learning, it might be something more like I will look at Stella Cottrell’s book of study skills. So, you're identifying a specific action, make it measurable. So, in the example I gave previously, that's quite a big example and you can't break it down into an actionable chunk. But with something like listen to a podcast, you know, you've done it because you'll have completed the task, make sure it's something that you can do with the time and resources available to you. Make sure that it is relevant and linked to your course and your learning outcomes and give yourself time to do it. If you have any further questions, you can contact learning development using the skills hub or the student hub or NILE. There are a number of routes to do this. There's also a link um to book a tutorial at the top of the "Academic Skills, for Nurses page".