Mastery of existing knowledge and concepts is sought before students are led to the next set. In terms of learning activities, people only need to think of their own learning experiences in school and university. Typical activities involve learning tasks that are segmented and fragmented to make them more easily achieved. The activities tend to lack any real life context and are usually presented in abstract forms bearing little relevance to settings beyond the classroom. In most cases, the teacher plays the role of the expert delivering knowledge to the learners.
Learners act in passive modes working individually to complete the set tasks.
Assessment of learning is done through pencil and paper tests measuring competency in the various elements of the curriculum. There have been many critics of these forms of teaching and learning and for years innovators and practitioners have been exploring teaching and learning strategies capable of delivering more effective and more enriched learning outcomes. Many of the outcomes from conventional teaching have long been recognised as insufficient and unsatisfactory. Successful students have often been found to have employed surface level learning strategies. Learners have frequently been found to be incapable of applying and transferring the learning to practical settings.