It is assumed the instructional methods are known to result in the intended lessons being learned. We have all seen many teachers act with authority in the front of a classroom (or a clinic or a laboratory or shop or another place where school happens) and tell students what and how to learn the curriculum. Read More
Category: Teaching & Learning
A Brief Post on Standards
In manufacturing, the expected performance of the product is well-defined; we know how to measure performance and our methods can usually be tested. We build prototype systems, compare the outcomes with the standards, then discard those systems that don’t work. The prototyping and testing can be done in highly-controlled circumstances as well. Further, manufacturers who Read More
Briefly Considering Cognitive Engagement
One of the discoveries of the cognitive and learning sciences with the greatest implications for teaching is that students cannot learn passively. While lecture, readings, and similar tasks do still have a role in classrooms, effective teachers include a range of task that lead to active cognitive engagement. These tend to find students discussing, asking Read More
On Teaching for Learning
Learning scientists have identified several strategies whereby individuals can improve their memories, however. While these can be used effectively when adopting a content-only approach to teaching, they can also be incorporated in other ways. For example, faculty can recommend students use these outside of class in homework situations and design activities that facilitate these; this Read More
On Observation as Learning
One of the most commonly used methods of learning in informal settings is observational learning. Learners watch those who are experienced do and listen to those describe what they want to learn, then they repeat and practice what they observed. Beyond trial-and-error, observational learning is a highly guided method of learning, and learners assume greater Read More
How I Create Curriculum
Some former students appeared in my Twitter followers last week. One reached out with a very complimentary direct message in which he described how he attributed my course to his success and the success of several friends. For context, they we my students in a range of “computer” course while they were in high school. Read More
Placing Deeper Learning
Schools have been caught in the middle of a debate over their purpose for a long time. In the United States one of the central players in that debate was John Dewey. He is well-known for founding and leading the University of Chicago Laboratory School in 1896. The school was designed to focus the teaching Read More
Lessons From a Tweet About “Learning Styles”
Every so often, I tweet something that catches the attention of a small corner of the “twitterverse” and folks reply and share and the thread becomes a wealth of insight, good questions, and snarky comments. Most recently, it was this one: As I read the thread, I am struck by the willingness of folks to Read More
On Discussions in Classrooms
Socrates, so let’s say 23 centuries), discussion seems to be one of the least well-understood by today’s teachers. One challenge in using discussions well seems to be the confusion between the measurable outcomes that focus so much teaching and the less obvious (but more important) outcomes of discussion. First, let’s be clear. If your goal Read More
On Lectures
Picture a classroom in which class is underway in your mind and you probably imagine a lecture is underway. Students sit quietly, all facing the teacher who stands in the front or center and talks to the students. The central assumption of lecturing is that the teacher has information that must be transmitted to the Read More