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Instructor's Guide |
As a species, we know a lot about how brains learn, how effective various teaching practices are, and how society's needs and expectations shape how and how well we learn. As individuals, though, most people who teach at college and university either don't know this knowledge exists, or haven't incorporated it into their teaching. It's as if only doctors knew about the connection between smoking and cancer.
The best guide to evidence-based learning we have found is How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (see the bibliography for the full citation). Its advice is based in equal parts on theory, research, and experience. While some of the recommendations may seem banal, the full-length explanations in the book itself are anything but.
We try to incorporate these ideas into our teaching, and into our instructor training course. If you are interested in taking part, please get in touch.