What do we know about how students learn, and what does that knowledge mean for how we teach?
That’s what The Science of Learning, a publication from Deans for Impact, seeks to answer. Deans for Impact is an organization of two dozen Deans of education schools who have committed themselves to a common set of principles, including data-driven improvement, common outcome measures, empirical validation of teacher preparation methods, and accountability for student learning. They’re also persuading other teacher preparation programs to do the same.
This report summarizes the existing research from cognitive science related to how students learn, and connects this research to its practical implications for teaching and learning. Building off many efforts that came before it and reflecting the general consensus of the scientific community, the report is intended to serve as a resource to teacher-educators, new teachers, and anyone in the education profession who is interested in the best scientific understanding of how learning takes place.
The report identifies six key questions about learning that should be relevant to nearly every educator:
- How do students understand new ideas?
- How do students learn and retain new information?
- How do students solve problems?
- How does learning transfer to new situations?
- What motivates students to learn?
- What are some common misconceptions about how students think and learn?
Deans for Impact believes that, as part of their preparation, every teacher-candidate should grapple with – and be able to answer – the questions in the report. Their answers should be informed and guided by the existing scientific consensus around basic cognitive principles and all educators, including new teachers, should be able to connect these principles to their practical implications for the classroom (or wherever teaching and learning are taking place).
The report does not include everything that new teachers should know or be able to do, but Deans for Impact believes it is part of an important – and evidence-based – core of what educators should know about learning. Because scientific understanding is ever evolving, the organization expects to periodically revise the report to reflect new insights into cognition and learning.
To read the full report, see The Science of Learning.
