The Science of Learning

By Deans for Impact
December 20, 2017

This report summarizes existing research from cognitive science on how students learn and shows its practical implications for teaching and learning. The report identifies six key questions about learning that should be relevant to all educators:

  • 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 in or outside the classroom?
  • What motivates students to learn?
  • What are common misconceptions about how students think and learn?

This document can serve as a resource to educators, new teachers and teachers-in-training, and anyone in the education profession who is interested in a scientific understanding of how learning takes place. Teachers looking to take their learning further might read this article from CompetencyWorks, Making Sense of the Learning Sciences, which discusses the culture, structure, and pedagogical principles that should be in place in a competency-based school to capitalize on lessons learned from the cognitive sciences and meet students where they are.

Source Organization: Deans for Impact

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