A Concise Guide to Teaching With Desirable Difficulties

A Concise Guide to Teaching With Desirable Difficulties
Author: Diane Cummings Persellin
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2023-07-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000976882

This concise guidebook on desirable difficulties is designed to be a resource for academics who are interested in engaging students according to the findings of peer-reviewed literature and best practices but do not have the time to immerse themselves in the scholarship of teaching and learning.Intentionally brief, the book is intended to: summarize recent research on five aspects of desirable difficulties; provide applications to the college classroom based on this research; include special sections about teaching strategies that are based on best practices; and offer annotated bibliographies and important citations for faculty who want to pursue additional study. The book will provide a foundation for instructors to teach using evidence-based strategies that will strengthen learning and retention in their classrooms.In addition to chapters on the desirable difficulties, the book also includes chapters on teaching first-year and at-risk students to embrace this approach, on negotiating student resistance, and on using this approach in teaching online.

A Concise Guide to Improving Student Learning

A Concise Guide to Improving Student Learning
Author: Diane Cummings Persellin
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2023-07-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000976750

This concise guidebook is intended for faculty who are interested in engaging their students and developing deep and lasting learning, but do not have the time to immerse themselves in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Acknowledging the growing body of peer-reviewed literature on practices that can dramatically impact teaching, this intentionally brief book:* Summarizes recent research on six of the most compelling principles in learning and teaching* Describes their application to the college classroom* Presents teaching strategies that are based on pragmatic practices* Provides annotated bibliographies and important citations for faculty who want to explore these topics further This guidebook begins with an overview of how we learn, covering such topics such as the distinction between expert and novice learners, memory, prior learning, and metacognition. The body of the book is divided into three main sections each of which includes teaching principles, applications, and related strategies – most of which can be implemented without extensive preparation.The applications sections present examples of practice across a diverse range of disciplines including the sciences, humanities, arts, and pre-professional programs. This book provides a foundation for the reader explore these approaches and methods in his or her teaching.

Teaching and Learning for Social Justice and Equity in Higher Education

Teaching and Learning for Social Justice and Equity in Higher Education
Author: Laura Parson
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 343
Release: 2020-06-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030449394

This book is the first of four edited volumes designed to reconceptualize teaching and learning in higher education through a critical lens, with this inaugural publication focusing on the fundamentals behind the experience. Chapter authors explore recent research on the cognitive science behind teaching and learning, dispel myths on the process, and provide updates to the application of traditional learning theories within the modern, diverse university. Through reviews of fundamental theories of teaching and learning, together with specific classroom practices, this volume applies social justice principles that have been traditionally seen as belonging to K-12 or adult education to higher education.

Promoting Inclusive Classroom Dynamics in Higher Education

Promoting Inclusive Classroom Dynamics in Higher Education
Author: Kathryn C. Oleson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2023-07-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000978028

This powerful, practical resource helps faculty create an inclusive dynamic in their classrooms, so that all students are set up to succeed. Grounded in research and theory (including educational psychology, scholarship of teaching and learning, intergroup dialogue, and social justice theory), this book provides practical solutions to help faculty create an inclusive learning environment in which all students can thrive. Each chapter focuses on palpable ideas and adaptive strategies to use right away when teaching. The first chapter consider professors’ intersecting personal and social identities and their expectations for themselves and their students. Chapter 2 considers students’ backgrounds, including class, race, disability, and gender, and focuses on what students bring to the classroom, exploring their basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and belonging; their approaches to learning; and their self-doubts and uncertainties. Chapter 3 draws on universally-designed learning in combination with educational design rooted in social justice and multiculturalism to describe ways to design spaces in which students flourish academically. Two chapters focus on classroom dynamics. Chapter 4 primarily focuses on preparation for having difficult conversations in the classroom, considering how instructors can create a shared understanding between themselves and their students. Chapter 5 focuses on in-the-moment strategies to both create and manage discomfort about sensitive and controversial topics while supporting students of various social identities (such as gender, race, disability). In the closing chapter, the author integrates all the elements in the preceding chapters, and also presents more general college-wide programs to help faculty develop and improve their teaching.

Integrating Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT): An Effective Tool for Providing Equitable Opportunity in Higher Education

Integrating Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT): An Effective Tool for Providing Equitable Opportunity in Higher Education
Author: Akella, Devi
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2022-04-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1799895513

Students of color and those of lower economic backgrounds and of underrepresented groups appear to face a disadvantage when they transition from high schools into colleges. These students tend to have lower academic preparation than white students, which leads to higher levels of stress and anxiety, as well as an increased placement in remedial courses, which negatively impacts their graduation rates. As institutions become aware of these facts and take appropriate measures to improve educational experiences, they must implement Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) initiatives in order to provide equal access to education. Integrating Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT): An Effective Tool for Providing Equitable Opportunity in Higher Education provides information on Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) concepts and how they can be used in course development to improve student learning and performance. It focuses on bringing positive learning experiences to college students, especially first-generation students, which can lead to higher levels of academic success. It strongly advocates for transparent education and provides guidance for overcoming the existing accessibility gap in higher education. Covering topics such as business education, online learning platforms, and teaching modalities, this book is an indispensable resource for academicians, faculty developers, administrators, instructional designers, professors, and researchers.

Teaching Hacks: Fixing Everyday Classroom Issues with Metacognition

Teaching Hacks: Fixing Everyday Classroom Issues with Metacognition
Author: Nathan Burns
Publisher: Sage Publications UK
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2024-06-29
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1529675456

This book is a practical guide offering new ways to fix many typical day-to-day issues in schools using metacognition to offer effective and efficient solutions. Discover new ways to enhance your own teaching with metacognition and how to apply it to many common aspects of teaching and learning. Every chapter is written by a different education expert and takes a solution-focused approach exploring metacognitive strategies and ideas for the classroom. Key topics include: Smart revision strategies Nuanced and effective feedback The power of modelling answers Student motivation and resilience Supporting struggling writers Integrating metacognition across the curriculum And much more!

Make It Stick

Make It Stick
Author: Peter C. Brown
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2014-04-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0674729013

To most of us, learning something "the hard way" implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners. Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights into how memory is encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved have led to a better understanding of how we learn. Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned. Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

Teaching Undergraduate Science

Teaching Undergraduate Science
Author: Linda C. Hodges
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2023-07-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000980340

This book is written for all science or engineering faculty who have ever found themselves baffled and frustrated by their undergraduate students’ lack of engagement and learning. The author, an experienced scientist, faculty member, and educational consultant, addresses these issues with the knowledge of faculty interests, constraints, and day-to-day concerns in mind. Drawing from the research on learning, she offers faculty new ways to think about the struggles their science students face. She then provides a range of evidence-based teaching strategies that can make the time faculty spend in the classroom more productive and satisfying.Linda Hodges reviews the various learning problems endemic to teaching science, explains why they are so common and persistent, and presents a digest of key ideas and strategies to address them, based on the research she has undertaken into the literature on the cognitive sciences and education. Recognizing that faculty have different views about teaching, different comfort levels with alternative teaching approaches, and are often pressed for time, Linda Hodges takes these constraints into account by first offering a framework for thinking purposefully about course design and teaching choices, and then providing a range of strategies to address very specific teaching barriers – whether it be students’ motivation, engagement in class, ability to problem solve, their reading comprehension, or laboratory, research or writing skills.Except for the first and last chapters, the other chapters in this book stand on their own (i.e., can be read in any order) and address a specific challenge students have in learning and doing science. Each chapter summarizes the research explaining why students struggle and concludes by offering several teaching options categorized by how easy or difficult they are to implement. Some, for example, can work in a large lecture class without a great expenditure of time; others may require more preparation and a more adventurous approach to teaching. Each strategy is accompanied by a table categorizing its likely impact, how much time it will take in class or out, and how difficult it will be to implement.Like scientific research, teaching works best when faculty start with a goal in mind, plan an approach building on the literature, use well-tested methodologies, and analyze results for future trials. Linda Hodges’ message is that with such intentional thought and a bit of effort faculty can succeed in helping many more students gain exciting new skills and abilities, whether those students are potential scientists or physicians or entrepreneurs. Her book serves as a mini compendium of current research as well as a protocol manual: a readily accessible guide to the literature, the best practices known to date, and a framework for thinking about teaching.