Foundations of Learning Active Learning Methods "The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn." - Herbert A. Simon
Knowledge Organization Building Knowledge Through Transfer Taking the time to connect knowledge as it is learned to both past and potential future contexts, substantially increases the likelihood of transfer (Engle et al., 2012).
Diversity and Inclusion Creating a Course Climate that Enhances Learning Even in the most content-focused course, climate plays a dramatic role in what, how much, and how effectively our students are able to learn.
Foundations of Learning Creating Outcomes that Guide Learning Focus on the knowledge and skills that you want students to acquire and be able to demonstrate at the end of a course, rather than on the nature of the content covered
Foundations of Learning Critical Thinking Instruction A critical-thinking attitude and specific skills are as important as the ability to transfer learning among contexts and continually re-consider how one is thinking about a given problem.
Foundations of Learning Engaging in Self-Care Practices During Midterms Studies have shown that academic stress is negatively associated with academic performance (Akgun & Ciarrochi, 2003). Self-care practices such as sleep hygiene and social support are associated with reduction in perceived stress (Myers et al., 2012).
Knowledge Organization Engaging with Exemplars As experts, we can forget how difficult learning our material for the first time can be, and how many of the foundational aspects of our expertise are in fact not obvious to the novice.
Foundations of Learning Facilitating Discussions Regardless of the size or format, certain factors can influence the extent to which a discussion “works” to deepen learning.
Foundations of Learning Flipped Course Design Flipping the class moves passive learning outside of the classroom to make time in class for structured application.
Foundations of Learning Giving Learners Effective Feedback Good feedback helps your learners get closer to achieving the goals you have for them, and can also bring more meaning to your relationship with them as an educator.
Foundations of Learning Group Discussion Activity Design Basic principles can help you design powerfully-effective group discussion activities in any discipline.
Foundations of Learning Inductive In-Class Activities for Deeper Learning In-class activities that leverage prior knowledge and create a need to know have the potential to foster deeper, more motivated…
CATLR Tips and Resources Integrating Evidence-Based Teaching Practices Through SAIL When bringing new practices to our teaching, it is important to ground that work in evidenced-based literature. In this Tip, we will look at how the principle of mastery from How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching can help ground how we leverage SAIL in our teaching practices.
Foundations of Learning Integrating Reflection Reflection enables students to connect theory to practice and generates the breakthrough moments that bring learning to the next level.
Foundations of Learning Learner-Centered Syllabus As a first artifact of the teacher-student relationship, the syllabus is a physical manifestation of how you view your students, your course and discipline--and what they can expect from their time with you.
Prior Knowledge Make Prior Learning Visible with Concept Maps Asking learners depict their understandings can help support the construction of meaning, and create a space for learners to reflect upon what they actually know.
Motivation Making Meaning Out of Failure “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett
Motivation Motivating Online Students What motivates students? This question is particularly important to consider when facilitating an online course, as self-directed learning is key to student success in this format.
Foundations of Learning Project-Based Learning Successful Project-Based Learning experiences do not happen by accident. Strategy, structure, accountability and feedback unleash PBL's pedagogical promise.
Foundations of Learning Promoting Integration and Ideation Through Design Thinking When students come to us seeking guidance about their futures, it can be helpful to borrow concepts from the Design Thinking framework to structure the conversation.
Knowledge Organization Promoting Transfer of Knowledge Through Expansive Framing Supporting students’ sense of belonging positively impacts their academic success and overall well-being.
Prior Knowledge Prompts for Meaningful Reflection Reflection is an important part of learning that pushes the learner to think more deeply or differently.
Foundations of Learning Reflect on the Learning Environments You Create It’s important to take stock of how our learning opportunities have unfolded in the past, what patterns we might see, and how this can inform you approach moving forward.
Foundations of Learning Supporting Learner Responsibility There is a balance to strike between supportive "scaffolding" and the motivating experience of choice.
Foundations of Learning Supporting Our Learners and Ourselves in Difficult Times How can we support our learners in difficult times—and in ways that integrate with our own personal needs and pedagogical approaches?
Foundations of Learning The Power of Affirming One’s Values A values affirmation is one of the most studied self-affirmation interventions because it is through the lens of personal values that the self is evaluated.
Foundations of Learning The Power of Self-Explanation By helping your students understand some of the research on learning, you can both improve their performance and build their capacity to be self-directed learners.
Foundations of Learning Three Principles for Using Peer-Feedback Among Learners Sometimes the person who has just learned something is the very best teacher of it, so peer-feedback can be effective in ways instructor feedback cannot.
Assessment Transparent Assignment Design When we communicate how and why students are learning course content in certain ways, we are being transparent about the…
Motivation Two-Stage Exams By building in a second, collaborative phase to the exam process, two-stage exams leverage individual accountability as well as greater learning with fellow students.
Prior Knowledge Use Students’ Prior Knowledge to Build Motivation Students’ prior knowledge about--and experience with--a topic can be leveraged to help kindle a desire to learn more.
Prior Knowledge Using Analogies to Help Others Learn Analogies and metaphors can be an effective way to help others map familiar relationships with onto new material, as long as they are not stretched too far.
