Make It Stick The Science Of Successful Learning

Make It Stick

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.

MAKE IT STICK

From the Laboratory to the Classroom

Over recent years the field of Science of Learning has increased dramatically. Unfortunately, despite claims that this work will greatly impact education, very little research makes it into teacher practice. Although the reasons for this are varied, a primary concern is the lack of a proper translation framework. From the Laboratory to the Classroom aims to consolidate information from many different research disciplines and correlate learning principles with known classroom practices in order to establish explanatory foundations for successful strategies that can be implemented into the classroom. It combines theoretical research with the diverse and dynamic classroom environment to deliver original, effective and specific teaching and learning strategies and address questions concerning what possible mechanisms are at play as people learn. Divided into five sections, chapters cover: A Framework for Organizing and Translating Science of Learning Research Motivation and Attention as Foundations for Student Learning Memory and Metamemory Considerations in the Instruction of Human Beings Science of Learning in Digital Learning Environments Educational Approaches for Students Experiencing Learning Difficulties and Developmental Characteristics of Gifted Children Brain, Behaviour and Classroom Practice Forging Research/Practice Relationships via Laboratory Schools This fascinating text gathers an international team of expert scientists, teachers, and administrators to present a coherent framework for the vital translation of laboratory research for educational practice. Applying the Science of Learning framework to a number of different educational domains, it will be an essential guide for any student or researcher in education, educational psychology, neuropsychology, educational technology and the emergent field of neuroeducation.