Review: How Learning Works: 7 Research‐Based Principles for Smart Teaching
Authors: Susan A. Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges, Marsha C. Lovett, Michele DiPietro, and Marie K. Norman
Keywords: learning principles, classroom instruction, learning activities
Physical copy available for borrowing at the Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning.
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HOW LEARNING WORKS: SEVEN RESEARCH-BASED PRINCIPLES FOR SMART TEACHING focused on seven essential learning principles that explain student learning processes and how understanding them can faciliate effective teaching. This book provides instructors at all levels with "a bridge between research and practice, between teaching and learning" (p. 2). Its goal, then, is to assist teachers in gaining a better knowledge of the learning process so that they can become effective teachers in the classroom.
The book starts with eight appendices which provide concrete examples of how the teachers put the learning principles into practice, and how the concept of maps, rubrics, exam wrappers, checklists, and other devices can be used in the classroom.
The main text of the book presents theoretical basis of both learning and instructional science and discussed the seven principles of learning in detail. This book serves as a guiding concept to assist the teacher in efficient and different learning activities, especially at liberal arts colleges like NYU Abu Dhabi. Our students are exposed to content and discussions that are diverse, complicated, and multifaceted. How can professors and instructors effectively provide students with the learning opportunities they require to learn effectively? This book allows instructors to gain:
- A better knowledge of how the learning brain functions and how this relates to the possibility for improving student learning in the classroom.
- Practical strategies for integrating these findings into specific learning experiences that enhance and accelerate student learning
- Ideas for helping students understand how the brain works and strategies to allow them to take ownership of their own learning.
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This book presents seven research-based principles for understanding how students learn. Each chapter delves into a specific learning principle and shares specific and targeted methods for classroom instruction.
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The book is placed against a framework of various human viewpoints and their significance and contribution to the teaching and learning conversation. As a result, the authors begin section one of the book by discussing their positionalities as "people, scholars, and writers" (p.10). Their personalized introduction invites readers especially the professor and instructor to pause and consider their own positionalities as teacher, as well as how they would like to engage in teaching and learning-related thinking and writing. The authors' self-reflection on writing this book is the most important aspect of this section of the text, and it can be useful for many readers' personal writing.
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- What are the main instructional activities in your classroom? How are they related to the 7 principles of this book?
- Are there any missing principles that you can incorporate into your classroom?
- How can you, as an instructor, explain the 7 principles to your students so they can be more aware of their learning?
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Ambrose, Susan A., Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett, and Marie K. Norman. 2010. How Learning Works. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.
