This invaluable, short, very readable, booklet has been developed by Deans for Impact 'in close collaboration with' Dan Willingham and Paul Bruno - a must read for any teacher-educator and teacher!
The purpose of The Science of Learning is to summarize the existing research from cognitive science related to how students learn, and connect this research to its practical implications for teaching and learning. This document is intended to serve as a resource to teacher-educators, new teachers, and anyone in the education profession who is interested in our best scientific understanding of how learning takes place.
This document identifies six key questions about learning that should be relevant to nearly every educator. Deans for Impact believes that, as part of their preparation, every teacher-candidate should grapple with — and be able to answer — the questions in The Science of Learning. Their answers should be informed and guided by the existing scientific consensus around basic cognitive principles. And all educators, including new teachers, should be able to connect these principles to their practical implications for the classroom (or wherever teaching and learning take place).
The Science of Learning was developed by member deans of Deans for Impact in close collaboration with Dan Willingham, a cognitive scientist at the University of Virginia,
and Paul Bruno, a former middle-school science teacher. We are greatly indebted to the reviewers who provided thoughtful feedback and comments on early drafts, including cognitive scientists, teacher-educators, practicing teachers, and many others.
The Science of Learning does not encompass everything that new teachers should know or be able to do, but we believe it is part of an important — and evidence-based — core of what educators should know about learning. Because our scientific understanding is ever evolving, we expect to periodically revise The Science of Learning to reflect new insights into cognition and learning. We hope that teachers, teacher-educators, and others will conduct additional research and gather evidence related to the translation of these scientific principles to practice.
The present version of this document may be cited as:
Deans for Impact (2015). The Science of Learning. Austin, TX: Deans for Impact.
Arguments in favor of standardized testing in schools usually cite the need to hold teachers and administrators accountable. But there is another reason to embrace tests, both standardized and in the classroom: They can help students to learn and grow.
Used correctly, tests can help students achieve three crucial aims: supporting student recall (tests force students to pull information from their own heads, enhancing retention); enhancing their awareness of their own mental processes (in the process of being tested and getting feedback, students fine-tune their sense of what they know and don’t know); and nurturing the noncognitive skills students develop from facing challenges (tests represent a kind of controlled adversity, an ideal arena for honing skills like resilience and perseverance).
In a perfect world, schools, parents and students would consciously treat tests as occasions for learning and growth, focusing less on the result and more on the powerful benefits of simply taking the test in the first place. But no matter how the school approaches testing, parents can help children at all ages use the experiences to learn about the material, about the process of being tested,and about themselves. Here are some strategies for getting the most out of the testing process.
Do glance at the 'Readers Comments' section also - as some readers point out that not all tests are fit-for-purpose or used for useful purposes for the learners themselves.
