https://www.edutopia.

org/blog/how-people-learn-evidence-based-paul-bruno

Proposals to "professionalize teaching" are popular today, but agreement about what this
should entail is elusive. At Deans for Impact, an organization composed of leaders of programs
that prepare new teachers, we believe that part of what distinguishes members of a profession
is general agreement on a body of domain-specific knowledge that is relevant to practice. We
recently released "The Science of Learning," a report that summarizes the cognitive science
related to how students learn. The principles in this post are drawn from that report.

Teachers will always need to use their knowledge of students and content to make
professional judgments about classroom practice. However, we believe the art of teaching
should also be informed by a robust understanding of the learning sciences so that teachers
can align their decisions with our profession's best understanding of how students learn.

6 Scientific Principles Every Teacher Should Know

Unfortunately, our education system is rife with misconceptions and confusion about learning.
So let's clear away the myths and focus on well-established cognitive principles and their
implications for the classroom:

1. Students learn new ideas by relating them to what they already know, and then transferring
them into their long-term memory.

This means that teachers should make sure that students have -- or should provide students
with -- the background knowledge needed for understanding new content. Students without
adequate background knowledge, or who are otherwise not given enough instructional
guidance, can be quickly overwhelmed in the classroom.

2. Students remember information better when they are given many opportunities to practice
retrieving it from their long-term memories and think about its meaning.

While nobody likes rote or "drill and kill" assignments, repeated, deliberate, meaningful
practice with content can both cement student learning and make it easier for students to
remember content in the future, enabling them to tackle increasingly complex challenges. To
help students focus on the meaning of content, it can be helpful to assign them tasks requiring
explanation (for example, about cause and effect) or to have them impose meaning on content
(for example, through the use of mnemonics).
3. Problem-solving and critical-thinking skills are developed through feedback and depend
heavily upon background knowledge.

A carefully sequenced curriculum can build student knowledge over the course of a school
career, enabling students to solve increasingly complex problems. Teachers can also help
develop these skills by providing feedback that is specific, clear, and focused on the task and
on improvement rather than on the student or her performance.

4. For students to transfer their abilities to new situations, they need to deeply understand
both the problem's structure and context.

This is in stark contrast to the common desire among educators and policy makers to teach so-
called thinking skills that can be applied in any situation. The reality is that you can think
critically about a subject only to the extent that you are knowledgeable about that subject. The
more knowledge that students have about a specific problem, the easier it will be for them to
recognize the important aspects of that problem -- and how to solve it.

5. Student motivation depends on a variety of social and psychological factors.

Ideally, students will be motivated to engage in course content because they are fascinated by
it and enjoy it. But motivation is a complex phenomenon and depends, among other things, on
whether a student identifies as the kind of person who belongs in a particular academic
setting, or on whether he believes that his ability in an area can be developed with effort.
Fortunately, there are a variety of steps for teachers to make sure that students feel a sense of
belonging in class and that their effort is worthwhile.

6. Misconceptions about learning, while prevalent in education, shouldn't determine how

curricula are designed or how instruction is provided.

All too often, teachers attempt (or are required) to modify their instruction because of student
learning styles, to account for right-brain or left-brain dominance, or because content is
developmentally inappropriate. Yet, familiar as these concepts may sound, not everyone
agrees on their accuracy or effectiveness. We feel that embracing such approaches may
distract teachers from the evidenced-based principles that should be guiding their practice.

The Science of Learning

Ideally, there are a great many things that teachers would know before beginning their
teaching, more than we can address here. To that end, Deans for Impact has produced The
Science of Learning. This short publication is intended to serve as a resource for teacher
educators, new teachers, or anyone in the education profession who is interested in our best
scientific understanding of how learning takes place. We believe that, as part of their
preparation, all teacher candidates should grapple with principles of cognition and be able to
apply them in practice. Our learning-science content, which several of our member deans will
be implementing in their respective schools of education, elaborates on each of the points
mentioned above, draws specific connections to classroom practice, and carefully documents
the underlying research evidence.

Together, we can help elevate the prestige and rigor of the profession that we call teaching.
We would be happy to hear your thoughts on these scientific principles and how you use
them. Please share in the comments section below.

PAUL BRUNO'S PROFILE