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This chapter focuses on discussion-based teaching. It is about discussion-based learning as much as discussion-based teaching. Because discussion and lecture are the two most common forms of college classroom instruction, it is essential to consider the merits, value, and benefits of each when planning and delivering instruction for students. The chapter explains why discussion is used in teaching and how it can be used to promote student learning. It explores the types of challenges teachers confront in using discussion-based teaching, and how to address those challenges. The chapter also considers ways to begin discussions in class and then sustain and conclude them, and it provides general guidelines for class participation in both small and large classes.

This chapter discusses students' ways of using cultural tools in aural-based and notation-based instrumental music lessons. It examines two teachers' ways of working — one in a notation-based music environment, the other in an aural-based music environment — in order to illustrate the complex interplay between, and varying functions of, tools and artefacts such as notated (printed scores) and aural (performances) presentations of musical works. It considers the ways in which these teachers draw on their knowledge as culture bearers of the musical (Western classical music and Zimbabwean marimba ensemble respectively) and pedagogical (Suzuki piano instruction and aural-based group teaching) traditions within which they work, in order to use notated, aural, and embodied presentations of the music to prompt student thought and practical activity. In these environments, the teachers use student performances as cultural tools for reflection and understanding in their own learning as teachers, as well as that of their students. The chapter also illustrates the varying functions a musical instrument might play in students' learning, as, for example, a mechanical tool for practising or experiencing specific aspects of technique, or as a cultural tool for the expression of musical meaning.

This chapter concerns motivation. It explains that motivation is critical for all learning. Without a real need or desire to learn something, whether acquiring information or developing a skill, learning does not last—if it takes place at all. Motiveless learning is shallow learning and does not take root as enduring knowledge in students' minds. The chapter debunks assumptions that, as teachers, all students will be interested in what is being taught. For teachers, after all, the appeal and value of their subject may be self-evident, but this is not the case for every student being taught, especially those new to a particular field. The chapter reveals ways in which teachers can bolster students' motivation to learn and help them succeed in classrooms and beyond.

Opinions differ as to whether problem-based learning (PBL) is an effective form of education. Some argue that, contrary to expectation, PBL has failed to promote in students higher levels of knowledge. Others maintain that PBL is a form of minimally guided instruction and therefore less effective and less efficient than instructional approaches that place a stronger emphasis on guidance of the student learning process. This chapter reviews the results of a large number of studies, comparing the performance of medical students and graduates of Maastricht medical school to that of medical students and graduates trained in conventional medical programmes in the same country. The results suggest that students and graduates of the PBL curriculum perform better (1) on tests of diagnostic reasoning, and (2) in the area of interpersonal and (3) medical professional competencies. In addition, (4) students in the problem-based school consistently rate the quality of their education more highly than do students in conventional schools. The same applies to national bodies of experts visiting the schools. Furthermore, the problem-based curriculum (5) turned out to be more efficient and effective, as witnessed by lower dropout and less delay. No differences were found with respect to (6) acquired medical knowledge.

Chapter seven present data to analyzes the impact of that pattern on student learning. It concludes that changes to the curriculum introduced with the goal of making learning more appealing to all students actually had the opposite effect in the middle schools: achievement-oriented pupils capitalized on the opportunities offered to them while their less motivated peers fell further behind. The chapter considers the effect that neoliberal reforms have had on molding Japan as a “gap society,” and the effect that such opportunity disparities between the rich and the poor have had on schools.

Liz McDowell and Say Sambell focus on the importance of assessment for learning. Rather than simply adding new assessment techniques to existing entrenched practices that are seen to encourage learner dependence on their teachers and assign learners a passive role in the assessment and learning process, the authors argue that, to be successful, changes towards assessment for learning have to be more comprehensive, focusing on the entire learning environment. Based on their work at the Centre for Excellence in Assessment in Learning at Northumbria University, they introduce six elements of a productive and positive assessment for learning environment designed to intentionally foster student autonomy in learning and learning for the longer term.

Psychological literacy for the 21st century posits both real and virtual resource options for ‘applied’ psychology at the interface of psychology education and graduate attribute-targeted student learning outcomes. Psychological literacy encapsulates the common graduate attributes or capabilities that students should acquire while undertaking a major in psychology, as exemplfied by guidelines and lists of student learning outcomes (SLOs) delineated by many national psychology organisations. Application involves purposefully applying the basic capabilites to new problems or in new situations, usually in an experiential and active manner. This chapter briefly considers the background to the issue of “applied” psychology in undergraduate education, and then give some concrete examples of how “applied” psychology learning and teaching strategies can be implemented to support the development of psychological literacy (McGovern et al., 2010) in our students.

This chapter explores the effects of California's mathematics reform as a learning policy. It examines whether students' learning has improved in schools where teachers had substantial opportunities to learn using data from the 1994 administration of California Learning Assessment System (CLAS).

Developing countries spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year on schools, materials and teachers, but it is unclear how effective these expenditures are at increasing students’ years of schooling and the skills they learn. This chapter examines studies published between 1990 and 2010, in both the education and economics literatures, to investigate which school and teacher characteristics have strong positive impacts on learning and time in school. Out of 9,000 studies, 79 are selected as having sufficient quality, and setting higher bar in terms of econometric methodology yields 43 “high quality” studies. Results are also shown for 13 randomized trials. The estimated impacts on time in school and learning of most school and teacher characteristics are statistically insignificant, especially for “high quality” studies. The few variables with significant effects – availability of desks, teachers’ subject knowledge, and teacher absence – are unsurprising and thus provide little policy guidance.

We offer a working definition of active learning in which learning is active to the extent that it engages the cognitive processes known to be involved in comprehension, reasoning, memory, and pattern perception; it is not the same as student-centered or collaborative learning. To maximize students' opportunities for active learning, we use a variety of pedagogical techniques and technological supports. Pedagogically, we often use "engagement prompts," which are questions or challenges for all students to consider for the duration of an activity, even when they are not contributing. We also use collaborative learning in small groups; short, summative reflection essays; and fast-paced relay-style activities that require students to attend very carefully to the substance of their classmates' contributions. Technologically, we record the amount of time each student speaks to ensure that we call on all students approximately equally, and we use a tagging system to track the technique used in every activity so that later programmatic assessment will be more robust.

This chapter highlights the composition of minority children in racially and ethnically isolated schools. It also explores the extent to which school racial composition affects student learning. The chapter employs AN analytic approach and data structure to examine disparities in cognitive development that occurs during the school year from learning during the summer months.

The history of religion in American higher education can be divided into three periods or phases: Protestant, Privatized, and Pluriform. During the Protestant era (from the colonial period to about 1900), religion and character formation were central concerns even for schools not associated with a specific church or denomination. During the Privatized era (most of the twentieth century), religion was generally pushed into the private sphere of personal preference as the work of teaching and learning focused increasingly on objectivity and practicality. We are now living in a new Pluriform era in which various types of religion are prominent in cultural discourse. Religion’s “return” has been facilitated by several broad developments within higher education, including new emphases on multiculturalism, professional studies, and student-centered learning. The increasing religious diversity of the nation has also been a factor in making religion more visible on college and university campuses.

We have learned many lessons in the course of implementing the Minerva curriculum and pedagogy. One of the most striking lessons is how important it is for both faculty and students to be open to unlearning many previous assumptions and habits. For example, we have identified what we call the “illusion of learning”—which occurs when faculty and students believe that the more notes students take during a lecture, the more they have learned. Yet, the evidence is clear: Lectures are not an effective way to learn, and pale in comparison to active learning. Although active learning often takes more time than lectures and requires much more intellectual engagement from both faculty and students, it provides lasting benefits. Similarly, we have discovered that active learning requires a different view of what is an appropriate goal for in-class experiences–not information transmission and memorization but rather the internalization of skills, concepts and ways to use knowledge. In this chapter, we summarize many of the assumptions and habits that both faculty and students need to unlearn in order to learn effectively at Minerva.

Psychology differs from many other disciplines in that students can readily connect course material to their own lives (Goldstein, 2010). This distinction is at the root of the idea of psychological literacy as defined by McGovern et al. (2010). Promoting psychological literacy entails reorienting what and how we teach students in a way that emphasizes psychology’s relevance. To the extent that the acquisition of core psychological knowledge takes place in the classroom, we believe that the obvious channel for cultivating psychological literacy is the undergraduate psychology curriculum. This chapter reviews the history of psychology curricula in the U.S.A. and then considers how student learning outcomes related to psychological literacy might shape disciplinary curricula for undergraduates. Such curricular change must address the necessary balance between graduate and undergraduate needs, and the balance between cutting-edge and core knowledge; for these reasons, the chapter specifically discusses the range of learning outcomes a psychologically literate curriculum should comprise. The chapter then turns to the competencies that should appear in psychologically literate curricula and addresses ways to give courses a more global perspective. The chapter also focuses on practical ways to make a departmental curriculum more psychologically literate and offer advice on assessing literacy. The chapter concludes with a call to develop a psychologically literate citizenry.

Jan McArthur draws on the critical theory of Adorno to explore the implications of complex knowledge, and the positive associations of apparent failure. She argues that in order to achieve the triumvirate of learning-feedback-assessment found in Dai Hounsell’s work, we need to reconsider the notion of ‘failure’. She suggests that failure can sometimes be part of a pedagogical process, in which students are asked to engage with complex knowledge in a critical way. Assessment practices should allow for an iterative process of engagement with knowledge, rather than being judged entirely on a first submission. In that way, students are then able to respond to feedback with a strong sense of personal agency, and become both authors and arbiters of their own learning. Enabling students to take greater control over their own learning and encouraging forms of knowledge that can help promote social change, she argues, are means to promote greater social justice.

This chapter concerns the role and purpose of the instructor. It uses the acronym A.I. as in “Almighty Instructor,” even though an ideal simulation would have its instructor act only as a largely passive observer. The chapter notes that it is entirely possible and even likely that the instructor need be little more than an observer. For the most part, most simulations do run themselves. But there are still things that require attention and, on occasion, intervention. The chapter then explicates a class session which allows students to reflect upon their simulation experiences once the game itself concludes. Student postmortems often provide not just a summary, but often the epitome, of student learning experiences.

An enormous amount is now known about how humans process and store information. This chapter organizes that knowledge into a set of 16 principles, which we have used systematically to help students master the material they are taught. The principles are organized under two very general maxims: Think it Through (the more you think something through, paying attention to what you are doing, the more likely you are later to remember it) and Make and Use Associations (associations not only help us organize material so that it is easy to store in memory but also give us the hooks that will allow us later to dig the material out of memory, to recall it). The 16 principles can be invoked in different combinations by using different application techniques, such as mnemonics and explaining material to yourself.

This chapter argues that the exploration of vocation in academic courses and programs can constitute a “high-impact” educational practice that promotes engaged learning and intellectual development, not only for students but for their instructors as well. Like other high-impact practices, the study of vocation requires intellectual investment, fosters interaction with others about substantive matters, promotes the integration and application of learning, and enhances understanding of oneself and one’s place in a diverse world. These patterns in student and faculty learning were observable in assessment and program evaluation data examining the impact of a grant-funded multidisciplinary initiative integrating the study of vocation into faculty teaching and scholarship. The chapter concludes with reflections on the ways in which the assessment of student learning can be an important tool in helping an institution discern, articulate, pursue, and communicate its institutional vocation.

This study analyses the determinants of learning outcomes (measured as test scores). It reconfirms that socio-economic variables and parental education impact learning outcome. While mother’s education is an important factor in getting children to school, and keeping them there, this factor loses much of its significance when it comes to student achievement. Father’s education, on the other hand becomes a lot more important, even when controlling for paid tuition. Our study is restricted to government schools. This does not reduce the validity of the study since those who use such schools, still constitute a large majority of school-going children in India. Second, parents, who demonstrate a demand for education by making a choice and attendant sacrifices to send their children to private school, may theoretically be in a better position to then engage with the school and actualize better outcomes.