Fall 2014
“Show Me the Learning!”
Great teachers develop keen instincts about what will and won’t help their students learn. But, as academics, wouldn’t we like to base our conclusions on evidence, as well as instinct? What can the science of human learning tell us to validate or challenge our habits of teaching? And wouldn’t it be nice—in a profession in which we often wonder whether the things we teach “sink in”—to have ways of knowing whether students are actually learning in our classes?
This year, the Center for Teaching and Learning’s campus-wide programs showcase research on how people learn. During the fall semester, we welcome two visiting experts to campus for lectures and workshops on memory, metacognition, and learning. Following this fall’s consideration of learning in theory, we will explore ways of observing student learning in practice. Watch for spring-semester programs that adapt the Japanese practice of “lesson study” to videotaped glimpses of selected First-Year Seminars at Trinity.
1st Keynote Lecture: Nate Kornell
“How to Teach an Old Dog New Tricks”
Thursday, October 3 — Common Hour — Gallows Hill
Do you want to know how to learn new skills, facts, and concepts more efficiently? Have you ever wondered why you seem to improve at some things and not others? Can you even tell when you’re learning and when you’re not? Psychological research has identified principles that help answer these questions. Empirical findings point to productive struggle as an effective way to learn—for example, spaced practice and self-testing—whether you’re a young pup or an old dog.
Follow-Up Workshop
Thursday, October 3 — 4:15 pm — Gallows Hill
It is sometimes tempting for teachers to make their classes a little bit easier as a favor to their students. In this workshop we will talk about ways of making things more difficult for students in productive ways, so that the students learn more while also appreciating the value of their struggle. A brief presentation of relevant psychological research will focus on two “desirable difficulties”: giving quizzes in class to enhance learning and focusing on conceptual knowledge rather than surface structure (for example, in mathematics). The goal is to share ideas and practical suggestions that can be implemented in our classes.
Nate Kornell is an assistant professor of psychology at Williams College. He is a cognitive psychologist who researches learning and memory as they relate to education. He focuses on how to maximize learning efficiency and how typical learners understand and manage their own learning. He writes the “Everybody Is Stupid Except You” blog for Psychology Today, and his research has been featured in the New York Times.
2nd Keynote Lecture: Janet Metcalfe
“Enhancing Learning Using Principles of Cognitive Science”
Thursday, November 6 — Common Hour — Gallows Hill
Five fundamental principles of cognitive science have been shown to improve students learning and memory. This lecture will discuss each of these principles, along with the background research that led up to them. Interestingly, people’s metacognitions about what will enhance their learning is often in conflict with these principles. The talk will show both the reasons for these metacognitive mismatches and ways to overcome them.
Janet Metcalfe leads the Metacognition and Memory Lab at Columbia University, where she is Professor of Psychology and of Neurobiology and Behavior. A fellow of the American Psychological Society, she has authored numerous articles on metacognition and edited multiple books including Metacogntion: Knowing about Knowing (MIT Press, 1994) and The Missing Link in Cognition: Origins of Self-Reflective Consciousness (Oxford Univ. Press, 2005).