Introduction to How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching

What is this book about? What is learning? What are the 7 principles of smart teaching? What questions should you ask when learning each principle? How is each chapter organized?

I still remember that day when I saw this book: I was busy preparing my final exams and the research project for the next semester, exhausted after came out of the INM study room, and saw this book among other technical books on the public bookshelf. I was attracted to take the book to my home, perhaps because of my curiosity about education and learning. After I have read the abstract on the flap, I am eager to learn more about this book: how to bridge the gap between science of learning and science of instructions and how to implement the theory to practical use^[2].

What is this book about?

This book is about bridging the gap between the science of learning and the science of instruction. That is, to know how people learn and how to help people learn^[1].

One interesting thing is that all of the principles in the book are based on research-based theory. What’s more interesting is that these are empirical research with evidence, so the principles are also evidence based. That’s where the word science is emphasized.

How could we bridge the gap? In this book we should focus on:

1. The theory behind each principle
2. Generation and refinement of teaching methods based on the theory
3. Adaptation of the methods to different domains/courses.

What is learning?

The first basic question before diving into the theory of learning is what learning is. In this book, the authors define the concept as the process that causes changes in people’s minds. The changes result from the interpretation and the response to learners’ experience.

1. It is a process, instead of the result, score, KPI, etc.
2. It should cause a change in someone’s mind.
3. People learn by themselves. They learn from their own experience, not something imposed on them.

Seven principles (copy and paste)

The science of learning and teaching is based on these 7 principles:

1. Students’ prior knowledge can help or hinder learning.
2. How students organize knowledge influences how they learn and apply what they know.
3. Students’ motivation determines, directs, and sustains what they do to learn.
4. To develop mastery, students must acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have learned.
5. Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback enhances the quality of students’ learning.
6. Students’ current level of development interacts with the social, emotional, and intellectual climate of the course to impact learning.
7. To become self-directed learners, students must learn to monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.

The generalizability of these principles makes the book powerful:

1. Domain independence -> all subjects
2. Experience independence -> all educational levels
3. Cross culture -> all cultures

Now the question is: what should you know when you are learning these principles?

What should you ask when reading 7 principles?

1. Research-based theory: this is the science behind how people learn and how to help people learn.
2. Evidence-based approach: knowing the evidence supporting the theory will give us insight into how to design our teaching method.
3. The practical implication to teaching: how do we design, refine, and adapt our teaching method?
4. Clear: do you get the point the authors trying to convey? (To know this, I decide to write the reading notes every day.)

How is each chapter organized?

1. From the introduction of some case studies to the core problem behind them.
2. The underlying theory and its evidence
3. Practical implication

Footnotes

1. There’s an HSS course called How People Learn in EPFL for CS master students. It is said to be a good course but with a heavy workload so I didn’t choose that course:( ↩
2. Oh my fucking god:
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