How People Learn: Key Findings

 

1.    Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom.

2.    To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must:

a.     (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge,

b.    (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and

c.     (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

3.     A metacognitive approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.

 

How People Learn: Brain, mind, experience and school                       National Research Council         2000

 

available as an E-book at http://newton.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/