Transforming Our Classrooms into Intellectual Communities

Faculty Workshop - Summer 2006

Radical Presence: Teaching as Contemplative Practice

by Mary Rose O’Reilley (will be available in the SMU Library)

The Dreaded Discussion – Ten Ways to Start

by Peter Frederick

Stepanie Delaney’s Workshop on Online Discussions

· Expanding the Online Discussion

· The Teachers Role in Online Learning Communities

· Measuring Online Community

· Reflections on Teaching Evidence Based Practice

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School e-book

by John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, eds.

Reading the Introduction is essential to understanding the what, how and why of the book. Chapters 2-5 should be read to understand the explain the Key Findings. Skim Chapters 6-9 if you don’t have time to read all of them or pick those that are of most interest.

Introduction
1	Learning: From Speculation to Science	Chapter 1 represents the framework of the committee's study. We then focus on what is known about learners and learning
Learners and Learning
2	How Experts Differ from Novices	Chapter 2, on expertise, discusses lessons learned from studies of people who have become experts in areas such as chess, physics, mathematics, or history. What is known about experts is important not because all students are expected to become experts, but because the knowledge of expertise provides valuable insights into what the results of effective learning look like.
3	Learning and Transfer	Chapter 3 moves from what is known about experts to an examination of processes of learning that underlie effective knowledge acquisition. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the kinds of learning experiences that lead to transfer--the ability to use what was learned in one setting to deal with new problems and events.
4	How Children Learn	Chapter 4 extends the examination of learning to infants and young children. Data show that children's early competencies in areas such as causal relationships, numbers, and language are much more sophisticated than was previously believed. These competencies provide the foundations for important concepts and ideas that children build on in later learning.
5	Mind and Brain	Chapter 5 explores new developments in neuroscience, while providing some cautionary advice about a number of popular myths that should not influence education. Neuroscience provides converging evidence about processes of learning and development and enriches understanding of learning by explicating the mechanisms by which learning occurs.
Teachers and Teaching
6	The Design of Learning Environments	Chapter 6 explores general principles for the design of effective learning environments that are suggested by the science of learning. It explores the degree to which environments are learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered. These components must be brought into alignment in order for effective change to occur.
7	Effective Teaching: Examples in History, Mathematics, and Science	Chapter 7 presents examples of effective teaching practices that are consistent with new knowledge about learning. We present contrasting illustrations of effective teaching in history, mathematics, and science. Effective teaching practices vary across subjects because knowledge in different subjects is organized differently and based on different ways of knowing (epistemologies).
8	Teacher Learning	Chapter 8 explores teacher learning--which includes both practicing teachers and college students studying to be teachers. The science of learning has important implications for helping teachers continue to learn throughout their lives.
9	Technology to Support Learning	Chapter 9 presents promising new developments in technology that have the potential to provide new possibilities for enhancing learning. We discuss data on technology and learning when they exist, but we also discuss new possibilities that future research should explore.
Future Directions for the Science of Learning
10	Conclusions and Recommendations for Research	Chapter 10 concludes our study with a summary of the major findings of the study on learners and learning, teachers and teaching, and learning environments and recommends new areas of research.