Learning Theory

Understanding how our students learn can greatly enhance how we are able to connect to them, ultimately improving how well they are able to make conceptual connections and comprehend the information.  As professional pedagogists, the scholarship of teaching and creating an effective learning environment should be transparent to our students.  When we view our students as self-regulating with sufficient efficacy and ability to process information in a meaningful manner, there are key components to providing information in a manner which they can process it successfully.  Approaches such as serial positioning, chunking, metacognitive strategies, and even using technology appropriately can enable students higher opportunities to transfer information from their working memory to meaningful long term memory.  Therefore, using foundational learning theories and strategies can be very helpful in accomplishing our goals. Some useful resources include: