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"This edited book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology." This is a free e-book, published by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association.

"This edited book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology." This is a free e-book, published by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association.

A review of a free e-book on current research into the psychology of learning, written specifically to bring that work and its instructional implications to higher-education faculty.

How could research on the psychology of cheating impact our discussions about academic honesty?

The author discusses recent research indicating that students spend most of their study time using the least effective study techniques and speculates on what teachers can do to promote the most effective techniques.

A study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology "found that after using a search engine, people were more confident in their ability to explain an unrelated topic." This poses an interesting question for the lit review component of research assignments - how do they affect students' self-perception of learning? What do you do to help students accurately assess their own ability to answer questions? Hat tip to Simon Garcia for the link.

Academic publishing house John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has teamed up with TED to produce instructor material for a recently launched series of videos called the "TED Studies." The link takes you to a press announcement from Wiley, in which there is a link to the first two inaugural courses. One of these is in psychology, the other is in statistics. The instructor material is online in these first two cases, but I cannot see where Wiley precludes potential print material in the future. I also cannot find the TED Studies area of the TED web pages, and I am trying to discover the difference between TED Studies and the previously announced TED-Ed initiative. I will update this comment when I can find more information.

"Maturity" is a complex topic in brain development. I liked the claim in the original article that "most neuroscientists are typically focused on the "journey"... more than when a brain reaches a particular "destination."" If parts of the brain are still maturing at 30, what does that imply about education?

This article promotes two teaching strategies that cognitive psychology research has shown to be effective: spaced practice, which brings students back to the same topics periodically throughout a course, and retrieval practice, which uses quizzes and class discussions to reinforce study.

"Our real goal is to improve how students integrate new information. We want to change them. While what we have to teach our students may get them a first job, it will not on its own get them a second job-especially one that may not yet even exist. We want our students to be able to learn new things, analyze new knowledge, integrate it into their thinking, and change their minds when necessary." Jose Bowen argues that we should treat both technology and disciplinary content as tools, in pursuit of the larger cognitive changes we try to create in the liberal arts.

A fun podcast conversation with Todd Zakrajsek on the ways we can learn better by paying attention to what surprises or distracts us.

A good research or critical thinking assignment teaches students to refine their questions as they gather and review evidence. Do we give enough attention to the process of generating those first introductory-level questions?

A terrific summary of the existing research from cognitive science related to how students learn, and connecting this research to its practical implications for teaching and learning. Hat tip to Katie Corker for the link.

This excerpt from Dee Fink's book "Creating Significant Learning Experiences" argues for using both "scoreboards" - clear and reliable grading criteria - and "applause" - praise for accomplishments - to motivate students. I was particularly taken with the exercise at the end of the section in which students and a professor collaborate on a letter to thank the student's previous teacher for contributing to the student's development.

Interesting example of games designed to provoke ethical discussions, and an example of how they can be used in class.

"perhaps VAK is just a version of the same problem scholars run into time and again, the pull of catchy-but-wrong ideas against the nebulous, unsatisfying ones that are closer to the truth."

Terrific example of how research-based teaching practices can be given useful context with a theory of learning.

Some potentially interesting implications here for the way we use example objects, visualizations and illustrations when presenting information.

On the GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning website, Patrik Hultberg of Kalamazoo College discusses working memory, long-term memory, and cognitive load, as they relate to course design.