Learning science is always advancing, yielding new insights about how people gain and retain knowledge and skills. How can classroom teachers keep up—and even conduct their very own research to improve their instruction, day-by-day and week-by-week?
We dig into these questions and more in this week’s episode of the EdSurge Podcast. It was recorded during a panel discussion about the learning engineering movement that was held last month at the ISTELive 21 conference.
The conversation explores why and how educators can improve their instruction—and their students' learning outcomes—throughout the school year, in ways both formal and informal, and using both special digital technology and low-tech tools.
Our guests were:
- Aigner Picou, program director for The Learning Agency Lab
- Neil Heffernan, a computer science professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Callie Lowenstein, program manager for the Learning by Scientific Design effort at Deans for Impact
One important finding is the cognitive load theory that students’ working memory can only process so much information at one time. Another is how giving students immediate feedback on their work rather than waiting days or weeks to return grades can boost learning.
Panelists also talk about education myths that research suggests ought to be busted once and for all. These include the idea that students have different “learning styles” and the notion that young people inherently possess digital skills without needing computer literacy training.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or use the player on this page.
