Mind Over Matter

How can we improve our teaching and help our students learn better? This question motivates the authors of How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, a book that synthesizes the latest research on learning and translates it into practical advice for instructors. The book presents seven general principles of learning that apply to any discipline, context, or level of education and explains how to use them to design effective courses, assessments, and activities. The book also provides examples, strategies, and challenges that illustrate applying the principles in different situations. Ambrose et al. comprehensively analyze seven fundamental concepts necessary for innovative teaching in this book. These principles are needed for successful instruction. This book includes insightful information on evidence-based tactics that, if applied in classrooms, have the potential to significantly impact the overall quality of the educational experience for students. Within the context of this book review, I have briefly discussed each principle and its role in fostering effective teaching, eventually resulting in better learning outcomes. 

Principle 1: Role of Prior Knowledge in Learning

Ambrose places a significant amount of priority on finding ways for students to participate actively in their education. This concept encourages teachers to provide students with many chances to actively engage, work together with their classmates and put their prior knowledge into meaningful practice. Active learning tactics, such as thought-provoking problem-solving tasks, exciting group discussions, and hands-on experiments, may help teachers nurture a higher level of comprehension and improve critical thinking skills among their students. These strategies can be incorporated into the classroom using active learning strategies.

Principle 2: Encourage Metacognition

The capacity to reflect on one’s thinking processes and techniques is what’s meant when we talk about metacognition. Ambrose emphasizes the need to foster metacognitive talents in pupils to improve both their capacity for learning and their ability to solve problems. Incorporating activities that push students to think about their learning tactics, establish objectives, and measure their progress might be a helpful way for teachers to enhance metacognition in their students. Students can become more autonomous and self-regulated learners by increasing their metacognitive abilities. These learners are also able to recognize and put into practice effective learning techniques that are tailored to their specific requirements.

Principle 3: Factors for Learner Motivation

The level of involvement and overall student performance in the classroom is directly correlated to their motivation levels. Ambrose investigates various methods for enhancing students’ interest and motivation levels, including connecting the material covered in class with real-world applications, using multimedia materials, and integrating interactive technology. Teachers may drive their students to become engaged and self-directed learners by ensuring that the educational experience is meaningful, fun, and relevant to their lives. This strategy encourages students to develop a genuine interest in the topic, leading to higher engagement and enhanced educational results.

Principle 4: Acquiring a Mastery Attitude

The subject of this guiding principle is the development of pupils’ capacity for mastery. Ambrose recommends that teachers create distinct learning goals and objectives for their students, in addition to providing timely and constructive feedback. Instructors can assist students in developing their self-assurance and achieving mastery in the content areas of their choosing by regularly monitoring their progress and providing them with tailored guidance. This nurturing approach ensures that students are supported throughout their learning journey, allowing them to attain their full potential. It guarantees that students can reach their maximum potential.

Principle 5: Providing Regular Feedback 

Providing and receiving feedback is a vital part of the learning process. Ambrose strongly emphasizes the need for teachers to give students timely and constructive feedback on their work. This feedback needs to be practical, detailed and focused on the recipient’s strengths and areas where they may improve. Teachers can assist students in increasing their comprehension level and improving learning outcomes by providing valuable and encouraging feedback. Students can recognize the aspects in which they shine and those in which they need to focus more attention, which enables them to develop and improve in a more focused way.

Principle 6: Fostering a Growth Mindset

The idea of having a development mindset, popularized by psychologist Carol Dweck, is the foundation of this theory. Ambrose places a strong emphasis on the instillation of the concept that capabilities and intellect can be acquired through work and practice. Teachers may help students develop a growth mindset by allowing them to learn from their mistakes, encouraging them to accept difficulties, and highlighting the importance of persistence and resilience in their classrooms. By encouraging children to adopt this mentality, teachers allow them to see setbacks as chances for personal development. This, in turn, results in increased resiliency and a readiness to take on new challenges.

Principle 7: Supporting the Learners’ Capacity for Self-Directedness 

Academic success is strongly correlated with an individual’s level of self-efficacy, which is defined as the individual’s confidence in their capabilities to attain their goals. Ambrose emphasizes the necessity of cultivating learners’ sense of self-efficacy by establishing a constructive and welcoming educational environment for all students. Teachers may help students understand self-efficacy by praising their achievements, assigning difficult but not insurmountable work, and giving them assistance and tools to improve the quality of their educational experience. Teachers who do this give their pupils the authority to take responsibility for their education and encourage them to build a solid conviction in their talents.

In conclusion, Ambrose’s book, Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, offers a complete framework for successful teaching in formal classroom pedagogy. Teachers can create learning environments that are successful, inclusive, and engaging for their students by adopting the seven concepts that are described in this book. The evidence-based approach that Ambrose and colleagues take ensures that educators may depend on these ideas to improve their teaching techniques without relying on simple suppositions or personal prejudices. This book is an essential resource for teachers interested in enhancing their instructional strategies and positively contributing to their student’s academic performance. Teachers have the potential to have a significant influence on their students’ lives by putting these concepts into practice. In doing so, they may help their pupils cultivate a passion for education and support their general growth and development.