Succinct and practical
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The beauty of this volume is that it takes a vast quantity of research on how people learn and organizes it in a way which is readable, practical and accessible for educators. The authors distill the findings of numerous studies into three key principles of learning: (1) Teachers must work with student preconceptions and prior knowledge, (2) Teachers must teach in depth, providing multiple examples of the same concept and (3) Teachers must help students develop metacognitive skills so that they can take control of their own learning. These principles are developed and expanded with numerous references to research and practical illustrations. It should be noted that the book is predominantly about conceptual understanding and does not spend a lot of time on how we learn skills such as playing a musical instrument or learning a language. That said, it is an extremely important contribution to discussions of pedagogy and if the advice contained in the book is heeded by teachers, curriculum writers and policy makers, it has the potential to transform many shallow classroom practices into powerful tools that will enable students to develop deep understanding. The accelerating pace of change in the 21st century means that the ability to transfer skills to unfamiliar situations as well as the skills of lifelong learning have become more important than ever. The principles contained in this book will help us prepare students for a changing world.
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Interesting - but mostly common sense
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I really purchased this book from an assessment/curriculum development perspective, and although I read the entire book, most of it was irrelevant to my needs. But it was an enjoyable read - and the book contains some nuggets of information - even if it's a bit padded-out. So it's worth buying but you would probably be better scanning the text and only reading those bits of direct interest to you.
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Excellent synthesis of research into learning
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This is the kind of book on education that the teacher, manager, parent or student has been waiting for. It starts from what we would like to know about how we learn, what settings are conducive to learning, how colleges, schools, universities or training places can be best organised to improve peoples' learning. Unlike other books it is based on reliable research evidence from many fields (sociology, psychology, neuroscience, child development etc). This research is mixed with knowledge distilled from the practical experience of teachers and managers. These differing perspectives are brought together to help us understand the problems of learning. The book goes one step further and proposes ways we could making better use of research knowledge to inform our educational policy and what kinds of research we should now do.
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