North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership
Key Findings* from How People Learn
- Students come to the classroom with preconceptions
about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts
and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions
outside the classroom.
- To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students
must: (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge,
(b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a
conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in
ways that facilitate retrieval and application.
- A "metacognitive" approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.
*As noted on the NCOSP website.