How Learning Works

FOREWORD: APPLYING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING TO COLLEGE TEACHING

In 1899, the famous American psychologist, William James published a little book called Talks to Teachers, in which he sought to explain how to apply psychology to education—that is, he sought to use what he called “the science of the mind’s workings” to generate practical advice for classroom teachers. At the time, the book was not much of a success, largely for two reasons: (a) there was a lack of research evidence on how learning works (that is, the science of learning), and (b) there was a lack of research-based principles concerning how to help people learn (that is, the science of instruction).

Much has happened in the learning sciences in the past 100 years, particularly in ...