Welcome to the Science of Learning,what every teacher should know. My name is Pearl Rock Kane and I'm a professorat Columbia University's Teachers Collegewhere I also direct the Klingenstein Center.
My name is Kevin Mattingly. I'm an adjunct professor at Teachers College and a teacher at the Riverdale School in New York City.
- The course was inspired by a White House ConnectEd initiative to provide high qualityprofessional development for teachers.
We are pleased to be invited to participatebecause we want to share what we have learned from cognitive science that can be applied directly to improving classroom practice.
We want every teacher to know about this research and the implications for improving student learning.
- I've been a teacher for 35 years and have taught science to high school and middle school students in public and private schools.
I've also had the good fortune for the past 12 years to teach graduate courses in cognitive science at Teachers College mainly with teachers as my students.
We're excited to be able to convey in this course a portion of the cognitive science research about how children learn and what it means for our teaching and the learning of our students.
- I have spent my career as a teacher. I taught English and history to children and adolescentsin public and private schools.
As a professor at Teachers College,I have taught courses on leadership to almost four thousand educators from the United States and countries throughout the world.
What we have learned from these educators no matter what age their students or where they teach is how deeply they care about their craft and their students.
No matter how many years they have taught, they continue to reflect on their practice to stand back and analyze their teaching,what went well and how they might improve.
They welcome the opportunity to learn and grow.
They aim for excellence and while they may be successful,they are never completely satisfied.
It is that sense of striving that contributes to ongoing learning and that is what we aim to instill in our students.
If you would describe yourself as a striving teacher, this course will be meaningful for you.
We certainly respect the expertise and experience you bring to this course.
- Cognitive science or what we and others call the science of learning is not a new field of study yet it's only relatively recently that the teaching applications of this research have been made more broadly available.
That's where our course comes into play.
There are four sections to the course.
In the first section, you'll learn about memory, how the brain makes, stores and retrieves memories.
Our focus will be on how we help our students learn in ways that last and can be used later in real world situations.
The second session focuses on mindsets, how student beliefs about their intelligence and sense of belonging can powerfully influence their ability to learn and how teachers can change students' self-perceptions along these lines in positive ways.
Section three is about helping students learn how to learn and ways teachers can help students become leaders of their own leading.
In the final section, we'll focus on teaching strategies.
We'll present simple ways to apply cognitive science to increase learning for all our students.
We also selected key readings, research and resources to supplement instruction.
During each section, you will be asked to complete reflective assignments, assess your learning and provide feedback to others taking this course.
- Each of our four sessions will be moderated by a teacher who uses the cognitive strategies being taught in their own classroom.
Interviews with these teachers will provide personal anecdotes on what has worked for them and what they have found challenging. The intention is that you will complete this course with practical ideas for your immediate application to your work and life.
For us, this is a very exciting prospect and it's a real privilege to be able to teach this course to teachers from all over the world.