We learn best by returning to the same content over and over, reflecting on it each time to deepen our understanding. This is because knowledge is stored as patterns of neuroconnections in the brain, and those connections are strengthened each time that pattern is activated
As teachers, we would like to believe that when students do the assigned reading, they will understand the content it covers and so can be tested on it or given new information that builds on that understanding. When students do not demonstrate understanding of a
While higher education has traditionally focused on the teaching side of learning, it is increasingly looking at the student side and what barriers interfere with learning. In particular, there is a lot of focus on how poverty, shelter and food insecurity, racism, social marginalization, and
It is best practice to open online courses with a welcome to students. The online format will be new for many students—in particular, adult students who are returning to school after a long absence—and they may be uncertain of their ability to perform in the
One of online learning’s biggest advantages over face-to-face learning is the ability to add interactions to learning content. Learning science has shown us that interactions are necessary to retain content, and thus today the best courses integrate activities directly into their learning content. But a
The digital storytelling video format (sometimes called “audio slideshow”) is one of the simplest, yet most powerful, formats for delivering online lessons. By combining imagery found on the web with the creator’s narration, it integrates two sensory modalities to promote greater understanding and retention than
Retention improves when students can engage content at the time they encounter it, through questions or other interactions that move information from their immediate working memory to their long-term memory (Oakley & Sejnowski, 2018). But the modern learning management system (LMS) has not gone the
E-books are becoming ever more popular in education. They are cheaper for students and better for the environment than print books, saving about 9.8 million trees per year (Wahl, 2018). They satisfy ADA requirements as the text can be enlarged and read by a print
Tablet capture is an underused format for making online teaching videos. Made famous by the Khan Academy, it involves writing on a tablet while recording voice narration and offers numerous benefits over other formats.
Anyone who has used group projects in their teaching knows that they can be a double-edged sword. While they can teach valuable collaboration skills that students will need in their professional and personal lives, they can also falter when students cannot get themselves organized enough
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