Making Learning Stick: Evidence and Insights to Improve Teaching and Learning

Results from basic memory research suggest that typical student study activities may not be overly effective for learning and retention. Memory research favors instead study activities that promote elaborative processing. Mark McDaniel, whose work has focused on the application of cognitive psychological principles to education, discusses this work, an important aspect of which is exploring individual differences in the tendency for learners to focus on abstraction versus learning of examples when attempting to acquire complex concepts.

McDaniel is Professor of Psychology and Director of The Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE), Washington University in St. Louis. He recently co-authored a book published by Harvard University Press entitled Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (2014).

This event is sponsored by the Faculty Center.