The following four pedagogical practices can be said to be truly best practice according to How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom (National Research Council, 2005). The empirical evidence that supports their use is substantial.
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Engaging
Resilient Preconceptions
(addressing
students’ initial understanding and preconceptions about topics)
Students
do not come into the classroom as "tabula rasa." They are not blank
sheets to be written on. Each student comes into the classroom with ideas that
often limit what a student can learn. It is critical that student
preconceptions be identified, confronted, and resolved.
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Organizing
Knowledge around Core Concepts
(providing
a foundation of factual knowledge and conceptual understanding)
Organizing
information can be a powerful way to increase understanding and retention. For
instance, recognizing a pattern can be a powerful adjunct to retrieval. It would pay
dividends for students to received direct instruction to come to know how the
"problem-solving process" is conducted rather than through
"learning by example."
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Supporting Metacognition and Student Self-Regulation
(teaching strategies that will help students take control of their
learning).
Students
need to be made fully aware of what they know and what they don't know. This
can often be accomplished by requiring students to summarize what they have
learned. Alternatively, the use of a "sample test" or a
"pre-test" can be used to help students become more aware of what
they know and don't know. Socratic dialogues can be used to the same end. There
are many heuristics that can be used to help students self-assess and then
self-regulate.
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Cooperative
Learning
(allowing
students to learn together)
Cooperative learning should not to be confused with group learning - there
are huge differences. Cooperative learning calls for PIG'S FACE: positive
interdependence; individual accountability, group processing, social skills,
and face-to-face interaction.
