Teaching Transparency

In "One Easy Way Faculty Can Improve Student Success," Cook and Fusch discuss the notion of teaching transparency and the empirical evidence suggesting it particularly helps underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income students.

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Takeaway quote:

When students don't understand how a particular assignment will help them learn course material, they often perceive the assignment as "busy work" -- and fail to complete it successfully. Teaching transparently — explaining why the activity is important and what skills and knowledge students will learn — changes that dynamic, because faculty address the assignment's relevance as soon as they introduce an activity.

What Doesn't Work

In this November 2015 post we discussed Make It Stick, a book on the science of successful learning. Looking for the Cliff's Notes version? Here's an article by the same authors: "Classroom Practice – Effortless Learning Is A Dangerous Illusion."*

An overview:

Illusion 1

Repeated exposure burns new knowledge into memory.

Illusion 2

Single-focus, rapid-fire practice hones new skills.

Illusion 3

If learning feels easy, it is a sign you are mastering it.

Illusion 4

We are good judges of what we know and don't know.


*Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, Mark McDaniel.