Current Research proving best practices for how people learn
This month I read Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. I read this book because I want to sharpen my learning skills, while also instilling the right habits and attitudes with the children I work with.
I was so thankful to see that some of my philosophies in teaching/learning were being proven by current research 🙂
So, grab your favorite warm drink and let’s talk about what I learned from this book and how I am using it to teach kids.
My biggest take away is at the end!
I hope you will take a few key nuggets to help you persevere in your own learning journey and to equip you with some ideas on how to help your child. My goal is that we develop better practices and gain more truthful ideas about how we learn!
You will probably want to get your own copy. Click here to add it to your cart :). After you read it, come back and share your thoughts!
We Think We’re Learning, But are We Really?
This book is eye-opening; it shows, by research, how we have misunderstood learning. We tend to have an illusion that we know something, but we really don’t. Unfortunately, by doing this, we sacrifice the durability of our learning.
So much I have learned in school was memorizing for tests or recognizing patterns. I would pass the test and soon forget the information. Or I would recognize the pattern but not really understand how to make the connections to bigger ideas or how to apply it in different situations.
Did you have this experience in school?
In the book, the authors discuss, using research, how learning is misunderstood and the dangers this can put on someone. It also emphasizes where learning is not only memorizing facts, but also vital that one knows the facts and foundations in whatever they are learning.
This reminded me of teaching a child to read. It is important that they know the letter(s)/sound(s) combinations and are able to hear the sounds.
Explicitly Taking What We KNOW to Connect with the Unknown
In addition to this knowledge, our kids need to know how to take what they know to figure out what they don’t know. They also have to practice what I call “plug and chug”. This is where they try a sound or chunk the word and see if it works. If not, then they try something else based on the foundation they are given.
The authors then go on to explain the importance of being intentional in retrieving what we are learning over a period. It is important to practice recalling the information in different environments and situations. Furthermore, they discuss the importance of spaced review, which allows time for a concept to be slightly forgotten. Then as you work to pull it to the front of your mind, you are building stronger connections, which will result in quicker recall the next time you need that information.
Mass Practice does Not get Real Results
They discuss the downfalls of mass practice of one skill. This is when we practice one lesson type over and over again. For example, reading multiple words from the /at/ word family.
I learned about interleaved practice. This is where the learner is working on a few different types of skills in one sitting.
Integrating How we Learn into How we Teach Kids to Read
The Reading Simplified curriculum demonstrates this, as it integrates multiple pre reading skills into one activity.
For example, for the early reader, I have them build words. We will identify the sounds and letters in a word and build it by either writing or moving letter tiles. This one activity builds phonemic awareness, blending, segmenting, and letter/sound knowledge.
I was amazed to see how my struggling learners benefited more from an activity that focused on multiple skills, instead of just one skill.
Allowing a TRUE Challenge while Learning
My biggest take away from this book was the importance of Embracing Difficulties!
We live in a culture that pushes the idea that everything should be easy, yet the reality is that it doesn’t become easy until we struggle, think, and apply what we are learning!
In the book, it underscores that when we have to struggle at learning something, we have more durable learning taking place. This means the learning is more ingrained in our long-term memory, allowing us to be able to retrieve it quicker the next time.
Increase Learning by trying to figure out problems prior to the Lesson
The book shared a study of a class where the teacher had the students do the work problems prior to the lecture. They had to work and come up with the lessons. Then the teacher presented the information in class and had the students fix the pre-assignment.
This caused the students to reflect on what they knew and to identify the breakdown. It also caused them to think more critically and apply the new knowledge they learned.
When Learning We Must be Brave and have Best Effort & Full Attention
When I am working with my kids, I always encourage them to try to come up with the answer and struggle their way through. Typically, when a student first starts with me, I have to model the importance of being brave and to think about what they are doing.
As they develop more success with this skill, they are excited to tackle more difficult problems.
I always love it when a child tells me to wait a minute because they want to try on their own!
Summary
Make it Stick is a book written to show us how long term, durable learning takes place. Contrary to popular belief, we should not teach in isolation. We should also make sure learning presents a challenge for the learner. This allows for learning time to have more traction and not be quickly forgotten.
My goal is to help equip children to be brave and apply their best effort to their work. I want to help more kids not to see their weaknesses as a hindrance, but as an opportunity to learn how to strengthen them and apply them.
If you have a child that struggles with learning or is not reading at grade level, click the button below to sign up for a FREE reading assessment. You will be able to discover your child’s most pressing need and how to help him move forward with materials based on best practices.