Learning about learning: what every teacher needs to know

This report argues that many textbooks used in teacher training and instruction do not include important, research-based knowledge about how pupils learn, despite its central importance in training, relying instead on anecdotal information dressed up as science.

The authors believes that the transfer of knowledge — from researchers to publishers to teacher educators to aspiring teachers — is not happening, though the need to impart that knowledge is greater than ever.

The report identifies six proven practices that promote learning for all pupils, regardless of grade or subject, including pairing graphics with words; linking abstract concepts with concrete representations; posing probing questions; repeatedly alternating problems with their solutions; and problems that pupils must solve. It contends that these strategies should be better promoted in teacher training.