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How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching by Susan A. Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett, and Marie K. Norman Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Book Review by
Deanna K. Criddle
If teaching a class has ever lead you to have questions about your teaching methods, whether students are getting all they can from the material, or how best to address issues that are coming up in your class, then you are not alone. Much of the literature in education is devoted to answering these questions. In How Learning Works, Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, and Norman, try to get to the heart of those questions and offer solutions in the form of classroom strategies. Their principles are guided in part by their definition of learning, which they present in the introduction to the book. They define learning as, "a process that leads to change, which occurs as a result of experience and increases the potential for improved performance and future learning," (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010, pg. 3). This definition is one that validates the experiences of adults as a meaningful process in education and directs learning towards becoming a self-directed, life-long learner, a goal many instructors have for their students.
According to the introduction of this book, Ambrose et. al. intended to create a book that would provide a bridge between theory and practice. They argue that most texts are written to either convey theory through research, which may be written in a way that is inaccessible to many or are written in more accessible language and tone, but lack the research backed...