Deeper Learning Strategies Dr. Shelley Howell

There are six strategies instructors can use to help make deeper learning easier for students. These strategies can be incorporated into any training, course, or session, and can be used together or separately depending on the setting and topic.

Make Content Relevant

Making content relevant to the learner keeps students interest and helps them make connections to what they already know.

1. Let them pick the topics, create the guidelines for projects, or facilitate discussions.
2. Use current events, current references and current entertainment sources to inform your teaching.

Give Learners Choices

Autonomy and choices can give learners motivation, ownership, comfort, different viewpoints, a way to explore their own interests and provide early success in a course.

1. Let them pick their own sources to read or watch.
2. Allow them to create timelines, mind maps, posters, web pages, e-books podcasts, videos, games or illustrations instead of writing a paper.

Ask Messy Questions

Focusing on questions can increase critical thinking skills, force students to search for answers, help students see the importance of the new content to their learning, and allow them to view topics through a different lens.

1. Frame all assignments around questions.
2. Encourage them to ask questions of their friends and family and on social media to see how the public perceives a topic.

Force Reflection

Reflective writing forces learners to think more deeply about an issue topic.

1. Assign short written reflections.
2. Provide questions for reflection outside of class.
3. Require a journal or blog.

Share Your Story

When you share about yourself, you show learners that it's okay to be who they are at that moment.

1. Tell them what you used to think of a topic before you learned more.
2. Tell them where you started academically or professionally and how you got to where you are today.
3. Talk about your failures.

Tell Them Why

Knowing why makes it easier for learners to connect the dots.

1. Tell them how they will use this new information in the future.
2. Talk about the learning outcomes you expect.
3. Connect everything to real life examples.

Remember, learning is Always a personal process.

Adapted from: Bain, Ken. (2012). What the Best College Students Do. Harvard University Press.