From the CRLT Blog

Improving Student Learning: Lessons from U-M Professor Bill Gehring

December 7, 2012
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“I studied really hard for the exam and felt like I knew the material, but I did poorly.” 

Have you ever heard something like this from your students? Do you wonder how you might prevent such experiences? In a November Student Learning and Analytics at Michigan (SLAM) series lecture, Thurnau Professor of Psychology Bill Gehring explains how he has integrated key findings from the science of learning into his teaching in order to help students study more effectively and improve their course performance. 

If you haven't been able to attend the SLAM series talks but want to learn more about the ongoing conversation at U-M about using student data to enhance learning, this video is a great place to start. Professor Gehring's topics in this hour-long talk include:

  • data he has gathered from hundreds of U-M students about their study practices 
  • major ideas from cognitive psychology research about how people learn 
  • the lessons he offers students about effective study habits based on key cognitive principles
  • the effects of non-cognitive factors such as mood and motivation on student learning
 

You can also access the slides from the talk, links to other lectures in the fall SLAM series, and information about upcoming talks in the series on the SLAM registration page.  SLAM starts again on Friday, January 18, 2013, when Tristan Denley of Austin Peay State University will be speaking about an analytics-based course recommender system, Degree Compass.