SoTL Commons Conference Presenters
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Bogus & Beneficial Pedagogical Concepts: From Common Sense to Common Science [pr-2]
Peter Doolittle (Virginia Tech): pdoo@vt.edu
Educational folk psychology constitutes the beliefs, working hypotheses, and assumptions about teaching that result
in teachers' everyday understanding of what it means to teach and learn (Bruner, 1996). Within the scholarship of teaching and learning, this educational folk psychology should compete against the science of human learning. Unfortunately, the "science of human learning has never had a large influence on the practice of education" (Anderson, Reder, & Simon, 1999, p. 227). We can change that by examining our common sense understandings of teaching and learning in light of the science of human learning. This presentation will actively address the research supporting, or not supporting these pedagogical concepts in order to determine if they are bogus or beneficial. Participants will be able to explain why each of the six pedagogical concepts is either bogus or beneficial based on an anticipation guide, an active learning experiment, and findings from previous research.