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Becoming an Expert Learner
EDU H110L

Course Information

Description

Understanding how one’s mind works is essential to using it well and to becoming an expert learner. When learning to operate a new piece of technology, a vehicle, or other device, we might read the owner’s manual, take a tutorial, or work with a mentor. We spend our lives learning and while much of what we do suffices, we can use our minds more effectively for optimal learning. This module focuses on what is known from research about human cognitive architecture. It considers research on perception, attention, memory, comprehension, and reasoning that can help support expertise in learning. It will consider both cutting edge research and research that is older, well-vetted, but under-utilized. Each session will introduce a new set of concepts, the implications of those concepts for learning will be explored, and students will be tasked with applying the implications to their own learning during the week. Discussion will include ways in which human minds and AI can complement each other in learning and performance. Students will keep a journal of their learning and submit a weekly two-page reflection on how they applied the course concepts to their learning that week. Grading will be based upon the weekly reflections; there is no final project. The course pedagogy centers on active processing and utilizes the principles taught in the course with a strong focus on application and transfer. It is expected that students will apply the course concepts to their own learning; educators may also find the course valuable as they support the development of expert learners amongst their own students.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 2
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Student Option (Letter Graded, Sat/Unsat)
Learning Goals Students will understand how research findings in cognitive science, the learning sciences, and neuroscience can inform how we behave as learners. The course helps to develop learners who understand the affordances and challenges of our cognitive architecture and become reflective learners who want to learn how to attend, think, and learn more effectively.
Career Focus This course aims to help us use our minds effectively. This is especially relevant to career choices that invite continued innovation, agency, and life-long learning. The impetus for developing the course is an assumption that these features increasingly reflect careers of the future, that innovation may invite multiple, serial “careers,” and that it will be essential for people to be able to engage in optimal learning across their career trajectory.