The Architecture of Learning: Designing Instruction for the Learning Brain
Like architecture, learning is not attained by happenstance, but is a matter of design. Great design arranges and utilizes necessary elements to meet the needs of the environment and achieve its purpose. Like an architect, Kevin provides a blueprint that shows us how to carefully build the bricks of learning (experience, comprehension, elaboration, application, and intention) into a master plan that constructs meaningful learning. Architecture of Learning offers a blueprint for us to become masterful designers of learning. --Rob Jacobs, Blogger Education InnovationTeachers enter classrooms with a toolbox full of instructional strategies. These tools of the trade are often haphazardly and ineffectively used when there is not a clear plan for instruction or a clear understanding of the process of learning. The Architecture of Learning instructional design allows teachers the opportunity to effectively put their tools to work to become master craftsmen of teaching as they design instruction that builds learning. Teachers trained to use this research-based instructional model learn to become draftsmen (of instructional blueprints), architects (of instructional design and concepts), builders (of learning) and inspectors (as they assess learning, provide feedback for improvement, and look for the essential elements of the learning process). We have used this model of instruction at our school for several years and can truly say that the Architecture of Learning instructional design has improved classroom teaching and, more importantly, has produced long-lasting learning that endures beyond the final exam! --Tasha Holliday, Asst Head of School, First Presbyterian Day School Jackson, MSWhen students become engaged with subject matter and are given opportunities to think and interpret, they retain more knowledge and understand it more deeply. The Architecture of Learning is a welcome book at this time in our development of mind, brain, and education connections. This book provides neuro-logical and teacher-friendly guidance for designing instruction that aligns with current research in how the brain learns. --Judy Willis, M.D., M.Ed. Author of Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning