2012-2013 Provost Lecture Series

From the Art of Teaching to the Science of Learning: Using evidence- and research-based strategies in the classroom

Thursday, April 25, 2013
3:30 p.m.
Hemisphere Room
Hale Library

N. Sanjay Rebello

Associate professor of physics
2012-2013 Coffman Chair for Distinguished Teaching Scholars

Video of the Lecture

Biographical Sketch

N. Sanjay Rebello is Associate Professor of Physics at K-State. For over the past decade he and his research group, with the support of external grants and through collaborations with faculty at K-State and beyond, have completed several projects to study student learning in physics particularly on the topic of transfer of learning and problem solving. In 2004 he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and in 2012 he was named the Coffman Chair for Distinguished Teaching Scholars at Kansas State University.

Abstract:

Good teaching is often considered to be a performance art, and good teachers are often seen as being similar to artists who have mastered an art form to perfection. Most often, good teachers are those who have been recognized by their students and peers to be effective in the classroom. However, what does it mean to be effective? And, should good teaching be about the process of teaching or should it be more about learning? If so, how do we measure learning? These are the questions that we must wrestle with as we prepare a new generation of students for the challenges ahead. In this talk, I will describe how these questions have been a central focus of some of our efforts here at K-State. I will also describe recent calls by some national organizations to shape the way in which we begin to think about institutional reform through an evidence-driven cycle of research, assessment, and practice.