Todd Zakrajsek, Conference Director at Lilly Conferences, discusses key take-aways like emphasizing effective teaching methods, debunking learning style myths, and promoting active learning strategies. They explore scent-based memory cues, inclusive conversations, and interactive audience tools. The podcast highlights the joy of learning, challenging binary teaching methods, and fostering a community of engaged educators.
Utilize engaging learning activities to enhance student success and create a dynamic learning environment.
Utilize olfactory cues strategically to enhance memory recall and create engaging learning environments.
Deep dives
Importance of Engaging Learning Activities for Student Success
Instructors emphasize the value of utilizing engaging learning activities to enhance student success. The book 'Teaching for Learning 101' provides intentional design activities supported by research to facilitate active learning in classrooms. By incorporating these activities, educators aim to create a dynamic and effective learning environment to boost student achievement.
Cognitive Impact of Olfactory Retrieval Cues
Olfactory cues, such as scents, serve as powerful retrieval cues for memory. The association of specific scents with past experiences triggers vivid memories, showcasing the brain's ability to link odors with emotional and cognitive recollections. Utilizing scents strategically can enhance memory recall and create a more engaging learning environment.
Debunking Learning Style Myths
Challenges surrounding the notion of learning styles are addressed, highlighting the lack of empirical evidence supporting personalized learning styles. While individuals may express learning preferences, the effectiveness of tailoring instruction solely based on learning styles is called into question. Encouraging holistic learning approaches rather than rigid style classifications fosters versatile and comprehensive learning experiences.
Maximizing Instructional Impact through Active Learning Approaches
Educators emphasize the efficacy of active learning in enhancing student comprehension and retention. Research studies by Richard Hake and Carl Wieman underscore the superiority of engaged learning practices over traditional lecture-based methods. By incorporating group work and interactive learning activities, instructors aim to optimize instructional outcomes and create dynamic learning environments.
Dr. Todd Zakrajsek, Ph.D., is the former Executive Director of the Academy of Educators in the School of Medicine and an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Zakrajsek is the immediate past Executive Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and prior to his work at UNC, he was the Inaugural Director of the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching at Central Michigan University and the founding Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Southern Oregon University, where he also taught in the psychology department as a tenured associate professor. Dr. Zakrajsek also sits on two educational related boards and several editorial boards for journals in the area of teaching and learning, is an international speaker requested regularly for keynote presentations and campus workshops, and has published widely on the topic of effective teaching and student learning.
Teaching should be more than telling.
–Todd Zakrajsek
If a worker knows why they’re doing something, they’re much better at doing it than if it’s a mystery to them. It’s the same thing in teaching.
–Todd Zakrajsek
Any time we start looking at these concepts and saying, “Should we do this, or that? Do the students fall into this category or the other category?” we lose the richness of all the individuals in between.
–Todd Zakrajsek
Lecturing alone simply does not return the same kind of advances you get when you add in engaged, active kinds of learning.
–Todd Zakrajsek