Understanding How Students Learn: A Guide for Instructional Leaders

Recognize and promote exceptional teaching based on how students learn!

To improve teaching, school leaders must understand how students learn. Authors P. Karen Murphy and Patricia Alexander explore key psychological dimensions of learners and explain how these dimensions can be incorporated into more effective teaching strategies. Their accessible overview of classic and current educational research is part of the Leadership for Learning initiative of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). Understanding How Students Learn provides guiding principles that school leaders can use to help their teachers develop a learner-centered approach to instruction that enables all students to learn at high levels and do well on common measures of academic achievement.

Concepts explored in-depth include:

• Learner growth and development
• Acquiring knowledge and understanding
• Cultivating learner motivation
• Strategic teaching and strategic learning
• The power of shared learning

In addition to outlining specific guidelines for research-based action, the authors provide leaders with an understanding of student learning that empowers them to work more productively with teachers, parents, community leaders, and students.

Designed for principals and school administrators who have assumed the role of instructional leader, this book will also be an invaluable resource for those contemplating a career in school administration or teachers concerned with improving academic performance.