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Presentation or Book Chapter Assignment
Your goal is to teach your assigned Influences on Student Learning topic to a general audience
of teachers, students, and/or parents. You can choose to complete either an 8–10 min
presentation or a 1250–1500 word book chapter (not both; book chapter length does not
include references). This about the time it takes to present the slide deck for a learning strategy
from Understanding How We Learn, and about half the length of chapter 8, which contains two
learning strategies. Use chapters 8–10 from Understanding How We Learn and the learning
strategies slide decks from learningscientists.org (posted in the course’s Slide Decks folder) as
examples of how to create an accessible and understandable presentation or book chapter.
Note: Chapters 8–10 are EXAMPLES, and your presentation or book chapter is on the topic that
we assigned to you, NOT the topics in Understanding How We Learn. This assignment is an
opportunity to develop your critical thinking skills
(https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2018/6/10/weekly-digest-112).
Using simple language, describe the influence on student achievement (abbreviated,
“influence”).
Include visual representations of the influence. In addition to the infographics in Understanding
How We Learn and the associated slide decks, numerous example infographics exist (e.g.,
https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/southeast/publications.asp). You can include
infographics as a slide in your presentation or a figure in your book chapter.
Provide at least one concrete example of the influence
(https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2017/8/20/weekly-digest-73).
Provide a brief history of research on the influence.
Describe potential theoretical mechanisms that underlie the influence.
Describe classroom-based and other real-world studies of the influence, demonstrating
whether or not the influence works well in the real world (and not just under controlled
laboratory conditions). Presentation or Book Chapter Assignment
Include at least one graph of empirical data that illustrates the influence you are describing,
with sufficient explanation to properly interpret the graph.
Describe caveats and limitations that are relevant to teaching and learning effectiveness. Is the
influence something that a person can practice and improve (e.g., retrieval practice), or is it an
inherent quality held by a person that is beyond their control (e.g., having a two-parent family)?
Does the influence translate well from laboratory to classroom? Is it easy for teachers or
students to implement? Does it generalize across a wide range of educational topics?
As you describe your claims, consider the strength of evidence of your phenomenon (i.e., the
effect size of the influence). Ensure that your claims are in line with the demonstrated strength
of the evidence. Presentation or Book Chapter Assignment
Evaluate the quality of studies you include in the presentation or book chapter, making it clear
when a study provides weak evidence. Consider replacing studies that provide weak evidence
due to methodological and other flaws with stronger studies.
Utilize at least eight peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as books and book chapters written
by experts in the field, as part of your empirical and theoretical support. Cite these articles in
your presentation or book chapter, and provide a reference list. Avoid citing websites and
articles written by non-experts.
If possible, include at least one review paper and one meta-analysis of the topic.
Include headings and other organizational structure, to guide the viewer or reader.
You can utilize research databases to locate peer-review Presentation or Book Chapter Assignment