Learning That Sticks: A Brain-Based Model for K–12 Instructional Design and Delivery, June/2020

In far too many classrooms, the emphasis is on instructional strategies that teachers employ rather than on what students should be doing or thinking about as part of their learning. What’s more, students’ minds are something of a mysterious “black box” for most teachers, so when learning breaks down, they’re not sure what went wrong or what to do differently to help students learn.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Learning That Sticks helps you look inside that black box. Bryan Goodwin and his coauthors unpack the cognitive science underlying research-supported learning strategies so you can sequence them into experiences that challenge, inspire, and engage your students. As a result, you’ll learn to teach with more intentionality—understanding not just what to do but also when and why to do it.

By way of an easy-to-use six-phase model of learning, this book

1. Analyzes how the brain reacts to, stores, and retrieves new information.
2. Helps you “zoom out” to understand the process of learning from beginning to end.
3. Helps you “zoom in” to see what’s going on in students’ minds during each phase.

Learning may be complicated, but learning about learning doesn’t have to be. And to that end, Learning That Sticks helps shine a light into all the black boxes in your classroom and make your practice the most powerful it can be.

About the Authors:

Bryan Goodwin is the president and CEO of McREL International, a Denver-based nonprofit education research and development organization. Goodwin, a former teacher and journalist, has been at McREL for more than 20 years, serving previously as chief operating officer and director of communications and marketing. Goodwin writes a monthly research column for Educational Leadership and presents research findings and insights to audiences across the United States and in Canada, the Middle East, and Australia.

Tonia Gibson served as a teacher and assistant principal at primary schools in Melbourne, Australia. As a member of McREL International's learning services team, she supports education ministries, district leaders, school leaders, and teachers across the United States and Micronesia in using research to improve professional practices and support systemic improvement. In addition to leading workshops and presenting at conferences, she has developed practical guides and materials for teachers and leaders and coauthored Unstuck: How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Your School.

Kristin Rouleau serves as the executive director of learning services and innovation at McREL International, where she guides a team of consultants who help schools, districts, and state education agencies and ministries of education across the United States, Canada, Micronesia, Australia, the Middle East, and China translate research into solutions that transform teaching, leading, and learning. A licensed school administrator with more than 25 years of classroom and school leadership experience, she coauthored Curiosity Works: A Guidebook for Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation and Unstuck: How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Your School.