More control means better learning for students

Students learn better when they take an active role in learning, writes James Lang for the Chronicle of Higher Education, and one of the best ways to encourage this approach is to give them more control over their learning process. Lang frames his discussion with the categories of performance-based learning and mastery-based learning, where the first refers to students who learn only with an aim at “performing” their knowledge on tests or assignments, and the second refers to students who want to master a subject based on their self-directed interest in it. Lang concludes that the success of teaching hinges on creating more mastery-based learners, and he concludes by offering three concrete strategies for achieving this goal. Chronicle of Higher Education