THE NATURE OF LEARNING : USING RESEARCH TO INSPIRE PRACTICE

Practitioner Guide from the Introduction Over recent years, learning has moved increasingly centre stage and for a range of powerful reasons. A primary driver has been the scale of change in our world²the rapid advances in ICT, the shift to economies based on knowledge, and the emphasis on the skills required to thrive in them. Schools and education systems around the world are having to reconsider their design and approach to teaching and learning. What should schooling, teaching and, most especially, learning look like in this rapidly changing world? At the same time, empirical research on how people learn, how the mind and brain develop, how interests form, and how people differ in all these has expanded tremendously. This science of learning underscores the importance of ³UHWKLQNLQJZKDWLVWDXJKW how it is taught, DQGKRZOHDUQLQJLVDVVHVVHG´

The learning sciences are importantly enriching our understanding of how people learn best, and showing that many existing school learning environments are in direct contrast to this. Classrooms, schools and education systems cannot change overnight but neither is it possible to accept arrangements that are in direct contrast to what makes for good learning. If instead WRGD\ ¶Vschools were designed to leverage knowledge about learningWRPRUURZ ¶VJHQHUDWLRQZLOOmore likely become the powerful learners, skilled workers and engaged citizens we want them to be. The OECD project Innovative Learning Environments has sought to provide material to help to do this. It has put together a volume called The Nature of Learning: using research to inspire practice, which is based on extensive research findings on different aspects of learning and applications. It provides a powerful knowledge base for the design of learning environments for the 21 st century. This booklet is a summary of The Nature of Learning, created to highlight the core messages and principles from the full report for practitioners, leaders, advisors, and policy-makers²indeed, for anyone interested in improving the design of learning environments. The principles outlined serve as guides to inform everyday experiences in current classrooms, as well as future educational programmes and systems.