The Reading Warehouse

The concepts are conveniently grouped under major topics, each introduced by a summary of the field, its origins, the latest relevant research, and the implications for teaching: Cognition and Thinking, Memory, Learning, Perceiving and Living in the World, Working in Groups, Motivation, and Perceptions of Self.

Within each section Todd Zakrajsek and Donna Bailey provide summaries of each key concept, explaining the terminology, its background, relevance to student learning, and offering ideas and tips for immediate application in teaching.

As an example, the entry on Cognitive Load - the amount of information that the brain can process at any given time, and beyond which further input becomes hard to process, and usually induces errors - explains its constituent elements, intrinsic, extraneous, and germane, and how they are triggered. The authors conclude with specific tips to reduce cognitive load, and strategies to help students encountering difficulties with complex new material understand and accept the need to budget energy and time for certain tasks.

This is an illuminating book for teachers seeking to understand student learning, offering a foundational understanding of educational terms often tossed about in discussions of student learning, and a range of solutions to challenges they commonly encounter in the classroom.

Todd D. Zakrajsek is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Executive Director of the Academy of Educators in the School of Medicine. Prior to his work in the School of Medicine, Dr. Zakrajsek was the Executive Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Before arriving at UNC, Dr. Zakrajsek was the Inaugural Director of the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching at Central Michigan University and the founding Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Southern Oregon University, where he also taught in the psychology department as a tenured associate professor.

Dr. Zakrajsek currently directs six Lilly Conferences on College and University Teaching and Learning and sits on two educationally related boards: ERI for Lenovo Computer and TEI for Microsoft. Dr. Zakrajsek received his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Ohio University. He holds positions on editorial boards for several journals and has both published and presented widely on the topic of student learning, including workshops and conference keynote addresses in 42 states and 6 countries. Watch Todd's TED Talk here.