How to make the penny drop faster

New book about psychology in teaching

How do students acquire knowledge best? Which psychological theories support the understanding of teaching best? How can students make more of the teaching? The new book "Lærerens psykologibog (the teacher's psychology book)", which is edited by Mads Hermansen, aims to give examples of a better approach to the learning process via psychological insight.

You can't hurry learning

Different students have different learning forms. Lærerens psykologibog (only in Danish) places focus on how teaching can be differentiated in the future, encouraging each student to make the best of him- or herself.- As the book so importantly points out, we as teachers cannot force the learning of the students. But we can help them along the way towards learning. The interesting part is the way we lead this learning and recognition process, letting the students make the most of it, says Mads Hermansen.

Room for involvement

The book discusses the need of a learning environment, where students feel comfortable and thereby find it easier to pull through when they find themselves being confused. We have all faced a problem that we simply couldn't understand. We turn it over in our minds again and again, and suddenly the penny drops. We realise something we weren't able to see before. The learning room is created on the basis of the culture, communication, accept, etc. that exist in a classroom and that the teacher has to actively lead.

- The book discusses how we as teachers are able to create a room, where the students feel like asking questions and feel welcome in teaching, so they come to an understanding faster. Little things may help in creating such kind of confidence. Maybe the students rather feel like answering a curious question than a critical one. In this way, we can create a better framework for more casework and dialogue-based teaching, says Mads Hermansen.

Presentation of the book and key notes by the authors

Lærerens psykologibog will be presented on 24 March from 15:00 to 17:00 at Copenhagen Business School.

Read more about the event.