Welcome to the home of Teaching How to Learn.

‘Teaching how to learn: promoting self-regulated learning in STEM classes’ is a project funded by a 2019 Australian Research Council Discovery Grant. The project aims to investigate key factors that influence improvements in teacher capacity and student academic outcomes in STEM subjects. Although the call to create classroom learning environments that increase the interest, activity and control of students over their learning especially in the STEM areas has been around for a long time, research shows little progress. There is a noticeable lack of interest in secondary school science, which is primarily attributed to factors such as lack of student autonomy, the impersonal nature of teacher-student relationships, teaching dominated by transmissive as opposed to activity-based programs, an emphasis on meaningless rules and procedures over ideas and curricula that allow little tailoring to individual student needs. The critical questions are: Can we create sustainable changes in teachers’ practices in STEM and do these changes influence students’ interest, uptake of science and academic performance?

The purpose of the project is to promote student-centred teacher practices in STEM by combining research in STEM learning with research in the area of self-regulated learning (SRL) and ICAP (Interactive, Constructive, Active and Passive) learning. It involves the development and evaluation of professional development designed to help teachers create learning environments that promote student engagement and the development of the cognitive and metacognitive skills needed for success in STEM. The project involves a collaboration between Flinders University (Chief Investigators; Professor Stella Vosniadou and Emeritus Professor Michael J. Lawson), the University of Melbourne (Chief Investigator: Professor Lorraine Graham), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt (Partner Investigator: Dr Charlotte Dignath van Ewijk), and Arizona State University (Partner Investigator: Professor Michelene Chi).

It is anticipated that the research will advance our understanding of how to increase the quality of teaching and learning in STEM subjects, and improve teacher capacity and student performance in STEM.

Below you will find a range of links that will support your use of this website.

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