Explore our new section on Teachers and Students and (soon) Parents
The Best Teachers Institute maintains an active research agenda that informs our work in consultations, workshops, and the Summer Institute
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James Lang’s research interests continue to focus primarily on the complex process of how human beings learn, both in and outside of school. His most recent book, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning, focused on how research from the learning sciences can help faculty understand how to create courses that foster deep, durable learning. His new book project, Always Learning: A Handbook for a Better Life, tentatively projected for publication in late 2018 or early 2019, will turn to the more general question of how engagement in ongoing new learning can help people continue to thrive and grow in the years beyond school. The book will explore the connections between learning and well-being, and guide readers to the techniques and strategies that promote better learning in their lives.
Ken Bain's current research interests focus on the building of Natural Critical Learning Environments, both in and outside of school, and the impact they have on fostering Deep Learning and Adaptive Expertise. He is currently finishing a book for parents entitled How to Help Your Kids Get the Most Out of School, based on research into the practices of parents of highly successful deep learners on all levels of education. He is also working with a team of researchers and writers on several additions to the Best...Do series that he started at Harvard University Press, including What the Best Administrators Do, What the Best Colleges and Universities Offer, and What the Best Online Teachers Do.
Ken Bain and James Lang have produced a rich body of literature that has helped transform the way we think about teaching and learning.
On this page we provide a few links to some of those resources. Over time the resources here will change and grow. Check back often.
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Prior to the publication of his book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning, James Lang wrote a hugely popular series of columns for the Chronicle of Higher Education on small improvements that faculty could make to their courses and individual class periods.
We have linked to the six-part series below, where you will find research-supported strategies for enhancing the opening and closing minutes of your class period, for helping students make connections between the course material and the world around them, for spacing out the learning of your students, and for promoting a mastery orientation toward their learning by giving them greater control over their learning.
Small Changes in Teaching: The Minutes Before Class
Small Changes in Teaching: The First Five Minutes of Class
Small Changes in Teaching: Making Connections
Small Changes in Teaching: The Last Five Minutes of Class
Small Changes in Teaching: Giving Them a Say
Small Changes in Teaching: Space it Out
Additional articles by James Lang can be found online at TIME Magazine, the Boston Globe, and his website.
Articles by Ken Bain can be found online at the Wall Street Journal and Johns Hopkins University among other places
In 2021 Ken published with Princeton University Press a six-year student entitled Super Courses: The Future of Teaching and Learning
Ken is currently completing a study of how parents can best help their children can get the best out of school. That study will be published by Harvard University Press in 2024