Decision-Based Learning: An Innovative Pedagogy that Unpacks Expert Knowledge for the Novice Learner

How can we ensure that students truly benefit from the expert knowledge of their professors and tutors, and how can we enable them to put knowledge into practice?

Decision-Based Learning (DBL) is an innovative instructional strategy that uncovers the 'expert blind spot' to reveal the conditional knowledge that teachers (as experts) use to reason and act within the discipline. Instruction begins by modeling an expert’s decision-making process through real-world scenarios, guiding students through the conditions that shape those decisions. Learning occurs through comparison/contrast with other possible conditions at each decision point. Concepts and procedures are learned when they are relevant to the decision. With DBL, students never have to ask, 'When does this apply?'

In this book you will read stories told by faculty who have redesigned their university courses using the Decision-Based Learning pedagogy and the impact this powerful strategy can have on student learning. It should be of use to anyone teaching and designing curricula in higher education.

Nancy Wentworth, PhD served as the Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning at Brigham Young University. She was the Chair of the Department of Teacher Education and the Associate Dean in the McKay School of Education where she authored the TEAC Accreditation document for the Educator Preparation Program.

Kenneth J. Plummer, PhD is a Teaching and Learning Consultant in the Center for Teaching & Learning at Brigham Young University. He also worked as a manager of research, evaluation, and assessment for an international educational organization.

Richard H. Swan, PhD has designed award-winning instructional software and now serves as an Associate Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning at Brigham Young University. He has worked in the field of educational development and instructional design for over 20 years.