Handbook of Research on Learning and Instruction

The third edition of the Handbook of Research on Learning and Instruction provides an overview of contemporary research advances in the science of learning (how people learn) and the science of instruction (how to help people learn). With chapters written by leading researchers from around the world, this volume examines learning and instruction in a variety of learning environments, including in and out of K-16 and adult learning classrooms. Contributors to this volume demonstrate how and why educational practice should be guided by research evidence concerning what works in instruction. The book is written at a level that is appropriate for students, researchers, and practitioners interested in evidence-based approaches to learning and instruction.

The book is divided into two sections: learning and instruction. The learning section consists of chapters on how people learn in a variety of domains, from reading and writing to science and math and beyond, as well as how people acquire the knowledge and processes required for critical thinking, self-regulation, motivation, and more. The instruction section consists of chapters on effective instructional methods―feedback, visualizations, active learning, self-explanation, collaboration, inquiry, games simulations, adaptive learning technologies, among others.

Each chapter in this third edition has been thoroughly revised to integrate recent advances in the field of educational psychology. Selected returning chapters have been merged for concision and comprehensiveness, while new chapters reflect cutting-edge insights into socioemotional learning, educational neuroscience, active learning in lecture classes, and generative learning strategies. As with the previous two editions, this foundational volume showcases the highest quality research being done on learning and instruction by traversing a broad array of academic domains, learning constructs, and instructional methods.

Richard E. Mayer is Distinguished Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.

Patricia A. Alexander is Distinguished University Professor and the Jean Mullan Professor of Literacy in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland, USA.

Logan Fiorella is Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the Mary Fraces Early College of Education at the University of Georgia, USA.