During its first in-person gathering since 2020, MIT’s Festival of Learning 2023 explored how the learning sciences can inform the Institute on how to best support students. Co-sponsored by MIT Open Learning and the Office of the Vice Chancellor (OVC), this annual event celebrates teaching and learning innovations with MIT instructors, students, and staff.
Bror Saxberg SM ’85, PhD ’89, founder of LearningForge LLC and former chief learning officer at Kaplan, Inc., was invited as keynote speaker, with opening remarks by MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles and Vice President for Open Learning Eric Grimson, and discussion moderated by Senior Associate Dean of Open Learning Christopher Capozzola. This year’s festival focused on how creating well-designed learning environments using learning engineering can increase learning success.
Well-designed learning environments are key
In his keynote speech “Learning Engineering: What We Know, What We Can Do,” Saxberg defined “learning engineering” as the practical application of learning sciences to real-world problems at scale. He said, “High levels can be reached by all learners, given access to well-designed instruction and motivation for enough practice opportunities.”
Informed by decades of empirical evidence from the field of learning science, Saxberg’s own research, and insights from Kaplan, Inc., Saxberg finds that a hands-on strategy he calls “prepare, practice, perform” delivers better learning outcomes than a traditional “read, write, discuss” approach. Saxberg recommends educators devote at least 60 percent of learning time to hands-on approaches, such as producing, creating, and engaging. Only 20-30 percent of learning time should be spent in the more passive “knowledge acquisition” modes of listening and reading.
“Here at MIT, a place that relies on data to make informed decisions, learning engineering can provide a framework for us to center in on the learner to identify the challenges associated with learning, and to apply the learning sciences in data-driven ways to improve instructional approaches,” said Nobles. During their opening remarks, Nobles and Grimson both emphasized how learning engineering at MIT is informed by the Institute’s commitment to educating the whole student, which encompasses student well-being and belonging in addition to academic rigor. “What lessons can we take away to change the way we think about education moving forward? This is a chance to iterate,” said Grimson.
Well-designed learning environments are informed by understanding motivation, considering the connection between long-term and working memory, identifying the range of learners’ prior experience, grounding practice in authentic contexts (i.e., work environments), and using data-driven instructional approaches to iterate and improve.
