Forests and Trees: Rethinking What Influences Student Learning

Drawing from his coauthored book "How College Affects Students (Vol.2): A Third Decade of Research" (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, February 2005), Terenzini will summarize what 2,500 studies published since 1990 reveal about the impact college has on students' learning and higher-order cognitive skills. After identifying important in- and out-of-class influences affecting students' academic learning and cognitive development, Terenzini will discuss six characteristics of learning and effective educational settings and their implications for improving undergraduate teaching and learning. These themes, which run through the research, can serve as touchstones when reviewing current programs, practices, and policies, and in developing new ones.