Conclusion

Abstract

Higher education reinforces societal inequity through teaching and learning practices that promote dominant ways of viewing and thinking about the world, practices that are formalized and reinforced in a neoliberal environment (Giroux, 2005, 2010; Hager, Peyrefitte, & Davis, 2018; Lynch, 2006). Similarly, the field of learning sciences (e.g., cognitive psychology, motivation research) has advanced significantly in the last decade, yet many teaching and learning practices are rooted in an outdated or incorrect understanding of how learning occurs (e.g., learning styles, andragogy vs pedagogy, personality tests). These outdated practices create a higher education environment that does not promote learning equitably and may be harmful for marginalized and underrepresented students (Howell & Tuitt, 2003). This volume, the first of three, is a response to calls for actionable approaches to teaching and learning in higher education that promote social justice (Hager et al., 2018; marblely et al., 2017). Our focus, throughout this series, is to combine the most updated knowledge about the science of learning and effective teaching and learning across higher education, including classroom spaces, but also to improve the practices of student affairs, advising, and career services professionals. In this volume, each chapter focused on a theory of teaching and learning and, through a critical lens and informed by other theories of higher education and adult learning, provided an application of how that theory can be reconceptualized and reconstructed to promote equity and diversity. Specifically, chapters in Volume I focused on the most recent research on the cognitive science behind teaching and learning, dispelled myths about teaching and learning (e.g., learning styles, laptop bans), and provided updates to the application of traditional learning theories within the modern, diverse university.