In 1995 when "New Directions" issue No. 63, "Understanding Self-Regulated Learning," was published, the issue editor, Paul Pintrich, was one of the leaders in studying how college students learn and what helps or hinders them during the process. His contributions to the field have been tremendous and very significant both theoretically and…

This summary chapter organizes recommendations from the first eight chapters of this journal issue into a framework that helps faculty understand and incorporate students' meaning-making into the learning process. Longitudinal data on young adults' learning and development are used to integrate multiple dimensions of development. (Author/DB)

The ten finalists for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's annual Professor of the Year award give a variety of opinions about the most important ways students learn, stressing the multiplicity and diversity of individual learning strategies. (MSE)

This chapter highlights some specific differences encountered between K-12 and higher education settings as a way to provide context for several research studies under way in engineering education. Specifically, this chapter highlights differences in three aspects of an academic learning environment: faculty, students, and subject matter.

Faculty ask undergraduate students to write self-evaluations in varied settings and contexts, from reflections on a brief learning experience to descriptions of learning over a course, courses, or an entire college experience. Feedback and degree of structure of the writing assignment are important considerations. (MSE)

A common variable in uncivil behavior is strong emotional reaction. If distressing emotion in the college classroom could be moderated, inappropriate behaviors might be reduced. One model of rational emotive behavior therapy offers insights into the sources of teachers' and students' emotional responses and the effects on the learning and teaching…

Of great importance in large class instruction is the need to ensure that students learn how to learn. Course organization and evaluation methods grow out of a recognition of the course's learning goals. (MLW)

Four primary factors are relevant to social and cultural diversity in the college classroom: students, teachers, course content, and teaching methods. Faculty can use understanding of these factors and their interrelationships to facilitate learning in an increasingly multicultural environment. (MSE)

Self-evaluation is a learning strategy that can help college students, particularly nontraditional students, build coherence through their educational experiences. Faculty need to approach students' reflective, self-evaluative writing as learners, listening to what students say and using it as a guide to aid student development. (MSE)

Adopting an inquiry approach to teaching by learning the techniques of classroom assessment can give an instructor a much clearer picture of how his teaching affects student learning. This chapter describes the approach and how it is being used in a variety of classrooms. (Author/MLW)