Decoding the Disciplines is a process for increasing student learning by narrowing the gap between expert and novice thinking. Beginning with the identification of bottlenecks to learning in particular disciplines, it seeks to make explicit the tacit knowledge of experts and to help students master the mental actions they need for success in particular courses.
Steps in the Decoding Process
- Identify a bottleneck to learning
- Uncover the mental tasks needed to overcome the bottleneck
- Model these tasks
- Give students practice and feedback
- Motivate and lessen resistance
- Assess student mastery
- Share what has been learned through the Decoding process
- Join the Decoding list serve
- Examples of the Decoding process in action on our YouTube Channel and in recent podcasts
- New Books on Decoding
- Joan Middendorf and Leah Shopkow, Overcoming Student Learning Bottlenecks Get 20% off using code OVBN20
- David Pace, The Decoding the Disciplines Paradigm (Indiana University Press)
- Janice Miller-Young and Jennifer Boman, eds. Using the Decoding the Disciplines Framework for Learning Across Disciplines, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 150. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
We view this website as a shared work-in-progress of the entire Decoding community, intended to make more available the work that is being done within this framework throughout the world. We look forward to your contributions and suggestions.