ABSTRACT
Teaching succeeds when learning occurs. Without learning, teaching is “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” College teachers become jittery at the mention of learning theories, perhaps because the word theory carries the connotation of unsubstantiated, but also because there is a deep-rooted suspicion that the research by scholars on learning has little to do with what takes place in college classrooms. Well-established theories of learning rely on different sources of explanation and substantiation. The learning outcomes, or instructional objectives, for teaching are the very precise specifications for a class or segment of a class often referred to as a lesson. Most college teachers will, indeed, feel more comfortable and confident with certain ways of learning than with others, but with practice a diligent teacher can become more effective, and therefore more comfortable, at using them all.
