A Concise Guide to Teaching With Desirable Difficulties

This concise guidebook on desirable difficulties is designed to be a resource for academics who are interested in engaging students according to the findings of peer-reviewed literature and best practices but do not have the time to immerse themselves in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

This concise guidebook on desirable difficulties is designed to be a resource for academics who are interested in engaging students according to the findings of peer-reviewed literature and best practices but do not have the time to immerse themselves in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Intentionally brief, the book is intended to: summarize recent research on five aspects of desirable difficulties; provide applications to the college classroom based on this research; include special sections about teaching strategies that are based on best practices; and offer annotated bibliographies and important citations for faculty who want to pursue additional study. The book will provide a foundation for instructors to teach using evidence-based strategies that will strengthen learning and retention in their classrooms.

In addition to chapters on the desirable difficulties, the book also includes chapters on teaching first-year and at-risk students to embrace this approach, on negotiating student resistance, and on using this approach in teaching online.