Research on learning: potential for improving college ecology teaching

Recent research has changed our understanding of how people learn. These findings are based on well‐established learning theories that can potentially help faculty teach more effectively. Unfortunately, most science faculty, including ecologists, have little or no exposure to research on learning or its application to teaching. In this paper, four areas of research on knowledge and learning are given as the basis for an approach designed to help students overcome the common misconception that plants do not consume oxygen. To help improve college ecology instruction, ecology faculty and researchers who study learning should collaborate to design research about ecology teaching and ecological thinking.