Chapter 3

Of all the chapters, this is definitely the most applicable for teaching and instruction. Chapter 3 is all about reforming / enhancing instruction in the community college classroom.  The chapter begins with an in-depth look at what the authors call procedural vs conceptual learning. Procedural learning focuses on rote learning while conceptual learning focuses on enhancing critical thinking (patterns, relationships, evaluating data, etc.).  The authors contest that the majority of instruction in the community college cafeteria style college is based on the "knowledge transmission" model that focuses more on procedural learning vs the "learning facilitation model" which is student focused and organically enhances motivation.

A part of this chapter, as with every chapter actually, revolves around suggestions for community colleges to make the changes that authors suggest (and that they state are researched based). They advocate for having strong instructor to instructor relationships where there is an open culture of observing other instructors and reflecting on ways to develop a more "learning facilitation" model that they suggest. The book makes a brief mention of "lesson study" a practice that was developed in the US but is primarily utilized in the Japanese education study. Basically, the practice revolves around intensive mentoring and work with fellow teachers to develop facilitation skills.

The rest of the chapter revolves returns to the main premise of the book in that a guided pathways model provides a better framework with which to create an environment of conceptual learning. The authors suggest that by better aligning curriculum into pathway programs, instructional design can better enhance skills, concepts and habits of mind that students will need to be successful in future classes (which is consistent with learning facilitation). They argue that an instructors main job is help develop student mental models (scaffolding of learning) and not ply them with facts and rote learning. The author refer to this concept as inductive learning (aka inquiry-based learning problem based learning, etc.) which they claim tend to improve student learning and motivation.