How We Think and Learn

Professional Development for Teachers

The way we think is the most important thing we never teach.
How We Think addresses a critical gap in how we develop transferable skills in students. This lesson examines how dual-process thinking influences decision-making, why skills learned in one context frequently fail to transfer to others, and what happens when we make thinking explicit in our instruction.

Through interactive activities, real-world AI case studies, and evidence-based strategies, educators deepen their understanding of metacognition, learning transfer, and explicit instruction. By the end, participants don't just understand how cognition shapes learning — they have practical approaches for helping students think critically, adapt across contexts, and engage meaningfully in a world where AI can handle the surface-level thinking for them.

Professional Development

Lesson 2

Designed For

Teachers


Duration

45 minutes


Who It’s For

Ideal for K–12 educators who want to understand the cognitive science behind how students learn and apply skills. This lesson is perfect for teachers looking to move beyond intuition-based instruction toward evidence-based strategies rooted in metacognition and learning transfer. It's especially relevant for educators navigating AI in the classroom and those committed to developing critical thinking across subject areas. It fits well in professional development programs focused on future-ready teaching, 21st-century skills, and instructional excellence.

What’s Included

Real-life scenarios & quizzes

Reflection journals & tools

Final assessment & certificate

Downloadable glossary & reference sheet

Why This Matters

Students are constantly learning, but that doesn't mean they're developing the thinking skills they'll need beyond the classroom. Research shows that skills rarely transfer on their own — students can think critically in one subject and fail to apply that same thinking elsewhere. This lesson gives educators the cognitive science behind why that happens and what to do about it. It's a step toward teaching that doesn't just deliver content but builds the kind of flexible, transferable thinking students need to thrive in an AI-driven world.

Ready to discover what how your students really think?

How We Think challenges educators to see thinking not as something that happens automatically, but as something that can — and should — be made visible and taught explicitly. Through interactive experiences and evidence-based research, you'll discover how cognition shapes learning and why that understanding changes everything about how we prepare students for the future.
In this lesson, you'll:
  • Experience dual-process thinking firsthand and explore how it affects learning and decision-making
  • Examine why skills learned in one context rarely transfer to new situations without explicit instruction
  • Analyze real-world AI case studies to distinguish between students thinking with AI and students outsourcing their thinking
  • Discover practical, evidence-based strategies for making thinking explicit and transferable across subjects
  • Reflect on how cognitive science can reshape your approach to teaching future-ready skills
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