Making Learning Happen

A Guide for Post-Compulsory Education

'Refreshing, original and full of pragmatic, evidence-based advice. This book focuses strongly on how we can develop fit-for-purpose quality learning experiences for today’s students that encourage lifelong learning, rather than short-term achievement of targets. Phil Race walks us through how to design flexible, learner-centred curricula that address the full picture of student learning, assessment and feedback. In my opinion this is the best book on learning and teaching available to teachers in H.E. and F.E. today. The environment has changed so quickly over recent years and Phil Race has not only kept abreast of the changes; he is way ahead.'

'The third edition of Phil Race’s Making Learning Happen is easy to read and importantly,  you can dip in and out of it. It is packed full of common sense ideas which are underpinned by sound scholarship... A recommended working manual for lecturers everywhere!'

'Phil Race is a teacher’s teacher.  In this latest book he demonstrates how good teaching and good course design can help students engage more fully in their own education and take responsibility for their own learning success. He explains to the reader that what research has told us aids effective teaching for learning in clear, non-jargon ridden language. The chapters focus on effective practice at the heart of the teaching/learning exchange, dealing with common concerns and challenges in practical ways. His explanations of how to design courses starting with what might be the evidence that students have learned is a clear guide for the most novice of university teachers. His chapter on the role of feedback, rather or feed forward, is grounded in a focus on ‘assessment as learning’ and places students and their learning at the centre of the educational enterprise.'

It is an engaging and ‘non-threatening’ book that should appeal to anyone working in the sector looking for an entry-level book on pedagogy. The PCET context rings true throughout the book – giving the impression this not just a book for those working in PCET, but very much a book from the PCET context.   -review of previous edition

'Making Learning Happen has been an essential read for new academic staff since it first appeared. The third edition is exceptionally welcome providing real insights into what the modern student expects, and reflecting changes in the delivery of higher education.'

The book is a practical, informed and evidence-based guide for teaching practitioners in Post Compulsory Education (PCE), and has something for everyone involved in supporting the learning and achievement of students in PCE. It is rightly felt to be one of the leaders in the field, and contains nine chapters on key topics including ‘Factors underpinning successful learning’: ‘Making lectures inspiring’ and ‘What do I do when?’, which closes the book, and is a very helpful set of FAQs about regularly faced challenges for lecturers. Whether teaching in a university, college, sixth form college, work-based learning provider or adult education centre, and whether new or experienced, all lecturers will find useful, helpful and clearly explained ideas, examples and activities in this book, which they can use to help them understand their students’ learning better and improve their own teaching. The book has many strengths but it is Race’s long-standing experience and understanding of teaching and its purposes, techniques, successes and failures which shines out of every page. The book is veritably bursting with suggestions, checklists, tips, tables and diagrams, and these are well supported by relevant research which anchor the ideas and advice contained within. Race is still actively teaching and his own enthusiasm and desire to continue to make learning happen is powerfully present throughout the book, and this engages the reader from the start.