Dr. Jim Heal is a leading expert in the applied science of learning, bridging the worlds of research and practice to improve how people teach and learn.
“How Teaching Happens distills decades of complexity into an easy-to-read volume that dispenses practical wisdom. Anyone connected with education must read it…”
- Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia and author of Why Don’t Students Like School?
Jim Heal is a co-author of the award-winning book How Teaching Happens. The book offers a comprehensive look at the science behind effective teaching, blending decades of research with practical insights. It explores essential teaching principles and their application in classrooms, providing educators with a guide to improve student learning.
New book coming soon
Life is one big chance to teach and learn. Begin with ‘the mind’ in mind.
In work and in life, each of us encounters daily opportunities to teach and learn. Whether you’re presenting a complex idea to a room of people, or helping a friend or relative acquire a new skill – acts of teaching and learning are woven throughout our lives. Despite this daily call to think and grow, we rarely think about the most important aspect of the learning process: how the mind actually works.
About Jim
Dr. Jim Heal is a leading advocate for bridging the worlds of research and practice in the applied science of learning.
Jim’s work seeks to develop evidence-informed expertise in learning and leadership for schools, universities, and organizations in the United States and around the world. Dr. Heal began his career as a teacher and school leader in the UK before moving to the US, where he became Director of Practice at Harvard University's Research Schools International initiative.
In his work at Deans for Impact, a US-based education non-profit, he strives to increase educator effectiveness by infusing the science of learning into teacher preparation. He currently serves as Professor of Evidence-Informed Education Leadership at Academica University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam and taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he earned his doctorate in educational leadership.
Jim is the author of How Teaching Happens: Seminal Works in Teaching and Teacher Effectiveness and What They Mean in Practice; Mental Models: How Understanding the Mind Can Transform the Way You Work and Learn; and Instructional Paradoxes which is due for release in 2025.
Speaking Engagements
Jim has delivered keynote speeches and presentations at conferences around the world, including those hosted by:
Media & Articles
-
![]()
The Applied Science of Learning
By aligning instruction with the science of learning, educators can help their students better absorb lessons in the classroom
-
![]()
How Systems Change
If we are going to teach, we need to understand what it means to learn.
-
![]()
Balancing Teacher-Led Instruction and Student-Centered Learning
Taking students’ prior knowledge into account can help teachers balance direct instruction and student autonomy.
-
![]()
The Science of Coaching Teachers
What happens when we apply an understanding of how people learn to the way we coach novice teachers?
-
![]()
Moving from Engagement to Deeper Thinking
-
![]()
Just because they’re engaged, it doesn’t mean they’re learning
-
![]()
Why Time is a Teacher’s Greatest Commodity…and What to Do
-
![]()
Using Inquiry to Support Deeper Learning
Teachers can use ‘effortful’ follow-up questions to refine and extend student thinking about important concepts in a lesson.
-
![]()
If You Want to Remember Something, Think Hard and Dig Deep
How effortful thinking impacts student learning
