Joshua R. Eyler, Ph.D.

Internationally Recognized Expert on Teaching, Learning, and the Future of Education

Joshua Eyler, Ph.D. is Director of Faculty Development and Director of the Think Forward Quality Enhancement Plan at the University of Mississippi, where he is also Clinical Assistant Professor of Teacher Education. He previously worked on teaching and learning initiatives at Columbus State University, George Mason University, and Rice University. A sought-after speaker for his expertise about the science of learning and about compassion in education, especially in connection with students, grades, and mental health, he has spoken at college and universities across the country, including Yale University, University of Texas, and Johns Hopkins University.

Eyler is the author of the acclaimed book How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching (West Virginia University Press, 2018), which Book Authority named “100 Best Education Books of All Time”.  Called a “splendid repository of ways to rethink how we teach college” by the Los Angeles Review of Books, it was named a “Book of the Year” in the Chicago Tribune. His forthcoming book, Scarlet Letters: How Grades are Harming Children and Young Adults, and What We Can Do about It (West Virginia University Press), is about one of the most urgent issues in education today, grading and alternative assessment.

In his free time, Eyler coaches his daughter’s youth softball team and tries valiantly to perfect his gumbo recipe.

Praise for Joshua Eyler and How Humans Learn

“Many people said [Josh’s] message was just what they needed to hear at this time. One said she went home and reworked her syllabus for a course she’s taught many times to incorporate principles of care. She even stayed up until midnight to do it! Also, [Josh’s] address and ideas were echoed several times in the day-long Strategic Planning Group retreat that took place the day after the talk.”

—David Parfitt, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at SUNY-Geneseo

“A wonderful tool for reflection on one’s own teaching practice, a way to catalog one’s own values and how we put them into practice in the classroom and out.”

—Inside Higher Ed

“Joshua R. Eyler, who directs the Rice University Center for Teaching Excellence, has done all teachers—and all people curious about learning—a major service with this book.”

—Chicago Tribune

A splendid repository of ways to rethink how we teach college.”

—Los Angeles Review of Books

“A warm, humane little book—a scientifically informed reminder that even in college, students and teachers are really driven by emotion, anxiety, curiosity, and care.”

—Daniel F. Chambliss, co-author of How College Works

“Unique and compelling. Eyler brings lyrical prose and a truly fresh perspective to problems that have stubbornly persisted.”

—Michelle D. Miller, author of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology