These ideas provide a framework for teaching practice. As we discuss below, teaching involves assisting learners by organizing the classroom environment, structuring tasks and activities, and facilitating how students interact in the classroom. The more teachers understand the basis for learning theories, the better they can determine when and how these ideas might be useful in the classroom. Simply put, theories are explanations. These theo- ries can be used to understand our own ideas about learning better and to help to explain how students learn.