book: Why Don't Students Like School?

Why Don't Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom: Willingham, Daniel T.: 0787721851448: Amazon.com: Books


Seven principles of learning better from cognitive science by ScottHYoung podcast


Why Don't Students Like School Summary

1. "People are naturally curious, but we are not naturally good thinkers; unless the cognitive conditions are right, we will avoid thinking."
2. "Factual Knowledge must precede skill."

3. "Memory is the residue of thought"

4. "We understand things in the context of what we already know, and most of what we know is concrete."

5. "It is virtually impossible to become proficient at a mental task without extended practice."

6. "Cognition early in training is different from cognition late in training."

7. "Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn."

8. "Children do differ in intelligence, but intelligence can be changed through sustained hard work."

9. "Teaching, like any complex cognitive skill, must be practiced to be improved."


Why Don’t Students Like School? Summary, Review

"The key message in this book summary:

Students don’t like school because those involved – including educational institutions – haven’t fully got to grips with some essential cognitive principles involved in learning. Two types of memory are involved: long-term and working memory. The best strategies for learning involve pattern recognition and “chunking” information for the long-term memory. The bottleneck of working memory is best avoided. Furthermore, we should resist the notion that intelligence is entirely genetically determined, or that we all have a learning “type.” Therefore, by giving students the right context and content, and making sure educators keep learning too, we can ensure that students will learn a great deal more efficiently. And who knows – maybe they’ll even start to like school!

Actionable advice:

Promote the power of effort

If you’re in close contact with children, either in a mentoring role or as a parent, impress upon them that skill and intelligence are not settled from birth. It’s important for children to understand they can achieve almost anything with enough determination and practice. Remember: A piano virtuoso is not born with harmonic knowledge and muscle memory; those are learned."


Why don’t students like school… In 30 mins! – Punya Mishra's Web

Why Don't Students Like School?