Why Don't Students Like School?

The Essay

A video by 3G from Telenor

(a phone company)

Why Don't Students Like School?

A Vision of K12

Students Today

A short film by B. Nessbit

Why Don't Students Like School?

Who am I? David Schult, M.A., M.Ed., Vice Principal of the High School at Escuela Internacional Sampedrana.

Who are you? Teachers, educators, parents or students curious about what cognitive science can tell us about how the

mind works and what it means for the classroom.

Why are we here? To preview highlights from Dan Willingham's Book “Why Don't Students Like School?” and

take back to the classroom ideas and procedures that will engage your students.

The BookSells on Amazon for $16.47

http://is.gd/79p3w

"Just like his Ask the Cognitive Scientist column, Dan Willingham's book makes fascinating but complicated research from cognitive science accessible to teachers. It is jam packed with ideas that teachers willfind both intellectually rich and useful in their classroom work."

—Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers

"This readable, practical book by a distinguished cognitivescientist explains the universal roots of effective teaching and learning. With great wit and authority it practices the principles it preaches. It is the best teachers' guide I know of—a classic that belongs in the book bag of every teacher from preschool to grad school."

—E. D. Hirsch, Jr., university professor emeritus, University of Virginia

The Author

Daniel Willingham earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University in 1990. He is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1992. Until about 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. Today, all of his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-12 education. He writes the “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator magazine, and blogs at the Washington Post.

www.danielwillingham.com/

Dan Willingham Interview

WCAV TV

Why do Students Forget Everything I Say?

Students know very little about their own memory

Engage with the material; don't just repeat it, but repeat it meaningfully

Relate to things you already know.

Parents can help by setting a good example

“We are a learning family”

Why Don't Students Like School? Handout Highlights

The Mind is Not Designed for Thinking; p. 4

The Candle Problem; p.5

Curiosity; p.6

How Thinking Works; p.7

Implications for the Classroom; p.9, 12, 13

The brain is not designed for thinking. It’s designed to save you from having to

think.* Dr. Daniel T. Willingham, Why Don’t Students Like

School?

People are naturally curious, but we are not

naturally good thinkers; unless the cognitive

conditions are right, we will avoid thinking.*

* Dr. Daniel T. Willingham, Why Don’t Students Like School?

A 2 3B

The Rule: If there is a vowel on one side, there must be an even number on the other side.

Your job is to verify whether this rule is met for this set of four cards, and to turn over the minimum number of cards necessary to do so. Which cards would you turn over?

Beer 31 17Coke

The Rule: If you’re drinking beer, then you must be 21 or over.

Imagine that you are a bouncer in a bar. Each card represents a patron, with the person’s age on one side and their drink on the other side. Your job is to verify whether this rule is met for this set of four people, turning over the minimum number of cards necessary to do so. Which cards would you turn over?

A 2 3B

Beer 31 17Coke

Which was easier?

This one?

…or this one?

WHY?

What information about the brain and how it works could help us to better understand the cognitive conditions necessary for optimal thinking and learning?

Could understanding the brain and how it works help us to articulate the Characteristics of Effective Instruction to our learners?

SensoryMemory

Long-TermMemory

WorkingMemory

Eyes

Ears

Nose

Tongue

A Model of Information Processing

Skin

Not transferred to next stage and therefore forgotten

InitialProcessing

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

RECEPTORS

Not transferred to next stage and therefore forgotten

SensoryMemory

There are three factors that strongly influence whether or not the brain

pays attention to incoming stimuli…

1

2Whether or not the information has meaning and relevance

Whether or not the information has an emotional component or hook3

Novelty

The brain iscontinuously trying to make sense out of its world, attempting to determine what is meaningful in whatit experiences.

What if there is no existing category to fit new information into? Is it possible to learn new information without context or connections? ?

It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristeriate large amounts of fevon and then bracter it to quasel Traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge.

THE MONTILLATION OF TRAXOLINE

?Would it be

possible for a student to learn something well enough to ace a test over it… without really understanding the material’s meaning or relevance?

= a= b= c

= d= e

= f

= g= h

= i

a bd

ce f

g h i

If we want to make information meaningful to students, we have two options…

Find an experience they’ve had and hook the new information to it, or…

Create a new experience with them.

1

2

Image Credits by Slide Number

Slide 1. Calvin and Hobbes. Bill Watterson.The Essay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx2Slxp0TkM

Slide 2: A Vision of K-12 Students Todayhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8School Suckshttp://withpraise.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/school-sucks2.jpg

Slide 4: Willingham, Daniel. http://www.danielwillingham.com/

Slide 5: Willingham, Daniel. http://www.danielwillingham.com/

Slides 8-25: Teaching For Understanding. How the Brain Works. Part 1http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/icc/files/Session2/How_the_brain_works_part_1.ppt

Additional Resources21K12. Johnathan Martin. http://21k12blog.net/2009/11/11/arguing-with-willinghams-why-dont-students-like-school/

American Association of Law Libraries. http://aallspectrum.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/review-why-dont-students-like-school-a-cognitive-scientist-answers-questions-about-how-the-mind-works-and-what-it-means-for-the-classroom-by-daniel-t-willingham/

Dialogic. http://dialogic.blogspot.com/2009/04/daniel-t-willingham-why-dont-students.html

K-12 Educational Technology. Steve Hargadon. http://www.stevehargadon.com/2009/11/dan-willingham-on-why-dont-students.html

Learning in a Flat World. Britt Watwood. http://bwatwood.edublogs.org/2009/09/15/why-dont-students-like-school/

Morsie Reads Blog. http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-dont-students-like-school.html

Personalized Education Now. http://blog.personalisededucationnow.org.uk/2010/01/06/education-revolution-e-newsletter-06-01-2010/

Why Don’t Students Like School? Well, Duhhh; Children Don’t Like School Because They Love Freedom. by Peter Gray, Psychology Today

Pyschology Today. Peter Gray. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200909/why-don-t-students-school-well-duhhhh

Teaching For Understanding. How the Brain Works. Part 1. http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/icc/files/Session2/How_the_brain_works_part_1.ppt

Teaching For Understanding. How the Brain Works. Part 2. http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/icc/files/Session2/How_the_brain_works_part_2.ppt

Teaching First Year Students. Galveston Faculty Forum. August 2009. http://www.tamug.edu/acen/Teaching%20First%20Year%20Students-Galveston.ppt

The Pods are Coming! David Truss. http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com

Willingham, Daniel. http://www.danielwillingham.com/