 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | Easy-to-apply, scientifically-based approaches for engaging students in the classroom Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham focuses his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning. His book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn. It reveals-the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences. - Nine, easy-to-understand principles with clear applications for the classroom
- Includes surprising findings, such as that intelligence is malleable, and that you cannot develop "thinking skills" without facts
- How an understanding of the brain's workings can help teachers hone their teaching skills
"Mr. Willingham's answers apply just as well outside the classroom. Corporate trainers, marketers and, not least, parents -anyone who cares about how we learn-should find his book valuable reading."-Wall Street Journal |
Average Customer Rating:   "Brain Research" for Teachers! I get tired of hearing the phrase, "Brain research shows..." to prove whatever point teachers are trying to show at the time. Whether it is about the importance of play, the use of movies, standing on your head before a test, or studying on the toilet, educators pull these three words and throw them down on the table like the trump card they've been saving to illuminate a point. The problem is that most teachers, including me, have no idea about brain research or even where to begin. Because of this, I sought to find a book to offer a basic understanding for dum-dums like me.
The subtitle of this book is, "A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for your classroom." This is a better explanation for the information, as I still don't know why students don't like school (perhaps it has something to do with me!). I suppose I could sum up the book as follows:
1. People are naturally curious.
2. Teachers create "problems" far too easy or too difficult.
3. Students do not have background information necessary to engage a problem, thus making it easy to quit.
4. Teachers present information in a disconnected way, thus students cannot remember background information to address critical thinking problems.
5. Students sit and force themselves to hold back both sleep and drool, while dreaming about that cute girl sitting in the front.
6. Students are no longer curious.
As I read, I made liberal notes throughout, and it will be a book to revisit. If you are a teacher, I think that you'll find this to be an important work for your professional growth. At face value, here are the three main points that I have thought most about since completing this:
1. As I already listed, people are naturally curious. I like this idea, and I must remember it as I teach. Am I creating problems that challenge students to think and wrestle with in class, problems that are still within their reach for success? Reducing the amount of other work to focus on more of this kind of work is something that I want to do. This includes offering more opportunities for students to play with language and words. Sometimes, I forget about this as I try to meet content standards.
2. Memorization is important, as it provides the building blocks for critical thinking. The author is not suggesting long lists of information to remember. However, in order for our brains to conquer a problem, basic materials are needed. This could be definitions, word parts, poetry, multiplication tables, etc. Modern teaching often belittles memorizing as outdated pedagogy, but when students do not know the times tables or what the definition of an allusion is, the critical thinking engagement is crippled.
3. The effectiveness of "multiple intelligences" is over-emphasized in education. According to Wellingham, educators put too much stock in this, as there does not seem to be different intelligences, rather strengths and talents. We do students a disservice when we tell them that they are smart in some area, even if they are not the same. His suggestion is that we focus on varying the lessons (sometimes visual, using music, acting, etc.) rather than on each student. This is the area that teachers will squirm and protest the most. Multiple intelligences are the sacred cows of education. If you don't believe me, as a teacher you know about them. Their eyes will light up as they tell you about how they had students act out what a commas does or sing about a Picasso painting.
Why Don't Students Like School? is the perfect primer for educators to get a peek into the complex and deep world of brain research. I still won't use "brain research shows..." in my next conversation, but I found this book a good first step in understanding how it relates to education. Make a Difference This book is an excellent resource for teachers. It should probably be required reading somewhere along the line. It really addresses how students think and learn and what teachers often do wrong. This book will really challenge teachers to carefully consider how they teach. Willingham clearly distinguishes between myths and best practices. His desire really does seem to be equipping teachers to make school more productive and enjoyable for the students. very pleased with the book; loved this author The book was ok. Ordering was the problem for me. Be sure when you order, you have a confirmation on your email by the next day. Otherwise that is a red flag that there was a misunderstanding about your order. My book arrived in time for my college class, despite a small problem ordering. Make sure you push the submit order button. vl Why Don't Children Like School: great book, bad luck about the title This is a very useful text for teachers interested in the implications of neuroscience research for their classroom teaching. It takes the reader slowly and carefully through the research, providing plenty of examples, (consistent with the research!). I particularly like the fact that Willingham provides the diagram on how the brain works several times, not leaving the reader to recall or search back through the book.
If you want to understand how learning style theory has devolved into folk-science, or why discovery learning is such a risky choice for many students, read this book. It is logically structured around 9 main principles, and is easily followed, even for the novice.
Another positive is that at the end of each chapter is a list of references so that you can check the evidence, or read further.
The only unfortunate aspect of this text is the title: while 'Why Don't Children Like School' might be catchy, it is based on the questionable assertion that children don't like school. That will not be the opinion of many teachers and may discourage them from reading this book which would be a pity. A Necessity for Teachers I've been teaching for 30 years, but I do try to stay fresh with current research about teaching. This book changed some of my most basic assumptions about how students learn, but it also reinforced some of my personal observations gained through classroom experience. It's easily readable with plentiful anecdotes to flesh out the research findings. It should be required reading for teachers! |  |
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