Book Review - Why Don't Students Like School by Daniel T. Willingham

Willingham has written a thoughtful and insightful book about cognitive science. He describes current understanding of how the mind works and the possible impact of this research on life in schools and classrooms. 

"The mind is at last yielding its secret to persistent scientific investigation. We have learned more about how the mind works in the last twenty-five years than we did in the previous twenty-five hundred."

The main findings from this book indicate the importance of factual knowledge to children's development, "thinking well requires known facts".  Willingham discusses the importance of working memory and uses the imagery of allocated slots. It is important not to overburden the working memory. To achieve this, teachers need to organise deliberate practice for their students. This must be maintained over time and can be folded into more advanced skills. This moves knowledge from working memory to long term memory and avoids overload by becoming automatic (e.g.like driving a car).

I agree with the important message though that drives through this book, that we should make students think deeply, but in order to achieve this, shallow learning and practice is sometimes needed. Unfortunately in recent times in the UK this has been ignored in pursuit of fluff, show lessons that are thought to impress OFSTED, but do not aid the overall development of students and often distract students from thinking about what they are supposed to. Practise automatices knowledge from working memory to long term memory and allows the brain to work more efficiently and fluidly. The idea of conceptual understanding is not rubbished but he promotes a balanced approach between procedural and conceptual development. Connections between topics and previous learning are also important because they reduce the stress on working memory and develop proficiency. 

The ideas of hooks are also promoted. Interestingly, it is suggested to try these in the middle of the lesson rather than the usual start or end. Hooks are very useful in allowing the brain to make connections and help to develop a deeper understanding of topics.

He states we should, "strive for deep understanding in your students, not the creation of new knowledge" (that will come later). The vast majority of top mathematicians, scientists etc. have got there because they have developed core knowledge and then have worked hard to excel in their particular field. I have also considered it strange how some of the highest academics criticise the path to how they have excelled. It is like a walker crossing a log on a fast moving stream and then kicking it away so others cannot cross in the same way. This is an important message and one that slightly differs from other books I have read - particularly in the field of maths education, where the message is to try to get students to think like elite mathematicians. Often this has happened through the promotion of calculators or more recently WolframAlpha as a substitute for basic knowledge. Although these products are useful, ignoring the basics does not benefit students in the long term. Again it is important to emphasise, higher order thinking is important but must not be done at the expense of basic skills that underpin subjects.

Willingham's chapter about intelligence is very similar to the work completed by Dweck. (See previous post about Grit and a Growth Mindset). Intelligence although partly dependent on genetics and environment is not fixed. "Intelligence can be changed through sustained hard work". This message is extremely important to us as educators. For if it was fixed what would be the point of education? This has particular resonance in mathematics in the Western World where often there is a stigma around the subject and people strongly believe they simply cannot do it because of some inherited fault. Willingham highlights the folly of this idea and with hard work everyone can improve.

Willingham's last chapter focuses on teacher development. He believes teachers need to deliberately practice to improve. He provides a comprehensive approach to this using video, teacher feedback and other ideas. I liked the simplicity of an idea earlier in the book where two skills of teaching were highlighted: organisation and relationships. I look forward to trying out some of these ideas in the new academic year.

At the heart of teaching is to try to make students think. This book provides powerful insight in how to achieve this.