So this book was so awesome I took notes summarising it so you don’t have to read it. Unless you want to. It is a great book.

Why don’t students like school? – Daniel Willingham

• the brain avoids thinking if it can
  • but it like solving problems
  • make sure there are problems to be solved
  • make the problems doable
    • remember working memory (4 bits)
    • must have background knowledge
  • make sure lessons have questions, not just answers
  • give different problems to different people
• factual knowledge must precede skill
  • critical thinking is tied in with background knowledge
  • people understand more if they have more background knowledge
  • background knowledge allows chunking – which increases working memory
  • background knowledge is necessary for cognitive skills
    • a lot of ‘thinking’ is actually remembering
  • people use memory to answer problems a lot
  • reading is the best way to get knowledge
  • teach new content through the lens of similar ideas
  • knowledge needed before skill development
  • get kids to read
  • knowledge acquisition can be incidental
• memory is the residue of thought
  • you remember what you think about
  • if something creates an emotional reaction it is more likely to be remembered
  • wanting to remember has little effect
  • students have to think about the meaning of the material in the right way
    • e. in a way related to the meaning like cause and effect not some weird drawings
  • so linking it to students’ lives is actually distracting
• students just want teachers that are organised and nice to people (can form connections)
• students remember stories
  • stories need: causality, conflict, complications and character
    • include these elements in lesson plans
  • but not too much information in the stories – the reason you remember stories is because you have to do a lot of thinking about htem to figure them out
  • get students to remember by getting them to think about what something means
  • mnemonics – peg word, memory palace, link method, acronym method, first letter method, song
• ask – what will this lesson make students think about?
• use analogies
• explain abstract concepts with familiar examples
  • and get students to compare the analogy to the real thing
• ask questions that target the deep thinking / underlying structure
• practice needed to get better at a mental task
  • to automate them
  • so they don’t use working memory
  • it therefore enables further learning
  • practice also improves transfer
  • practice should be spaced out
  • make practice interesting – mix it up with other skills
• don’t get students to emulate experts – they don’t have enough knowledge
• VAK doesn’t work because it is meaning that is being tested, not VAK skills
• but you can use VAK to vary context, to create engagement
• learn by failure, so you have to do stuff that is hard
• teach study skills
• don’t praise sub-standard work for slower students
• teachers need to practice teaching
  • try and get better
  • seek feedback
  • do things to improve teaching skills (bring it back into the classroom – one thing at a time)
  • film yourself teachingWhy don’t students like school? – Daniel Willingham
    • the brain avoids thinking if it can
      • but it like solving problems
      • make sure there are problems to be solved
      • make the problems doable
        • remember working memory (4 bits)
        • must have background knowledge
      • make sure lessons have questions, not just answers
      • give different problems to different people
    • factual knowledge must precede skill
      • critical thinking is tied in with background knowledge
      • people understand more if they have more background knowledge
      • background knowledge allows chunking – which increases working memory
      • background knowledge is necessary for cognitive skills
        • a lot of ‘thinking’ is actually remembering
      • people use memory to answer problems a lot
      • reading is the best way to get knowledge
      • teach new content through the lens of similar ideas
      • knowledge needed before skill development
      • get kids to read
      • knowledge acquisition can be incidental
    • memory is the residue of thought
      • you remember what you think about
      • if something creates an emotional reaction it is more likely to be remembered
      • wanting to remember has little effect
      • students have to think about the meaning of the material in the right way
        • e. in a way related to the meaning like cause and effect not some weird drawings
      • so linking it to students’ lives is actually distracting
    • students just want teachers that are organised and nice to people (can form connections)
    • students remember stories
      • stories need: causality, conflict, complications and character
        • include these elements in lesson plans
      • but not too much information in the stories – the reason you remember stories is because you have to do a lot of thinking about htem to figure them out
      • get students to remember by getting them to think about what something means
      • mnemonics – peg word, memory palace, link method, acronym method, first letter method, song
    • ask – what will this lesson make students think about?
    • use analogies
    • explain abstract concepts with familiar examples
      • and get students to compare the analogy to the real thing
    • ask questions that target the deep thinking / underlying structure
    • practice needed to get better at a mental task
      • to automate them
      • so they don’t use working memory
      • it therefore enables further learning
      • practice also improves transfer
      • practice should be spaced out
      • make practice interesting – mix it up with other skills
    • don’t get students to emulate experts – they don’t have enough knowledge
    • VAK doesn’t work because it is meaning that is being tested, not VAK skills
    • but you can use VAK to vary context, to create engagement
    • learn by failure, so you have to do stuff that is hard
    • teach study skills
    • don’t praise sub-standard work for slower students
    • teachers need to practice teaching
      • try and get better
      • seek feedback
      • do things to improve teaching skills (bring it back into the classroom – one thing at a time)
      • film yourself teaching