Why Don't Students Like School? A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom

Why Don’t Students Like School? Second Edition features 25% updated material while still honoring the classic, beloved approaches of the original. The book draws its themes from the most frequently asked questions in his "Ask the Cognitive Scientist" column in the American Educator, such as -- How can I teach students the skills they need when standardized testing just requires facts?  Why do students remembers everything on TV, but forget everything I say? How should I adjust my teaching for different learning styles?

The second edition will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn and reveals the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences. This edition will be a valuable resource for both veteran and novice teachers, teachers-in-training, and for the principals, administrators, and staff development professionals who work with them.

DANIEL T. WILLINGHAM is Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several educational books, the columnist for “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” for American Educator, and a fellow of the American Psychological Association. He was appointed in 2017 by President Obama to serve as a Member of the National Board for Education Sciences.

Acknowledgments to the First Edition xi

Acknowledgments to the Second Edition xiii

The Author xv

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 Why Don’t Students Like School? 1

Chapter 2 How Can I Teach Students the Skills They Need When Standardized Tests Require Only Facts? 25

Chapter 3 Why Do Students Remember Everything That’s on Television and Forget Everything I Say? 57

Chapter 4 Why is It So Hard for Students to Understand Abstract Ideas? 95

Chapter 5 Is Drilling Worth It? 119

Chapter 6 What’s the Secret to Getting Students to Think Like Real Scientists, Mathematicians, and Historians?  143

Chapter 7 How Should I Adjust My Teaching for Different Types of Learners? 167

Chapter 8 How Can I Help Slow Learners? 191

Chapter 9 How Can I Know Whether New Technology Will Improve Student Learning?  217

Chapter 10 What About My Mind?  251

Conclusion 273

Glossary 281

Notes 285

Index 291