Why Don't Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

by Daniel T. Willingham (Author)

193 customer reviews

Quality issues reported

ISBN-13: 978-0470591963

ISBN-10: 047059196X

Why is ISBN important?

Kindle App Ad

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Share <Embed>

Buy

$15.76

eBook features:

Highlight, take notes, and search in the book
Page numbers are just like the physical edition
Length: 241 pages
Word Wise: Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

Available on these devices:

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

includes VAT

Digital List Price: $21.14

Print List Price: $19.95 Save $5.38 (27%)‎

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Enter a promotion code or Gift Card

See all 10 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$15.76

—

—

"Please retry"

$32.40

"Please retry"

$18.95

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

MP3 CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$23.86

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

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Peter C. Brown

437

Kindle Edition
$18.49
Daniel T. Willingham

14

Kindle Edition
$12.99
Daisy Christodoulou

17

Kindle Edition
$19.22
Craig Barton

13

Kindle Edition
$9.99
Daniel T. Willingham

35

Kindle Edition
$13.00
Daniel T. Willingham

40

Kindle Edition
$12.99

Try Kindle Countdown Deals
Explore limited-time discounted eBooks. Learn more.

Product details

File Size: 3878 KB
Print Length: 241 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 047059196X
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 10, 2009)
Publication Date: June 10, 2009
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B002DOSB3Y
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,166 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #52 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Teaching > Teacher Resources > Student Life
- #74 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Teaching > Teacher Resources > Education Theory > Research
- #133 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Teaching > Teacher Resources > Education Theory > Educational Psychology

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

Be the first video

Your name here

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

See all 193 customer reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Lionel S. Taylor

A Clear Explination of How Learning Occurs and What Teachers Can Do to Facilitate It

June 20, 2015

Verified Purchase

This book is a easy to read explanation of some of the main obstacles that students face when trying to learn new material and what teachers can do to help them overcome them. Willingham is cognitive psychologist that has been working in the education field for a long time and he is very familiar with a lot of what passes for research in this field and the many fads that have come and gone in education that promised to improve student performance. His book is not one of those types. As a matter of fact much of his book my seem a little dry and common sense but what it is psychological principles that have been proven to work not in education but in life in general. Things such as practice and repetition being the best way to learn something that you would never hear in some of the other "research based" educational books.
I have to say that I was also a little surprised in that I was expecting this book to be a refutation of a lot of the stuff that I had learned in my other educational classes. But what I actually found was that it was actually suggesting some of the same things but in a much clearer and less convoluted way. That seems to be the problem with a lot of educational literature the authors seem very self conscious about what they are saying and feel the need to use a bunch of confusing jargon and site all these studies to prove that what they are saying is relevant. That is not the case at all with this book and the result is something that is actually readable that doesn't require to buy some new educational product or start calling something that you have been doing for a long time by a different name. I highly recommend this book.

3 people found this helpful

Comment

Through a Brain Darkly

September 25, 2009

Verified Purchase

Daniel Willingham, cognitive scientist, aims this book at teachers, parents, and anyone else curious about what works, what doesn't work, what should be taught, and what shouldn't be taught by educators. To an experienced teacher, most of his findings are reaffirming. Some, however, are news and go against "accepted educational pedagogy" (quotes to show that most educators know that "accepted" is an inside joke of sorts in our business). The nine principles Willingham forwards in this book, in his own words, are as follows:

1. People are naturally curious, but they are not naturally good thinkers.
2. Factual knowledge precedes skill.
3. Memory is the residue of thought.
4. We understand new things in the context of things we already know.
5. Proficiency requires practice.
6. Cognition is fundamentally different early and late in training.
7. Children are more alike than different in terms of learning.
8. Intelligence can be changed through sustained hard work.
9. Teaching, like any complex cognitive skill, must be practiced to be improved.

Willingham devotes a chapter to each principle, delving into what you should know about the students and what the most important classroom implication is for teachers. Number Two highlights the importance of background knowledge and how much of a drag it is on students who lack it. Number Five defends the old-school prescription of practice, practice, practice, but asterisks it with "without boring the students." And the biggest surprise (to me) is Number Seven, which basically says that knowledge of students' learning styles is a lot of hooey. "Lesson content, not student differences," should drive decisions on teaching, says Willingham. So much for Gardner's Intelligences, etc.

Overall, an interesting read, if at times repetitive. One distraction was the small font used to print this book. Why? Also, some teachers may feel that the bulk of the book merely reaffirms what they've already learned in the trenches. So be it. It's still good to see the experts reaffirming your practices based on the latest research on the brain.

22 people found this helpful

Comment

Willingham has brought together the best of brain study with a thorough

July 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book is a fascinating look at what goes on in the minds of students (and in our own minds as adults). Based on his years of research as a cognitive scientist, Dr. Willingham has brought together the best of brain study with a thorough, practical understanding of how our day plays out as teachers, and has combined the two in fascinating information and helpful suggestions for the classroom. His tips are not esosteric; while he understands the importance of repetition for learning, for example, he doesn't recommend that students simply repeat information until they've learned it; he knows that that would be disastrous for our classrooms! Rather, he shows us fun, engaging ways to prepare our students by giving them the background and skills necessary to become thinkers and experts in their chosen fields.

I know the information I gained will help me become a better teacher. It will help my students be better learners. But even more than that, it will help me be a better student and a better learner, myself.

I loved this book and I definitely recommend it.

One person found this helpful

Comment

Amazon Customer

Very interesting and well-supported book.

January 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

I really liked this book. It is written by a cognitive scientist. I bought the book as sort of a fun read after a semester of reading books for classes. It seemed like a good title. Who wouldn't want to know why students don't like school? The book ends up being more about how brain functions affect what happens in school. It doesn't answer the question of why students don't like school as much as it does give positive advice about how to help students like school and be successful. There were a few concepts in the book that were counter intuitive and surprising. For example, one of the ideas that goes against current style is the idea that students need to have background knowledge before they can do things like critical thinking. At the end of each chapter, the author gives some professional sources that delve deeper into the topics. If you are involved in education and like to think about how brain functions affect school, this is the book for you.

Comment

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

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

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

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

Set up a giveaway

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Peter C. Brown

437

Kindle Edition
$18.49
Daniel T. Willingham

14

Kindle Edition
$12.99
James M. Lang

43

Kindle Edition
$14.99
Susan A. Ambrose

101

Kindle Edition
$27.96
Julie Dirksen

110

Kindle Edition
$21.69
Joe McCullough

49

Kindle Edition
$3.99

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.

Would you like to report poor quality or formatting in this book? Click here

Would you like to report this content as inappropriate? Click here

Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? Click here

English United States

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads
© 1996-2018, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates