Short Synopsis
Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham presents his easy-to-apply, scientifically based approaches for engaging students in the classroom.

Full Synopsis
Kids are naturally curious, but when it comes to school it seems like their minds are turned off. Why is it that they can remember the smallest details from their favorite television programs, yet miss the most obvious questions on their history test?

Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham has focused his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning and has a deep understanding of the daily challenges faced by classroom teachers. This book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn—revealing the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences.

In this breakthrough book, Willingham has distilled his knowledge of cognitive science into a set of nine principles that are easy to understand and have clear applications for the classroom. Some examples of his surprising findings are:

—"Learning styles" don't exist. The processes by which different children think and learn are more similar than different.

—Intelligence is malleable. Intelligence contributes to school performance and children do differ, but intelligence can be increased through sustained hard work.

—You cannot develop "thinking skills" in the absence of facts. We encourage students to think critically, not just memorize facts. However, thinking skills depend on factual knowledge for their operation.

Why Don't Students Like School is a basic primer for every teacher who wants to know how their brains and their students' brains work and how that knowledge can help them hone their teaching skills.

"Every teacher and parent should listen two or three times to this fine production.…. Paul Costanzo's well-paced narration brings clarity, conviction, and immediacy.…Highly recommended to students for its explanation of how to use learning time efficiently." ---AudioFile

"Corporate trainers, marketers and, not least, parents---anyone who cares about how we learn---should find his book valuable reading." ---The Wall Street Journal

"This book offers you the research, and the arguments, that will help you become a more effective teacher." ---Joe Riener, English teacher, Wilson High School, Washington, D.C.