"Why Don't Students Like School"- Chapter 1

At the end of chapter 1 of Daniel Willingham's Why Don't Students Like School? he suggests teachers keep a diary, because "the ravages of memory can surprise us." (p.22) With that in mind, I thought it'd be valuable for me to write respond to a brief sampling of profound quotes from each chapter of the book as I read. I look forward to discussing this chapter further with the #sschatbook club next week.

The implication of this principle is that teachers should reconsider how they encourage their students to think, in order to maximize the likelihood that students will get the pleasurable rush that comes from successful thought. (p.3)

It's important for me to always remember in the classroom that the goal is successful thought, and not brain busting for the sake of it. As much as I love the struggle of difficult thoughts and theorems, it's also important for me to remember that in order for me to lead my students they need to be following; I need to create opportunities that yield results for their efforts. Struggle void of results or conclusion could have adverse effects moving forward.

In sum, successful thinking relies on four factors: information from the environment, facts in long-term memory, procedures in long-term memory, and the amount of space in working memory. If any one of these factors is inadequate, thinking will likely fail. (p.18)

After reading the first chapter of this book, it's apparent that I have always over estimated the human ability and capacity to think; it's not what our brain naturally wants to do.  I immediately think back to many a time when I've advised a puzzled student to "just think about it," and the fruitless effort that usually was. Perhaps I need to more carefully calculate the conditions I set up with my critical thinking activities and questions.  I certainly need to focus more precisely on the priority objective of the lesson, and ensure appropriate conditions for best results.

If they lack the appropriate background knowledge, the question you pose will quickly be judged as 'boring.' (p.19)

Yesterday my wife asked me to look for a coupon on an app she has on her phone. We have the same phone, so I was easily able to find the coupon app, open it, and even type Carters in the search bar. But, as soon as the hidden step that I couldn't immediately figure out stumped me, I turned off the phone and put it back in her purse. My exact quote, embarrassingly enough, was "whatever, it's broken; it's stupid." Willingham explains throughout the chapter that optimal conditions must be present for successful thought to happen, and my anecdote above highlights what happens to attempted thought at non-opportune times; phones get called stupid, and a subject is immediately labeled boring. In the classroom I need to be aware of my timing and intentionality. For critical thinking to be promoted and appreciated, it needs to happen at the right times with the necessary resources and conditions.

I'm excited to continue reading this book and the others on my summer book list, and look forward to applying what I learn next school year. I have never read anything about cognitive psychology, so it is certainly a gap in my knowledge waiting to be filled.