Why Don’t Students Like School?

Daniel T. Willingham

How do students' minds really work, and how can teachers use that knowledge to teach better?

At a glance

You will stop assuming students love to think, since the brain is not designed for thinking
You will understand why students need broad factual knowledge to read well, since writers leave most of their meaning unsaid
You will tell students their intelligence is not fixed, since the evidence shows it is not simply inherited from parents

Why don’t students like school?
Introduction
1. Why Don ’t Students Like School?
2. How Can I Teach Students the Skills They Need When Standardized Tests Require Only Facts?
3. Why Do Students Remember Everything That ’s on Television and Forget Everything I Say?
4. Why Is It So Hard for Students to Understand Abstract Ideas?
5. Is Drilling Worth It?
6. What ’s the Secret to Getting Students to Think Like Real Scientists, Mathematicians, and Historians?
7. How Should I Adjust My Teaching for Different Types of Learners?
8. How Can I Help Slow Learners?
9. What About My Mind?
Conclusion
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