Here's a book I am going to read. It appears from this review in Wall Street Journal to be an often-iconoclastic look by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham at the process of learning. The reviewer says the book is not only for classroom teachers but also "[c]orporate trainers, marketers and, not least, parents -- anyone who cares about how we learn." From "How to Wake Up Slumbering Minds":
In "Why Don't Students Like School?" he poses nine questions that a teacher might want to ask a cognitive scientist -- beginning with the question in the title -- and then answers each, citing empirical studies and suggesting ways for teachers to improve their practice accordingly. ...
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The trendy notion that each person has a unique learning style comes under an especially withering assault. "How should I adjust my teaching for different types of learners?" asks Mr. Willingham's hypothetical teacher. The disillusioning reply: "No one has found consistent evidence supporting a theory describing such a difference. . . . Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn."
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The trendy notion that each person has a unique learning style comes under an especially withering assault. "How should I adjust my teaching for different types of learners?" asks Mr. Willingham's hypothetical teacher. The disillusioning reply: "No one has found consistent evidence supporting a theory describing such a difference. . . . Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn."
I will blog about this book once I have read it.
Note: I am not convinced by the Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic learning styles as I have blogged about before.
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