Critically Speaking

Dr. John Sweller: Why Johnny Can't Read

Oct 22, 2024

Dr. John Sweller, a cognitive scientist and educational psychologist from the University of New South Wales, discusses the alarming decline in college preparedness among students. He critiques the shift from knowledge acquisition to inquiry-based learning, asserting it harms academic performance. Sweller breaks down his Cognitive Load Theory, explaining how effective teaching methods can enhance memory retention. Finally, he highlights the challenges in reforming education across different systems and the critical role of cognitive science in developing effective teaching strategies.

33:38

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John Sweller

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Quick takeaways

The shift from knowledge acquisition to inquiry-based learning in education has left students underprepared for college-level work.

Cognitive Load Theory emphasizes the importance of explicit instruction for better retention and understanding of materials in students.

Deep dives

The Shift in Educational Approach

The educational system has experienced a significant shift over the past one to two generations, moving away from an emphasis on knowledge acquisition to focus on inquiry-based learning. This change has been troubling for educators, as many students now enter college lacking the foundational knowledge necessary for advanced study. The shift was marked by a preference for teaching students how to acquire knowledge independently, rather than providing them with essential information outright. This focus on self-discovery, termed progressive education reform, has resulted in underprepared students who struggle with traditional academic demands.

Intro

2min

The Shift in Education: From Knowledge Acquisition to Discovery

2min

The Evolution and Efficacy of Inquiry-Based Education

3min

Understanding Cognitive Load in Learning

17min

Challenges in Educational Reform

8min

The Importance of Cognitive Science in Education

2min

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. John Sweller discuss the decline in student preparedness for college and how the modern education system, which has shifted from knowledge acquisition to inquiry-based learning, is at the root of that decline. Dr. Sweller explains his Cognitive Load Theory, breaks down the differences between working memory and long-term memory, and why ineffective teaching methods continue to survive. Finally, they talk about the changemakers in education and how political and bureaucratic intervention can drive educational reform.

Key Takeaways:

Education changed about 1-2 decades ago. The emphasis switched from the acquisition of knowledge to how to acquire knowledge itself. We need to emphasize the acquisition, not the discovery, of knowledge in education.
Students who are subjected to inquiry-based educational approaches do substantially worse on international tests than students who are exposed to a knowledge-rich curriculum. The more emphasis your education system places on inquiry learning, the worse the students do.
If you don’t show students how to do something and they don’t figure it out themselves, it cannot go into long-term memory.
The best way to obtain information is to obtain it from somebody else. If you want to efficiently have somebody learn something, the best way to do it is to have somebody explicitly explain it.

"An educated person who can do things, think about things, solve problems, which otherwise they couldn't dream about solving, is somebody who's got enormous amounts of information in long-term memory, and that immediately tells us what education should be about. You need to have lots of information in long term memory, and an educated person is different from an uneducated person because of that and solely because of that." — Dr. John Sweller

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