EconTalk Daniel Willingham on Education, School, and Neuroscience
Oct 12, 2009
Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and author of Why Don't Students Like School?, explores the intricacies of cognitive science and education. He reveals why the brain often opts for memory shortcuts over deep thinking, and the importance of memory in problem solving. Willingham emphasizes the necessity of factual knowledge for critical reasoning and discusses the balance needed in math education. He also highlights the traits of effective teachers, like subject mastery and strong relationships with students.
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Brains Prefer Memory To Hard Thinking
- Thinking is slow, unreliable, and effortful, so the brain prefers memory-based shortcuts.
- Daniel Willingham argues we avoid thinking when possible and default to memory for routine choices.
Memory Selects What We Think About
- Memory is selective and doesn't record everything like a video camera.
- Willingham says deep processing and links to prior knowledge determine what gets stored.
Actively Process To Improve Recall
- Wanting to remember helps only if it guides how you process information in the moment.
- Use deliberate deep processing and connect new material to prior knowledge to improve recall.
