How should I teach?

I once attended a conference where I had been invited by a Ministry of Education to give a presentation on how to align their national curriculum writing process and the methodologies their assessment division should use. 

Just before I was to go on stage, I was approached by a member of the organising committee who asked me “How should I teach?” 

I tried to explain that answering such a question requires far more than a five-minute conversation. Summarising the collective wisdom on effective teaching is no small task. Unfortunately, my response didn’t seem to satisfy them.

Reflecting on that moment, I realized how many critical insights I wish I’d had time to share. In the coming posts, I aim to delve into the work of some of the leading thinkers in education.

So, where to start?

Let’s begin with a man whose insights are both profound and practical: Professor Daniel Willingham, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia. In particular I’m going to focus on his 2009 book, Why Don’t Students Like School? which provides a research-based exploration of how cognitive psychology can inform better teaching practices.

Here are the main points from Willingham’s book:

1. Learning Requires Thinking, and Thinking is Hard

• Key Insight: The brain is not naturally wired for sustained deep thinking. It prefers to rely on memory and avoid effort when possible.
• Implication: Teachers need to design lessons that strike a balance between challenge and achievability to keep students engaged and thinking critically.

2. Memory is the Residue of Thought

• Key Insight: Students remember what they think about most. If lessons don’t provoke deep thought about the material, learning is less likely to occur.
• Implication: Teachers should focus on structuring lessons to encourage meaningful engagement with key concepts rather than surface-level activities.

3. Factual Knowledge Precedes Skill

• Key Insight: Background knowledge is essential for developing skills like reading comprehension, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Without foundational knowledge, skill application is limited.
• Implication: Teachers should emphasize the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge alongside skills, as the two are interdependent.

4. Understanding Requires Connecting New Information to Existing Knowledge

• Key Insight: Learning happens when students can relate new information to what they already know. Isolated facts are hard to remember and less useful.
• Implication: Teachers should scaffold instruction by building on prior knowledge and helping students make meaningful connections.

5. The Role of Working Memory and Cognitive Load

• Key Insight: Working memory has a limited capacity, and overloading it can hinder learning.
• Implication: Teachers need to structure lessons to avoid overwhelming students by breaking tasks into manageable steps and using repetition to reinforce concepts.

6. Practice Makes Perfect—But It Must Be Purposeful

• Key Insight: Mastery comes from repeated practice, but practice needs to be focused and deliberate.
• Implication: Teachers should encourage spaced practice and varied problem-solving to reinforce learning over time.

7. Students are Motivated by Success and Relevance

• Key Insight: Students are more engaged when tasks are appropriately challenging and when they see the value of what they’re learning.
• Implication: Teachers should design tasks that are achievable yet stretch students’ abilities and clearly explain the real-world relevance of the material.

8. Intelligence Can Be Cultivated Through Effort

• Key Insight: While intelligence has a genetic component, effort, and effective strategies significantly impact learning outcomes.
• Implication: Teachers should foster a growth mindset by praising effort and teaching effective learning strategies.