"People are not good thinkers"

His first principle is:

"People are naturally curious, but we are not naturally good thinkers; unless the cognitive conditions are right, we will avoid thinking."

This is a principle well known in vision therapy. It is critical to have a patient engaged in the task but not overwhelmed. If the task is too easy they will get bored and if the task is too complicated they will give up. It is very helpful to understand that humans do not thrive on thinking. He points out that humans are not good at thinking but good at avoiding thinking. Humans are good at adapting to a task. This is discussed in detail in regards to reading in a book I am starting (Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf). Reading is new to humans and shows our incredible ability to adapt to a new task.

He points out that thinking has three unfavorable characteristics:

• It is slow
  
• It requires effort
  
• It is uncertain
  

Therefore, most people rely on memory and only think when it is necessary. People do enjoy working at mental tasks if they can solve the problem. If it is too complex they will not stay engaged and too easy they will be bored. It is critical for a student to be right at that point of being challenged just enough to stay engaged but not give up.



If you are a teacher he gives sound advice at the end of each chapter on how to integrate this information in the classroom. I will list the advice here in hope that it will interest some to get the book for the details:

• Be Sure That There Are Problems to Be Solved
  
• Respect Student's Cognitive Limits
  
• Clarifying the Problems to be Solved
  
• Reconsider When to Puzzle Students
  
• Accept and Act on Variation in Student Preparation
  
• Change the Pace
  
• Keep a Diary
  

 

Why Don’t Students Like School?

By Daniel T. Willingham

Daniel Willingham is a cognitive scientist who is writing this book mainly for teachers. He uses nine principles to break down some myths about how we learn that are fairly commonly held. A brief paraphrasing of his principles are as follows:

1. Humans are not good at thinking
   
2. Factual knowledge must precede skill
   
3. Memory is the residue of thought (one of my favorites)
   
4. We understand new things by their analogy to things we concretely know
   
5. Practice is important
   
6. Thinking is different if you are new to a subject than if you are an expert
   
7. Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn (or there are not "Learning Styles" the way most people understand this term)
   
8. Intelligence can be changed
   
9. Teaching must be practiced to be improved
   

I will go through my understanding of his book by each principle and relate it to what we see in students with visual processing problems. It will be impossible to fully understand the reasoning behind his principles without getting the book and working through some of the problems and stories he uses to illustrate the science behind the principles. I hope that some readers get his book and benefit from it.

My Stack of Stuff

Dr. Willingham is reviews much of the current science behind how we learn. In doing so he breaks down several myths about learning. I find it a fascinating read and it makes sense based on the experience we have working with people with leaning problems. I look forward to sharing some of what is in his book. I would highly recommend this book for any teacher. He writes in a very casual style that is easy to read.

The Purpose of VLC blog

I am interested in many topics related to how we as humans develop our vision. This topic has relates to many aspects of human behavior. I will focus mostly on the books and scientific literature I read related to visual processing. I hope to share some thoughts that may be of value to those who work with people with learning problems or who are interested in how to we can help all people enhance their reading and learning abilities.