review: Why Students Don't Like School

Graduate Project

Read a professional book of your choice related to literacy in the content area. This book cannot be something you’ve read before.  Write an essay evaluating the book with the following components: Describe three ideas you value and discuss how you would use them in a classroom; what do you wish the book would have answered or described? How does this book relate to theories of education and your teaching philosophy.

The first idea proposed in Daniel Willingham’s book, Why Don’t Students Like School, is that the human mind is not cognitively efficient. In other words, we don’t think very well! As well-adapted as the brain is for sensing stimuli and locomotion, it is underequipped for effective thinking.  The thought process is slow, arduous and error-prone. Our visual system can process a scene instantly, entirely, and accurately, even while our brain is simultaneously engaged in processing other sensory input. But thinking is slow and convoluted and requires intense focus and concentration. It takes time to derive a solution to a problem that we have not encountered before. Often, the solution we end up with is not correct, if we end up with a solution at all. Fortunately, our brains effectively compensate for weak thinking skills by relying on memorized information and coping strategies. This is why we associate everything with a learning curve; once the original work of devising a solution is done (such as finding your way around a new city), the thought process becomes almost effortless (with enough practice, you can drive through the same city while talking on the phone and drinking coffee). 

Despite this innate cognitive handicap, there is still hope for educators. It turns out the gratification of successful mental problem solving can be sufficiently motivating to overcome the inherent obstacles to original thinking.

“Thus, we will seek out opportunities to think, but we are selective in doing so; we choose problems that pose some challenge but that seem likely to be solvable, because these are the problems that lead to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. For problems to be solved, the thinker needs adequate information from the environment, room in working memory, and the required facts and procedures in long-term memory.”

Approaches to support learning that recognize and help overcome cognitive inefficiency include: working within a student’s working memory (i.e. maintaining a manageable instructional pace, using the blackboard to store information), engaging students’ curiosity with challenging but solvable problems, and assigning work to students that respects their individual ability levels. In a science classroom, this might mean allowing students to choose from assignment options that address a study topic at different reading levels. For instance, students could write laboratory reports customized according to reading ability by referring to textbooks and materials written either at/above/or below grade level.

2.       Another idea that Willingham presents is that “factual knowledge must precede skill.” To some extent, this is an indictment of the currently popular educational sentiment that imagination and creativity are more facilitative of learning than acquiring factual information. But Willingham cites research that overwhelmingly shows learning efficiency is correlated with background knowledge. Background knowledge is especially beneficial for reading comprehension because it provides necessary vocabulary, while critical thinking skills and memory are also improved. For example, working memory is conserved by the ability to “chunk” information (mentally combine related concepts), which depends on background knowledge.

Emphasizing background knowledge acquisition in teaching is necessary, but also requires flexibility. For example, determining, “What factual information should students be taught?” will depend on who is asking the question. Although different teachers will have their own perspective and bias, Willingham suggests that “for reading, students must know whatever information writers assume they know and hence leave out.” For the core disciplines, math, science, history, etc., knowledge of the “unifying” or fundamental concepts is critical to support future learning.

The NC standards for each discipline were implemented to address these “core” concepts; additional provision of specific background knowledge to accommodate individual teacher preference and lesson planning may be necessary. For instance, a lesson on dietary requirements should include definitions of terms like “calorie” and “nutrient.”

3.       Finally, Willingham presents evidence that refutes the popular “learning styles” theory of matching instruction to cognitive learning style, common acceptance of the theory not withstanding. Basically, although some students do have strong abilities or talents in a certain area, research does not support the idea that they learn more effectively when instructed in a matching style. Willingham explains: “the different abilities (or intelligences, if you like) are not interchangeable. Mathematical concepts have to be learned mathematically, and skill in music won’t help. Writing a poem about the arc that a golf club should take will not help your swing. These abilities are not completely insulated from one another, but they are separate enough that you can’t take one skill you’re good at and leverage it to bolster a weakness.”

Willingham does support using appropriate modalities to teach relevant concepts, for instance, learning about a foreign country could involve the students listening to a country’s national anthem, wearing symbolic clothing and drawing a map of the geographical features. While these activities may not specifically benefit the students with the targeted abilities, the content will be enhanced and the change in instructional methods will help keep the students’ attention.

           

I think the intent of Willingham’s book was to explain how people think, and not necessarily to provide teaching examples or methods. However, a wonderful companion to the book would be a practical curriculum manual to implement the concepts.

I believe the reason I enjoyed the book as much as I did was because the author was unsentimental about mainstream educational theory. If it was supported by research, worked or was sensible, he supported it. If not, he was straightforward about dispelling any misconceptions. I have been skeptical of the learning styles theory of instruction since I heard about it, and the author reinforced my belief that teaching to match learning styles doesn’t translate to better comprehension as measured by conventional testing. I am also a staunch supporter of emphasizing background knowledge and content to facilitate learning, so it was gratifying to read research that validated this view.

Willingham, Daniel T. (2009-06-10). Why Don't Students Like School: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom (Kindle Locations 401-404). Wiley. Kindle Edition.

Text Set

Levi, P. (1984) [1917]. The Periodic Table. New York: Schocken Books Inc.

Although this collection of short stories is not technically book about science, it was named the greatest science book ever by the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 2006 because it helps the reader to truly understand how chemistry parallels life itself. The Periodic Table includes 21 chapters, each named for an element in the periodic table. Some of the material is fictional and some is autobiographical, drawn from Levi’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor at Auschwitz, but the common thread running throughout is that chemistry offers insights in the reality of how the world and its people coexist. There is one chapter that references how zinc requires an impurity for a reaction in acid to proceed in order to offer a lesson on the fundamental imperative of diversity:

"…the so tender and delicate zinc, so yielding to acid which gulps it down in a single mouthful, behaves, however, in a very different fashion when it is very pure: then it obstinately resists the attack. One could draw from this two conflicting philosophical conclusions: the praise of purity, which protects from evil like a coat of mail; the praise of impurity, which gives rise to changes, in other words, to life. I discarded the first, disgustingly moralistic, and I lingered to consider the second, which I found far more congenial. In order for the wheel to turn, for life to be lived, impurities are needed and the impurities of impurities in the soil, too, as is known, if it is to be fertile. Dissension, diversity, the grain of salt and mustard are needed: Fascism does not want them, forbids them, and that is why you are not a Fascist, it wants everybody to be the same, and you are not."

I envision using chapters of this book to 1. introduce a science concept involving ethics, 2. initiate a classroom discussion about how science reflects reality in the students’ own lives, and 3. model good scientific story telling.  For instance, to start a conversation about how chemistry lessons extend beyond the classroom, there is a chapter in the book “Iron,” that describes how certain elements have qualities that parallel human personalities; these elements either generously share electrons, or selfishly hoard them for themselves. Although science and technical journal articles tend to be dry, they also must tell a story, and it is useful to have books that provide good writing models for students. The writing style of The Periodic Table is both compelling and articulate and will be a useful text for modeling writing skills.

McCall-Smith, A. (2003). The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs. New York: Anchor Books.

This book is one of a series of fictional accounts of a pompous and self-absorbed yet endearingly naïve Romance Philology professor and self-proclaimed expert in the eclectic and archaic study of Portuguese Irregular Verbs.  This book is one of my favorites in the series, highlighted by the chapter describing an excruciatingly awkward situation where the professor is mistaken for a famous veterinarian and called upon at a conference to present a paper he knows nothing about, “Further Studies of Canine Pulmonary Efficiency,” and then even more preposterously, to perform a delicate veterinary procedure on a colleague’s dog. The book is clever and scientifically accurate, but is also fall-over funny, with witty dialog and charming characters. 

My major purpose in using this book would be to humanize scientists, as several of the characters are absolutely spot-on impressions of professors I’ve encountered and the scenarios that develop depict a very humorous but fairly accurate reflection of academia. I envision using it to prompt discussions of what students expectations are about scientists vs. reality. This could be combined with an actual visit to a college classroom or presentation by a visiting professor, so students feel less intimidated and more comfortable asking questions.

Ridley, M. (1999). Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Genome is one of the most readable introductions to molecular biology I have ever come across. There are 23 chapters (one for each chromosome in the human genome) and each chapter addresses a compelling or controversial issue relevant to genetics, with a painstaking and lucid explanation of the science involved. For instance, one chapter references the discovery of an “intelligence gene” but also cites research that demonstrates the role of environmental stimulation in the gene’s expression. Another chapter explains the link between sickle cell anemia and resistance to malaria.

Because this book is so readable, I believe it would be an excellent accompaniment to a more conventional biology textbook. The concepts of systems biology (i.e. genotype > phenotype, DNA > RNA > protein) are simply and elegantly explained so the students get a deeper understanding than from a textbook alone. The issues driving molecular research are helpful in showing the students how the basic concepts are applied and more importantly, why understanding them is important.

Mowat, F. (1963). Never Cry Wolf. New York: Atlantic-Little Brown.

 Never Cry Wolf is an autobiographical account of Farley Mowat’s experiences as a Canadian Wildlife Services biologist where he was assigned to investigate the role of the Arctic wolf in declining caribou populations. Mowat lived closely alongside a wolf pack and his studies disproved multiple misconceptions about wolf behavior and were instrumental in changing the public image of the wolf from a savage killer to an intelligent, social animal with an ecologically beneficial role in the food chain which is necessary for preserving the health of caribou herd.

This book is useful in showing students 1. How a single scientist/writer can make a significant impact on the world, 2. The importance of making informed decisions based on accurate science instead of opinion, and 3. That science is fundamentally the documentation of observations, whether it takes place in an antiseptic laboratory or the Canadian tundra, occasionally fueled by “wolf juice,” (an alcoholic concoction intended for specimen preservation but judiciously consumed by the author to help sustain him in his primitive surroundings). I believe the book could be used to help students understand the scientific method (question, research, construct a hypothesis, experiment to test the hypothesis, analyze data and form a conclusion, and communicate results). 

Strunk, W. Jr. and White, E.B. (2009)[1918]. The Elements of Style (5^th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

The Elements of Style is a brief compilation of guidelines that are useful in developing a good writing style. For instance, it includes a list of words and expressions that are commonly misused and a list of words that are commonly misspelled. My favorite piece of advice is the admonition to “make every word count.”

This book really should be included in every text set in a class that involves writing, in my opinion. Because it is simple and brief, the book is easily read and referenced. I believe it could be provided along with writing assignments and used by students to edit their own and each other’s writing efforts.

6. Adams, C., Thompson A., and Hass, J. (1998) How to Ace Calculus (The Streetwise Guide). New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.

The Streetwise Guide has been one of my favorite books since college, when I unfortunately found it too late to resurrect my poor Calculus grade in high school. I think of it as an antidote to calculus textbooks. Not because it avoids the calculus content, but because it celebrates it. Despite being mathematically rigorous and very thorough, there are jokes, one liners and puns on every page, each concept is illustrated in an entertaining, whimsical way, and examples are easy to follow and very engaging. 

I envision using this book to inspire students to find joy and fun in learning where they absolutely least expect it, and to challenge them to create learning tools for themselves and others that show off their creativity and passion for education.

7. Kipfer, B. A., Chapman, R. L. (2001). Roget’s International Thesaurus (6^th ed.). New York: Harper Collins Publishers

Roget’s Thesaurus was originally published in 1852. It is very thoughtfully organized so that the synonyms for each word are grouped into classes, according to general meaning. This helps the user narrow down a selection of subtly different words to target the one that precisely identifies what he is trying to communicate.

Roget’s Thesaurus is a tool I rely on very heavily when writing, to the point that I won’t write if my thesaurus is not available within arm’s reach or online. I believe the use of a thesaurus is what distinguishes excellent from passable writing. It is a tool I will strongly encourage, if not require, my students to use at every writing opportunity. 

8. Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org/

User-contributed and collaboratively edited Wikipedia entries are currently available in multiple languages, with over 4 million English encyclopedia-type articles. Although Wikipedia is not as formally accurate as a peer-reviewed journal, the Wikipedia article for itself reports that “a 2005 investigation in Nature showed that the science articles they compared came close to the level of accuracy of Encyclopædia Britannica…”

Wikipedia is a resource that most students are already familiar with, so it is a relatively non-intimidating research tool. Wikipedia-based exercises in the classroom could involve the use of Wikipedia as: 1. a method for identifying relevant peer-reviewed journal articles, since Wikipedia articles are referenced with easily accessed hyperlinks to journals, and 2. as a potential outlet for students’ creative contributions to science and education, by editing an existing article or writing their own entries. 

9. PubMed database http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

PubMed is a free database resource that allows users to search for biological/biomedical references and abstracts maintained by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Although the abstracts are freely available, most of the article content is only available by journal subscription, so users may be limited to either free journal articles or proxy access to journals through an academic library. 

I use PubMed every day to find research articles relevant to my work, but it’s also a very useful resource for information related to personal interests such as health. After a brief tutorial about how to use the online PubMed interface, students can be encouraged to research issues that are meaningful to them using PubMed to track down the most current articles. There have been incidences where laypeople were able to find research concerning their medical issues that helped guide their own treatment. Students could choose a disease or health condition to research using PubMed, and report on the most recent or most effective potential treatments that have been published. It may also be a useful exercise to discuss the process of publishing a journal article, and why some journals are considered more prestigious.

10. Nelson, D. L., Cox, M. M. (2012). Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry (6^th ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company

This is the definitive biochemistry textbook, and the most comprehensive and well referenced I’ve used in my years at school and in the lab. The chapter on enzyme kinetics is exceptionally helpful, and I still refer to it. 

I plan to keep a copy of the current edition of this textbook for reference use in the classroom. It is not light reading, and it is written at a college/graduate level, but it is reliably informative and accurate on virtually every fundamental biochemical concept and it is well worth consulting.

Critical Literacy Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan: Wolf Management Programs

Critical Literacy

Objectives	Students will be able to… ·         Develop an informed perspective of wolf management based on research. ·         Identify goals and considerations for wolf management programs. ·         Review existing wolf management legislation to determine its effectiveness. ·         Propose revisions to existing legislation to improve outcome.
Essential Questions	For Students: ·         What factors that must be considered in making decisions that affect wolves? ·         Does your research support the laws that control wolf populations? ·         What concerns do you have about current wolf management? ·         What is the role/responsibility of individuals and the community in developing wildlife management programs? For Educators: ·         How are effective wildlife management programs developed? ·         How is ineffective or unjustified legislation reviewed and improved?
Standards	OBio.2.1 Analyze the interdependence of living organisms within their environments. Bio.2.1.2 Analyze the survival and reproductive success of organisms in terms of behavioral, structural, and reproductive adaptations. Bio.2.1.3 Explain various ways organisms interact with each other (including predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism) and with their environments resulting in stability within ecosystems.
Materials	·         Internet access ·         Book: Never Cry Wolf, by Farley Mowat ·         Article: Never Cry Wolf: Science, Sentiment, and the Literary Rehabilitation of Canis Lupus, a critical review of Never Cry Wolf, by Karen Jones ·         Minnesota state wolf management website: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/wolves/mgmt.html ·         Biologist reports: Livestock depradation by wolves, by Michael Francis, US Bureau of Reclamation  http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=wolfrecovery Do Wolf Tracks and Few Deer in Your Hunting Area Mean What You Think They Mean? By Glenn D. DelGuidice, Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/natural_resources/animals/mammals/wolves/delguidice_wolf_article.pdf   ·         Montana House bill 73:  http://openstates.org/mt/bills/2013/HB73/documents/MTD00005735/ ·         News report about House Bill 73: http://missoulian.com/news/local/legislature-gives-quick-ok-to-expanded-montana-wolf-hunt/article_dd73cd48-7170-11e2-a980-0019bb2963f4.html
Procedure	Never Cry Wolf is an autobiographical account of Farley Mowat’s experiences as a Canadian Wildlife Services biologist where he was assigned to investigate the role of the Arctic wolf in declining caribou populations. Mowat lived closely alongside a wolf pack and his studies disproved multiple misconceptions about wolf behavior and were instrumental in changing the public image of the wolf from a savage killer to an intelligent, social animal with an ecologically beneficial role in the food chain which is necessary for preserving the health of caribou herd.  However, the book has generated considerable and legitimate criticism from many researchers and authorities in the science and wildlife management community. Mowat himself declares that he “never lets facts interfere with the truth,” and so it is the responsibility of the reader to develop an informed opinion about wolves and wolf management by researching the relevant issues. Students will develop an informed perspective on wolf management using their interpretation of Mowat’s book to initiate their own research, and they will ultimately have a better understanding of effective wolf management options in order to help promote effective laws and policy. Procedure: Students will individually read the critical review of Never Cry Wolf to identify the expected scientifically controversial material and then work in groups to objectively read, interpret and evaluate Mowat’s book. Working in approximately eight groups of three students each, each group will be assigned three chapters of the book. Each group will analyze their assigned chapters for possible inconsistencies with factual research. Students will develop charts for the described incidents wolf behavior in each chapter using the prompt: “Does the account of this incident seem plausible?” One column of the chart will itemize incidents that students believe warrant researching and the other column will report the results of their investigation with references cited. Students can use internet or library resources for this comparison. Students will develop conclusions about their assigned chapters and write a brief summary of how their perspective of wolves has evolved to reflect both the book’s sentimental and conservational tone along with factual information either supporting or contradicting the book’s content. Each group will verbally share their chart and conclusions with the class. Interrogate multiple viewpoints by role playing to defend an assigned point of view:                                                               i.      Each group will be randomly assigned a special interest (i.e. conservationist and hunter/rancher) to represent in order to argue their point of view (each of 3 conservationist groups will be matched to 3 opposing hunter/rancher groups). Students will develop their arguments using the provided biologists’ reports and the Minnesota state wildlife management website.                                                               ii.      Based on their research, each group will prepare a short statement defending their position, and will ask (and answer) at least two questions posed by the opposing group they have been matched with. This effectively generates 3 debate teams arguing both sides of the wolf management issue. Disrupt the commonplace by reviewing existing wolf management legislation and suggesting improvements:                                                               i.      Each group will review either the provided wolf management bill (Montana house bill 73) or a bill or policy of their choice and evaluate the proposed legislation for effectiveness based on their previous research and knowledge of wolf behavior. The Montana house bill 73 has been summarized in the provided news report.                                                             ii.      Based on the provided biologists’ reports as well as their own research about wolf behavior, each group will develop suggestions for how to improve the bill that are consistent with research findings.                                                           iii.      The groups will pool their suggestions and a collaborative bill revision will be drafted as a class effort.                                                            iv.      As an exit slip, each student will write a short summary of the class revisions, along with the cited references that they used.                                                              v.      The revised class draft and summaries can be submitted to the state representatives sponsoring the bill. Focus on sociopolitical issues:  Students will be asked to review actual legislation and biological reports, in order to revise existing wolf management laws and develop informed and effective programs. Take action and promote change:  Students are asked to submit their suggestions regarding existing laws to persuade legislators to make necessary revisions.
Assessment	·         Group chart of wolf behavior that is consistent/inconsistent with research ·         Role playing position statements and question/answers from opposing groups ·         Group suggestions for bill revisions ·         Exit slip: individual student summary of all groups’ bill revisions
Modifications	Visual:  Group wolf behavior chart can be posted in the classroom and bill revision suggestions can be written on a white board. Audio:  Students are expected to discuss the book chapters and bill/revisions, and role playing the interest groups will involve a verbal debate process. Kinesthetic:  Students can be encouraged to be physically expressive and move around (using hand motions for emphasis, etc.) when defending their assigned role as conservationists, hunter/ranchers. English Language Learners: Students will work in small groups throughout the lesson, and students will be encouraged to support ESL peers. Elements of the lesson that are challenging for ESL students can be facilitated with support resources (such as providing a news report summarizing a complex legal bill).
Reflection	Strengths: Students are expected to find the lesson engaging and meaningful because it involves both compelling reading/subject material and because they will be involved in a real-world process of legislative bill revision that can actually make a difference in wildlife program administration and wolf management. Students will derive empowerment and feelings of accomplishment from developing expertise in a research area with real-life implications. Areas of improvement and how to modify: Students might find it challenging to defend a position that they are not naturally inclined to defend in the role playing exercise. However, it is expected that students will become more comfortable with this process after doing research and finding legitimate data that supports both sides of the issue. Students might find reviewing a legal bill difficult, even after reading a news report summarizing the bill. The teacher may facilitate this process by breaking the bill down into manageable parts and explaining each part to the class before the groups work on their bill revisions.