Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Section 4 pages 127-168

Why Students Don’t Like School, Chapters 6 & 7
Chapter 6: “The cognitive principle that guides this chapter is: Cognition early in training is fundamentally different from cognition late in training.” This whole chapter is a discussion of the differences between the way novices think (early cognition) and the way expert s think (late cognition). Novices or students think in terms of surface knowledge, where experts think in terms of functions, or deep structure (p133). Experts are able to transfer information and think in the abstract, where the novice does not have the background knowledge to make the connections. Experts create new knowledge where students or novice are able to comprehend but not able to create.
Novices have to put in their time to become experts. They may have learned the same information, but knowing how to apply and use it takes time and practice….”the importance of practice is that we can’t become experts until we put in our hours. (p.139).” Researchers also have what is known as the “ten-year rule”, stating that you can not be an expert with less than ten years of experience in that field regardless of the field. I could not agree more with this statement. Thinking is not easy, and it takes persistence, patience’s, and practice.
Ch7: “The cognitive principle guiding this chapter is: Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn.” Many different styles of learning are sited in this chapter. However, …”students will learn better when instruction matches their cognitive style (p. 155).” He also states that regardless of the distinct learning style of the student, exposure to all different strategies and styles will benefit the learner. Wilingham does give the teacher credit. Using their expertise and choosing strategies wisely will reach all learners.

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