S5E23: Richard Wheadon on Teaching Learning Habits and Returning to the Classroom

In Teaching Learning Habits, Richard Wheadon argues schools should explicitly teach students how to learn by applying cognitive science (retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving, cognitive load) and by building supportive habits. The book combines classroom experiments, case studies and reflective prompts designed for teachers, parents and students to experience key memory and learning principles firsthand. Wheadon frames the first half around helping pupils understand learning processes and the second half on behavioural strategies to turn those processes into durable habits. He emphasizes that instruction alone isn't enough; students must be equipped to make better decisions about practice outside lessons and supported to embed desirable but challenging study behaviours. The book aims to produce learners who leave school with expert learning skills applicable through further education and beyond.

This book, first published in 1989, outlines seven habits that are designed to help individuals become more effective in their personal and professional lives. The habits are grouped into three categories: Private Victory (habits 1-3), Public Victory (habits 4-6), and Renewal (habit 7). The habits include being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win-win, seeking first to understand and then to be understood, synergizing, and sharpening the saw. Covey emphasizes the importance of personal integrity, effective time management, empathetic communication, and continuous self-improvement.

In 'Why Don't Students Like School? ', Daniel T. Willingham delves into the cognitive science behind how the human mind works and its implications for teaching. The book addresses ten significant questions about cognition and education, providing evidence-based principles that are actionable for teachers. Willingham argues that the brain is designed to save us from thinking, and thinking is slow and unreliable, but people enjoy mental work when it is successful. He emphasizes the importance of factual knowledge preceding skill, the role of memory in learning, and the need for tasks that pose a moderate challenge to engage students. The book also discusses the limitations of discovery learning, the importance of extended practice, and the need to connect new information to existing knowledge. Willingham's insights aim to help teachers improve their practice by understanding what students are likely to think about and how to maximize the cognitive engagement of their students.