Daniel Willingham visit in May

Daniel Willingham has earned a reputation for debunking pseudo-neuroscience such as the one that gained much popularity in the education community that stated people can be classified according to their style of learning, an idea for which there is very little evidence (see https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628315589505). He applies research findings to K-16 education (see the August 2015 article in The Atlantic "When Knowledge is Unforgettable,” where he urges for refocusing education policy debates that "tend to focus on structural issues—things like teacher quality, licensure requirements, and laws governing charter schools. But research on human memory indicates that academic content and the way it is sequenced—i.e., curriculum—are vital determinants of educational outcomes, and they’re aspects that receive insufficient attention.”) Willingham is Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, having earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University in 1990. His blunt views can be found in his “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator magazine, in his blog, podcasts and interviews, in opinion pieces in The Atlantic, New York Times, Washington Post, and in his books Why Don't Students Like School?, When Can You Trust the Experts?, and Raising Kids Who Read. The Department of Education is excited to announce a public presentation by Professor Willingham on Monday, May 16 at 4pm in B03 Moore Hall.