Willingham's Theory

Question 1

Criticisms of Willingham’s theory

Answer 1

・Willingham’s learning theory emphasises nurture over nature, but this ignores the fact that some students may have innate needs that might require a certain way of teaching, regardless of the content
・certain things might benefit from being drilled in many students, like learning times tables
by rote chanting, despite Willingham’s
misgivings
・many teachers believe that it is important for students to carry out experiments
themselves - - >it helps them to understand issues like reliability and controlling extraneous
variables.
・ Willingham ignores the fact that children might be conditioned to learn kinaesthetically
because that’s how they were taught when they were very young

Question 2

Willingham’s Theory

Answer 2

・learning methods like kinaesthetic learning, visual learning, and auditory learning are myths
・there is no reason for students to do experiments since they don’t have the mindset of a scientist

Question 3

Willingham’s Theory 2 - solution

Answer 3

・children should focus on the meaning more when learning something
・if you can link something to something you already know, it’s more likely that it will be stored in long term memory