The document compares the key findings of "How People Learn" to Willingham's principles of pedagogy. There are both similarities and differences between the two. Some similarities include that background knowledge is important for learning new concepts, and that factual knowledge is needed before developing skills. Differences include that Willingham believes instruction should be based on the content rather than individual learning styles, and that he places more emphasis on what students think about during learning. The author finds Willingham's methods more helpful as they focus on using the best instructional approach for the topic and considering students' thoughts during learning.

1. David Schlusselberg
Foundations – Week 10 – Cognition
Compare the Key Findings of "How People Learn," with Willingham's pedagogical
principles.What are the similarities and differences?
Similarities
1. Willingham - “We understand new things in the context of things we already know”
"How People Learn”–“Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world
works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and
information that aretaught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their
preconceptions outside the classroom.”
Both agree that background information is fundamental to one’s forward progress in learning. A
great teacher must gather a student’s background knowledge in order to tweak (not re-teach) the false
information so that students have an accurate picture of what it is they are going to be building their
knowledge on.
2. Willingham - “Cognitive science has shown that what ends up in a learner’s memory is not
simply the material presented--it is the product of what the learner thought about when he or
she encountered the material”
"How People Learn” – “Some children have beenfound to hold onto their preconception of a flat
earth by imagining a round earth to be shaped like a pancake.”
Although this quote from "How People Learn” is in line with the first similarity I mentioned above, I
do think it sheds light on the visual dimension of the learner. We clearly see that when a child is
taught information, he/she pictures that information in their mind. This example demonstrates that
our imagination plays a strong role in how we learn information. We see that if our mental image is
inaccurate, it will take a longer time to replace that information with an accurate mental model.

2. 3. Willingham- “Factual knowledge precedes skill.”
"How People Learn” – “To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must: (a) have a
deep foundation of factual knowledge.”
In order to advance ones academics, one must have a foundation of factual knowledge. Whether that
further pursuit is a “skill” or to, “to develop competence in an area of inquiry,” a base of factual
knowledge must exist.
4. Willingham – “The students’ knowledge has meaning (unlike rote knowledge), in that the
students understand each isolated part, but their knowledge lacks the deeper meaning that
comes from understanding the relationship among the parts.”“Cognition is fundamentally
different early and late in training.”
"How People Learn” - To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must: (a) have a
deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a
conceptual framework, and (c) organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and
application.
Both agree that a novice is on a different level of understanding than that of an expert. A novice may
be able to have facts memorized, but may have difficulty connecting facts to form a greater context
and conceptual framework. On the other hand, an expert knows how to use facts of information to
connect to one another, and to build a deeper knowledge based off of those facts that he already
understand within its context.
5. Willingham – “Proficiency requires practice.”
"How People Learn” - Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many
examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a firm foundation of factual
knowledge.
In all areas of life, practice makes perfect. For a teacher to successfully ensure that the students
acquire the information taught, the teacher must provide ample examples and constant reinforcement
of the knowledge being learnt.

3. Differences
1. Willingham - “Children are more alike than different in learning.” Oops! If Willingham is
correct, most teachers have wasted a lot of in-service time on identifying visual, auditory and
kinesthetic learners. Willingham asserts that even though people have different abilities and
preferences, it is the content that should determine the mode of instruction. Using a variety of
instructional strategies in the classroom is good practice for all students.
"How People Learn” - Focusing on how people learn also will help teachers move beyondeither-
or dichotomies that have plagued the field of education.
Willingham notes that teachers should use different modes of teaching based on the information that
is being taught. Willingham writes that many teachers falsely believe that every child learns
differently, which is why teachers use different techniques to appeal to different learning modes
amongst students. Willingham would say that if you are learning geography, than the best way to
teach the information would be through visual techniques since geography is a topic that is best
learnt through a visual aid. Others would argue that some students are auditory learners, and some
are visual learners etc. They maintain that the teacher should use different modes of teaching based
on the students preferred method.
2. Willingham - “Cognitive science has shown that what ends up in a learner’s memory is not
simply the material presented--it is the product of what the learner thought about when he or
she encountered the material”“There is one factor that trumps most others in determining
what is remembered: what you think about when you encounter the material.”
There is deliberately no quote from "How People Learn” because it is simply not addressed in the
article. Willingham places a strong emphasis on what students think. Willingham believes that a
teacher must always gear a lesson based on what they expect a student to think about throughout each
segment of the lesson.
Which do YOU find more helpful and why?
I find Willingham’s methods of cognition to be more helpful. I feel that it is more helpful
to construct a lesson based on the best mode of learning for that topic. When learning about how

4. Bnei Yisrael camped in the dessert, I used a picture to convey how they camped, because I knew
that would be most helpful. For me to always teach a “visual learner” through pictures would be
almost useless when learning about certain concepts. When discussing why korach decided to
rebel against Moshe, it wouldn’t be beneficial to draw a picture for something that is based off of
a narrative text. I try to gear my lessons towards thinking about what I want to teach, and what
method will be most effective in ensuring the students will process the information. I also feel
that Willingham makes a correct point that a teacher must always be aware of what the student is
thinking about throughout the lesson. It is important for a teacher to envision how a child will
process the information, and what they will be thinking about when presented new information.