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Why Don’t Students Like School?

by Jamie Bryant, Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications
 
Providing a high quality teaching and learning experience requires a solid understanding of how students learn and who they are as learners.  David Padilla, Head of School, and Angela Allen, Associate Head of School, have worked closely over the past year to structure a relationship between CCES and Dr. Daniel Willingham, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia and author of Why Don’t Students Like School, whose work is grounded in cognitive science and its application to the field of education.
 
“I've known Dan since 2013 and have worked with him on several occasions,” said Padilla, “so I was pretty confident I knew what we'd be getting, a rich experience for our faculty and a day that made sense.”
 
Dr. Willingham earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University in 1990.  Until about 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory.  Today, all of his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-16 education.  In 2017 he was appointed by President Obama to serve as a Member of the National Board for Education Sciences.
 
“This is the perfect partnership as we explore how the mind works to implement research-based instructional strategies that positively impact both teaching and learning,” said Allen. “Through this work we have two concrete goals. First to empower teachers to look for ways to couple what we know about the brain and learning with who our students are as individuals to create meaningful and impactful learning in the classroom through reflective teaching.  Secondly, we want to empower students to know how their brain works to create agency around their own learning experiences.”
 
Faculty are using his book as their anchor text and will work with Dr. Willingham throughout the school year. Allen says that while this work is never truly complete, faculty will take this school year to intently focus on how cognitive-based research can inform their instruction.
 
In addition to working with our faculty, Dr. Willingham will hold two workshops for our parents and select community members.  The first took place on August 16th in the Hartness Performing Arts Center.  Dr. Willingham reviewed fundamental findings— that academic success requires hard work, which will, at least some of the time, not be very fun for children; that praising or rewarding children for good grades is a double-edged sword; and what is likely the most successful parenting technique is the most subtle— the communication of family values.  Over 150 parents attended.
 
Faculty worked with Dr. Willingham all day on August 17th.  “He not only framed things we might think about; he also modeled what teaching and learning look like,” Padilla said.  “It was for these reasons that Angela and I thought he would be the perfect person to kick off the 2021-2022 school year.”  Dr. Willingham will continue to be a resource for our community throughout the year.  
 
“Regardless of our role(s) at CCES,” said Padilla, “we are a community of teachers--all of us--because we are a community of learners. If we're going to expect our students to do it, we must model it ourselves.”
 
 
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Christ Church Episcopal School (“CCES”) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at CCES. CCES does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, scholarship or other programs, or athletic or other school-administered programs and activities.