Schools for Thought – A Science of Learning in the Classroom - Hardcover

Bruer, John T

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262023520 ISBN 13: 9780262023528

Publisher: MIT Press, 1993

Synopsis

If we want to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all children, we must start applying what we know about mental functioning - how children think, learn and remember - in our schools. We must apply cognitive science in the classroom. "Schools for Thought" provides a straightforward, general introduction to cognitive research and illustrates its importance for educational change. Using classroom examples, Bruer shows how applying cognitive research can dramatically improve students' transitions from lower-level rote skills to advanced proficiency in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Cognitive research, he points out, is also beginning to suggest how we might better motivate students, design more effective tools for assessing them, and improve the training of teachers. He concludes with a chapter on how effective school reform demands that we expand our understanding of teaching and learning and that we think about education in new ways. Debates and discussions about the reform of American education can suffer from a lack of understanding about the knowledge base that is available for the improvement of educational practice. Politicians and business leaders as well as many school superintendents, principals and teachers think that educational problems can be solved by changing school management structures or by creating a market in educational services. Bruer argues that improvement depends instead on changing student-teacher interactions. It is these changes, guided by cognitive research, that will create more effective classroom environments.

About this title

Review

- Howard Gardner, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University " John Bruer's "Schools for Thought" is an excellent book. I found it unfailingly clear and readable. I know of no books that survey a coherent set of educational interventions from the perspective of cognitive studies." - Howard Gardner, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University & quot; John Bruer's Schools for Thought is an excellent book. I found it unfailingly clear and readable. I know of no books that survey a coherent set of educational interventions from the perspective of cognitive studies.& quot; - Howard Gardner, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University "John Bruer's "Schools for Thought" is an excellent book. I found it unfailingly clear and readable. I know of no books that survey a coherent set of educational interventions from the perspective of cognitive studies."- Howard Gardner, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

From the Back Cover

We cannot begin to seriously think about improving our schools until we base classroom practice on what science tells us about teaching and learning. John Bruer's book makes the findings of cognitive research accessible and shows us how its application in the classroom can help children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, develop better learning skills. These innovative ideas have garnered several awards and an overwhelming response from teachers across the nation.

Edition details

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262023520
• ISBN 13: 9780262023528
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336