1. Willingham states that critical thinking processes are tied to background knowledge – that students must first learn foundational information before they can be expected to think critically about the material. He also states that “students must learn the concepts that come up again and again – the unifying ideas of each discipline.” Think of examples where this will be true in your teaching. What are the background knowledge/unifying ideas in subject areas you will teach that students will need before they can do critical thinking in that subject?
2. Willingham also states that background knowledge must be made meaningful in order to be remembered. Describe how a teacher might make the background knowledge/unifying ideas meaningful for students so they are able to remember it. Consider the principles of constructivism as you develop your response.
3. Willingham explains that people are willing to solve problems with engaging content that have just the right degree of difficulty and rouse their curiosity. How does this reflect the principles of constructivism, disequilibrium (Piaget), and the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky)?
The answer supposed to be from:
Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why Don’t Students Like School? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. chapter 1 to 3
Moreno, R. (2010). Educational psychology.