Pagers Learning and Memory

Understanding Willingham’s Simple Model of the Mind

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Daniel T. Willingham

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“Understanding a bit about how thinking happens will help you
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understand what makes thinking hard. That will in turn help you
understand how to make thinking easier for your students.”
SECURING ATTENTION WORKING MEMORY BUILDING KNOWLEDGE
THE SIMPLE MODEL OF THE MIND Have you got students’ cognitive attention? Are you making it manageable for students? Are you enabling students to build schemas?
Daniel Willingham’s ‘Simple Model of the Mind’ stands out as the Educator and author Peps Mccrea asserts, “Students Working memory is the part of our brain responsible In cognitive science, the process of constructing
most effective and practical tool for illustrating the learning process. remember what they focus on.” When all students are for holding and processing information temporarily. knowledge involves developing interconnected
This diagram vividly depicts how learning unfolds (and sheds light actively engaged with your explanations and actively Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) suggests ‘schemas’. Schemas are interlinked mental structures
on why it sometimes falters) in straightforward terms accessible to processing new information, the likelihood of learning that students’ working memory is limited, capable of that embody our comprehension of concepts. Teachers
educators. Crafted by Oliver Caviglioli, this graphic proves invaluable occurring increases. However, like adults, students’ holding only small chunks of information at a time. This should create chances for students to explore and build
for teachers grappling with the mystery of why their otherwise minds can wander towards distractions. Rather means teachers need to be mindful not to overload schemas by identifying connections between previous
stellar lessons may not yield the expected learning outcomes. than concentrating on their learning, students may students’ working memory by presenting information in learning and the knowledge and skills introduced in the
become sidetracked by unrelated thoughts. Having a structured and manageable way to optimise cognitive current lesson. Psychologist David Ausubel argues that
the skills, resources, and routines to swiftly regain load. Strategies such as sequencing information in this connection renders learning ‘meaningful’. Breaking
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students’ attention is essential for sustaining their small steps and using worked examples support down information into smaller, chunks facilitates
ng cognitive engagement consistently in the classroom. students in managing information more effectively. students’ ability to relate to and absorb new knowledge.
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busy educational professionals

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‘SIMPLE MODEL OF THE MIND’ AS INTERPRETED BY OLIVER CAVIGLIOLI

According to Willingham, working memory (our conscious awareness) COGNITIVE ENGAGEMENT GENERATIVE PROCESSES
holds current thoughts and perceptions (“I can smell my wife’s Are you pushing all students to think hard? Are students consolidating their learning?
delicious cooking...” “I can see my cat basking in the sunlight”). Long-
To ensure new knowledge is effectively stored in long- When students create knowledge themselves, they
term memory, akin to a vast filing system, stores networks of factual
term memory, it’s crucial to stimulate thinking and maintain actively form meaningful connections. Neuroscientist Jamie Clark
knowledge, lying dormant until needed. Crucially, learning occurs
students’ cognitive engagement throughout the lesson. Arthur Shimamura explains, “Generating information
through alterations in long-term memory, spurred only by active
Additionally, it’s our responsibility to assess students’ reactivates learned material, aiding memory
student engagement in thinking. Such cognitive activity strengthens
existing knowledge. Without gathering evidence of consolidation.” Effective schema building doesn’t
neural pathways, facilitating the transfer and retention of knowledge The ideas in this poster underpin the one-
learning, we risk basing our assessment of students’ happen in lessons overly focused on activities and
in long-term memory. ‘Teaching One-Pagers’ provides concise page summaries in ‘Collection 1: Learning
competence and understanding on limited information, student actions alone. Instead, teachers should
summaries covering the model’s five core domains, along with effective and Memory’ featured in Jamie Clark’s best
which can lead to significant gaps in knowledge. aim to provide opportunities for students to engage
strategies for addressing its cognitive challenges. Adjacent to this selling book ‘Teaching One-Pagers’.
Questioning techniques and formative assessment with generative activities, followed by challenging
discussion is a detailed exploration of each key aspect of Willingham’s
strategies are reliable approaches for gathering evidence them to retrieve information from memory through
‘Simple Model of the Mind’, offering further clarity and guidance.
of progress that inform our decision-making processes. ‘desirably difficult’ retrieval practice activities.

Poster Designed by Jamie Clark | @XpatEducator | jamieleeclark.com | Diagram by Oliver Caviglioli