This week on The Learning Curve, Cara and Gerard speak with University of Virginia Professor Dan Willingham about cognitive psychology and K-12 education. Professor Willingham discusses the psychology of learning and the research that shaped his thinking and writing, including his advocacy of using scientific knowledge in classroom teaching and education policy and his critique of the “learning styles theory” of education. They explore what elements appear to be missing from American K-12 schooling and schools of education; his support of E.D. Hirsch, Jr.’s Core Knowledge curricular work; and what must be done to improve students’ enjoyment of and performance in primary and secondary education.

Stories of the Week

Cara discussed a story in Chalkbeat New York reporting that at the end of last school year, just 36 percent of children entitled to “bilingual special education services received the correct amount of instruction from a certified bilingual teacher and in a classroom with the proper ratio of students and staff.” Gerard mentioned a story in the Jewish Journal detailing a lawsuit brought by parents of students with special needs as well as two Los Angeles Jewish schools, who are suing the California Department of Education and the Los Angeles Unified School District over being excluded from special education funding. Plaintiffs maintain their case is similar to last year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Carson v. Makin, regarding school choice and religious liberty.