Daniel T. Willingham

Articles by this author

Background Knowledge

How Knowledge Helps

Knowledge does much more than just help students hone their thinking skills, it actually makes learning easier.

Content-Area Literacy

Knowledge in the Classroom

Learning happens when we connect new information to what we already know. When children have limited knowledge about the world, they have a smaller capacity to learn more about it.

Comprehension

Why Students Think They Understand When They Don’t

Students often think they understand a body of material and, believing that they know it, stop trying to learn more. But come test time, it turns out they really don’t know the material very well at all.