Smart Schools: Better Thinking and Learning for Every Child

by David N. Perkins

Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor David Perkins, PhD offers his formula for effective teaching of children.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Psychology

262 pages

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

David Perkins is a founding member of Harvard Project Zero, a basic research project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education investigating human symbolic capacities and their development. For many years, he served as co-director, and is now senior co-director and a member of the steering committee. Perkins conducts research on creativity in the arts and sciences, informal reasoning, problem solving, understanding, individual and organizational learning, and the teaching of thinking skills. He has participated in curriculum projects addressing thinking, understanding, and learning in Colombia, Israel, Venezuela, South Africa, Sweden, Holland, Australia, and the United States. He is actively involved in school change. Perkins was one of the principal developers of WIDE World, a distance learning model practitioners now embedded in programs at HGSE. He is the author of numerous publications, including fourteen authored or co-authored books. His books include; The Eureka Effect, about creativity; King Arthurs Round Table, about organizational intelligence and learning; Making Learning Whole, a general framework for deepening education at all levels; and Future Wise, about what's worth teaching for the contemporary era.

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful class-level curriculum book. A bit redundant and not the best writing, but important, thoughtful, actionable content.

[Guida Al·lès · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aquest llibre del codirector del HARVARD PROJECT ZERO és una reflexió sobre com fer les classses tenint en compte el que sabem avui (descobriments neurocientífics) sobre com s´aprèn. Partint de la idea de què l'aprenentatge és una conseqüència del pensament centra el procés educatiu en tres estratègies: ensenyar a retenir, a pensar a partir dels continguts i a transferir. Combina la teoria amb les experiències pràctiques (Coalition of Essential Schools, Comer Schools...). Està molt ben escrit, argumentat i estructurat. És una delícia i una font de descobriments.

Bien escrito, argumentado y estructurado. Reflexiona sobre qué debe enseñarse partiendo de la idea de que el aprendizaje es una consecuencia del pensamiento. ¿Cómo enseñar a pensar?. Precioso.

[Sebastián · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great revision of the education system and educational purpose necessary for a change. Perkins promotes his idea of teaching for understanding through different examples and reflections about what education should looks like.
Great book. It’s not a manual or a how-to-book but a reflexive one.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not agree with many of the points in this book...i think. It started out okay and by the end i was so confused as to what the Perkins guy was even talking about that...I don't know...I think I disagree! It's not a very practical book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book years ago. Provides an overview of most relevant literature in education - related to teaching and learning - while supporting a clear, fundamental effort that still needs to be focused on today.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - provides helpful nomenclature for things many educators know but don't always have a name for. Example: fragile knowledge = something the learner has encountered in the classroom but can't readily access and is likely to quickly forget.

[Lisa May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly and thoroughly discusses the challenges of teaching children (but theories are applicable to all) and offers specific steps to follow for effective teaching.

[Meg]

Attempted....and as most educational books that were recommended in grad school before I had experience, I find it dry and boooooring. I know enough now that these books (this book?) seems silly.