Fear Is The Mind Killer: Why Learning to Learn deserves lesson time - and how to make it work for your pupils: Why Learning to Learn deserves lesson time - and how to make it work for your pupils

by James Mannion, Kate McAllister

An eight-year evaluation with the University of Cambridge revealed that Learning Skills led to significant gains in subject learning, with rapid gains among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In this practical guide for teachers and school leaders, James and Kate reveal a recipe for success rooted in three key metacognition (reflecting on learning); self-regulation (taking ownership over the learning process); and oracy (developing high-quality speaking and listening skills). This is a book about what happened when a small team of teachers seized an opportunity to provide their students with the knowledge, the skills and the confidence to take control of their own learning. This journey began with a how and what would we teach, if there was no one watching? On the other side of fear is the teacher you want to be, and the children you'd like to teach… “I don’t know of any other book that provides such clear guidance on how to harness the common elements of learning across the curriculum. Highly recommended.” -Dylan William

392 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2020

Reviews

[Wouter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not about learning how to learn, it is about helping the students and their environment to become more (mentally) capable of learning. It focuses on the initiative called Learning to Learn that was implemented at a school called Sea View, year 7 (and 8). The initiative was implemented school-wide, and if you can't find enough motivated teachers, just "don't bother" doing what they have been doing.

The project feels like a constructivist hijack. Don't get me wrong, there are some good elements within constructivism when looking at motivation. But although James Mannion and Kate McAllister underpin the importance of acquiring (top-down) knowledge, it seems to have a secondary role in this book. They ticked the boxes of acknowledgement and moved on to something else.

They believe in a mix of dedicated classes on meta-cognition and self-regulation and oracy, and having them embedded in other subjects (though the latter is not really explored; how they are applied in a knowledge-rich curriculum).

The book does focus, repeatedly, on, doing projects, having philosophical debates, mindfulness, and feelings and behaviours. It gives an elaborate explanation on breathing exercises and body posture for meditation, but when details on cognition come in, doesn't shy from sending readers to third-party websites.

Memory is important to Mannion and McAllister, but there are also "225 other learning items" to consider. This is what I mean with acknowledging the science on cognition but then putting it aside to continue explaining the nervous system to help pupils understand their emotions.

The title comes from Dune but is only explored in the introduction and the conclusion. The rest of the book does not really go into the topic. The line of thought is that if you are more knowledgeable about meta-cognition and self-regulated learning, you are less fearful.

Now I do understand the ideas around Learning to Learn have been evolving in the past 40 years. I also do acknowledge the importance of self-regulation and autonomy (I liked the term curated autonomy) in education. But when Dylan William highly recommends it, I had expected something more substantial. There is not much I can apply in my own classes and I don't see my school implementing this, so I guess I should not bother about it.