Why Learning Fails (And What To Do About It)

Alex Quigley is Head of Content and Engagement at the national educational charity, the Education Endowment Foundation, UK. Previously, he was Director of Huntington Research School and an English teacher at Huntington School, York. He is also a columnist for TES and writes at this website: www.theconfidentteacher.com.

• 1. Introduction 2. Learning Failure #1 The Narrow Limits of Working Memory 3. Learning Failure #2 A Patchwork of Prior Knowledge 4. Learning Failure #3 The Nagging Nature of Misconceptions 5. Learning Failure #4 A Curious Case of Overconfidence 6. Learning Failure #5 Faulty Planning Strategies 7. Learning Failure #6 An Inability to Learn Independently 8. Learning Failure #7 Wandering Attention and Miserly Mental Effort 9. Learning Failure #8 Falling Motivation in the Face of Failure 10. Supporting Teachers to Succeed

"This is an important book and a reassuring read for teachers and school leaders. Failure is an integral part of the learning process, but it can be frustrating for the teacher, students and parents. Quigley offers a wealth of helpful advice rooted in evidence with his own classroom and leadership experiences shining through. From memory to misconceptions and much more, this book covers the challenges and barriers faced in the classroom with advice as to how we can overcome them to enhance teaching and supporting learning."- Kate Jones, Senior Associate for Teaching and Learning with Evidence Based Education. "Why Learning Fails sets out what many teachers will instinctively know: that teaching is not a production line, brains are not empty vessels to be filled and that as far as pedagogy, goes A plus B does not always equal C. This unreliability of learning necessitates failure. Whilst the process of learning might be unreliable, Quigley is reliably brilliant, distilling complex ideas into engaging prose that is immediately relevant and applicable to the classroom."- Caroline Spalding, Deputy Headteacher "Do you think learning is difficult? If so, this book is for you, because Alex Quigley reveals the barriers that make learning difficult for everyone and the tools anyone can use to overcome them!"- Professor John Dunlosky, Director of SOLE Center in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University