# Daniel Willingham | Cognitive Psychology at the University of Virginia

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-education-equation-with-jeremy-singer-7488395/daniel-willingham-cognitive-psychology-at-the-university-of-virginia
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-education-equation-with-jeremy-singer-7488395/daniel-willingham-cognitive-psychology-at-the-university-of-virginia.md
Podcast: [The Education Equation with Jeremy Singer](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-education-equation-with-jeremy-singer-7488395)
Published: 2026-03-18T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PLMD4167137410.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PLMD4167137410.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-education-equation-with-jeremy-singer-7488395/episodes/daniel-willingham-cognitive-psychology-at-the-university-of-virginia
Duration seconds: 4077

## Resource

Cognitive Science in the Classroom with Dan Willingham Jeremy Singer sits down with Dr. Daniel Willingham, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and author of Why Don’t Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom. Despite decades of robust research into how the human brain learns, a significant gap remains between laboratory findings and daily classroom instruction. In this episode, Dr. Willingham shares the origin story of his career pivot from memory researcher to educational translator following a transformative 2001 conference with teachers in Nashville. The discussion moves beyond the hype of educational trends to explore the fundamental constraints of the human mind. Willingham and Singer break down why students are naturally averse to thinking, explaining that the brain is designed to save effort by relying on memory rather than slow, hazardous problem-solving. They discuss why spacing—revisiting content over time—is scientifically superior for retention but often resisted by students due to its impact on immediate motivation. The conversation also tackles the modern challenges of AI and declining reading scores. Willingham argues that the issue isn't necessarily a lack of leisure reading among youth, but rather a decrease in the rigor of texts and expectations within schools. He advocates for knowledge-rich curricula that sensibly sequence factual, procedural, and conceptual information to provide the necessary engine for critical thinking. Featured References: Book: Why Don't Students Like School? by Daniel Willingham Book: The Reading Mind by Daniel Willingham Book: Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch Research: Sam Wineburg (Stanford University) on digital literacy an…

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