Dan Willingham uses his wit and wisdom to impart a deeper understanding of how the reading mind works. Willingham makes research and cognitive models – regarding letters, sounds, words, and meaning – accessible and engaging. Each chapter of The Reading Mind clearly details an aspect of reading, including how it is connected to (and intertwined with) the other aspect of reading and why it matters for reading success. Willingham also provides implications for how the science of reading should inform instruction and practice for developing readers. Whether you are a parent or an educator, the book provides a new appreciation for and deeper understanding of the complicated task that is reading. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads Of all the thinkers out there working to improve how education gets done, none is important than Dan Willingham.
There are all kinds of these thinkers/writers, of course, covering all kinds of publishing territory: ed reform experts frothing over things like accountability systems and school choice, 'teacher voices elevating' from classrooms to sayermnot all that much (beyond, of course, that teaching is hard), reporters often without experience in ed (just sayin') jumping up to point out this year's Thing That Will Change Everything, and the like. Through all these characters and the various axes they're grinding, Willingham remains trained on the single matter all in education should be most concerned about: how people learn and REALLY how people learn, not what some 19th century philosopher theorized about how people learn or what some tech provider would love for u$ to believe about how learning i$ evolving or whatever.
And as how people really learn will always be at the center of the educational pursuit (would you take your car to a mechanic, for instance, who wasn't real clear about how cars work?), I'm always thankful when Willingham throws another book into the world. 'The Reading Mind' is yet another Willingham triumph. (Alongside Mark Seidenberg's 'Language at the Speed of Sight' and Doug Lemov's 'Reading Reconsidered' of the past year or so, in fact, 2016 17 may have produced a perfect evidence supported resource set for your school team's re education around reading.)
Though Willingham kicks off the book by saying its foremost purpose is not to be about how people learn to read (but, rather, to describe the processes behind how experienced readers read), there's important content here for teachers than can be found in most teacher training programs, NCTE publications, or district level professional departments put together. Having read Willingham's books and other writings for close to 10 years now, I was familiar with several principles and references shared in 'The Reading Mind' already but still found many useful and applicable pieces. I appreciated especially the details about vocabulary learning ('Words, Words, Words', ch 4), the ideas about reading and one's self concept ('Becoming a Reader', ch 6), and all the measured (and myth shattering) responses to the ed technophiles ('Reading After the Digital Revolution', ch 7). Though far from a how to manual for classrooms, the types of insights Willingham packages here would be a useful filter through which to send teachers' current practices/assignments/expectations/messages to check for evidence alignment. I can only imagine that such professional learning would have profound impacts on kids' outcomes and teachers' satisfaction.
Oh, and bonus? It's funny. Try it, I know you'll agree. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads Professor Willingham is a top cognitive scientist. He has the great gift of synthesis and clarity. He makes a hard subject interesting and clear. This fine book distills the key findings of the field in ways that make them usable right away in today’s classroom. For teachers, this is the best book on the subject so far. Wait. That’s too tepid. This is the best general synthesis of the subject so far period. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads Unbelievable piece of work! The book really opens up ones eyes to the the exact breakdown of how reading actually occurs in the brain, how we read, the comprehension of those words, why it is we use words for our language and not other methods (such as drawling's), how we piece such words together to make sentiences that we are able to understand, distinguish the difference between what makes a sophisticated reader vs a challenged reader, learn how one is able to become a better reader and discover the breakdown for exactly how ones brain is able to accomplish such an amazing feat.
The takeaway from the reading of this book is a very comprehensive grasp of all needed to know information on such a topic, there also deserves to be a mention of appreciation to the author for the fact that what could, to some people seem like a dry read, is of actually complete opposite nature. The book is heavy with insightful knowledge that'll, from time to time make you go Wow, i had no idea and successfully, was able to pack a than reasonably sized book with newly learned knowledge on almost every other page. Its a refreshing subject to learn and one that can really bring a new demotion of understanding and appreciation to just truly how sophisticated the process of reading and our comprehension on the subject matter really is. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads Bought the kindle version and found that the graphs were too small to read so liked it well enough to purchase the print version. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads
A Map to the Magic of Reading Stop for a moment and wonder: what's happening in your brain right now―as you read this paragraph? How much do you know about the innumerable and amazing connections that your mind is making as you, in a flash, make sense of this request? Why does it matter? The Reading Mind is a brilliant, beautifully crafted, and accessible exploration of arguably life's most important skill: reading. Daniel T. Willingham, the bestselling author of Why Don't Students Like School?, offers a perspective that is rooted in contemporary cognitive research. He deftly describes the incredibly complex and nearly instantaneous series of events that occur from the moment a child sees a single letter to the time they finish reading. The Reading Mind explains the fascinating journey from seeing letters, then words, sentences, and so on, with the author highlighting each step along the way. This resource covers every aspect of reading, starting with two fundamental processes: reading by sight and reading by sound. It also addresses reading comprehension at all levels, from reading for understanding at early levels to inferring deeper meaning from texts and novels in high school. The author also considers the undeniable connection between reading and writing, as well as the important role of motivation as it relates to reading. Finally, as a cutting edge researcher, Willingham tackles the intersection of our rapidly changing technology and its effects on learning to read and reading. Every teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, and school administrator will find this book invaluable. Understanding the fascinating science behind the magic of reading is essential for every educator. Indeed, every reader will be captivated by the dynamic but invisible workings of their own minds. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads
The book started out interesting, but as with most professors who write another popular book—in goes the padding.
I have acquired a bias if a book is a second publication from a professor—I’ll avoid wasting my time wadding through their discourse jungle of vanity. I’ll order and read a decent introductory textbook instead—or consult the Internet. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads Willingham’s points provide an interesting platform for teachers to discuss at a staff development meeting. District administrators would benefit from having this basic knowledge under their belts when spending district funds on a reading curriculum. Rather than succumbing to slick sales pitches, evidence should be the driving force for programs and materials. And ultimately, Teacher Education programs should include these important findings and update coursework to reflect what is now scientifically known about how the mind reads. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads This text needs close reading as its analysis of the reading mind is deep and comprehensive. Parents and educators both can benefit from this text to seeiously increase children's love of reading.😀📚 The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads Have just started to read this and it seems very interesting. As a teacher for children with additional needs it is going to be useful to understand the cognitive science behind reading skills. The 3 stars are given because there are pencil notes written throughout the book and when I contacted the seller (We Buy Books) they said it was now too late to investigate according to their policy. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads I ordered this book after reading 'Why Don't Students Like School'. I was not disappointed.
This is a highly readable and informative review of how we read. At the start of the book, Willingham suggests that this is not a book about how children learn to read but as an English teacher and I found it impossible to read this without thinking about the implications for my own classroom practice. It would, in fact, be an excellent book for someone training to teach English. The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads
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