The UNC School of Education will present the inaugural Barbara D. Day Lecture featuring prominent cognitive psychology researcher and University of Virginia faculty member Daniel Willingham, Ph.D., on Friday, March 27, at 11:30 a.m. in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room in Wilson Library. There is also a remote option for attendees who are not able to travel to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
Willingham’s talk, “Improving the Use of Psychological Science in K-12 Education,” will explore how educator preparation can provide future teachers with principles of psychology relevant to the classroom — improving the use of psychology in K-12 education and boosting student achievement.
To register to attend the Barbara D. Day Lecture virtually, click here.
The lecture — made possible with funding from Faculty Emerita Barbara D. Day — was created to bridge educational research and exemplary practice, enhance the academic environment at the School and Carolina, and engage the School and campus communities in dialogue and innovation around education.
“We are thrilled to launch this lecture series designed to bring leading thinkers in education to Carolina and deepen the ways we connect research and practice,” said Jill V. Hamm, dean of the School and William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education. “We’re so grateful to Dr. Barbara Day for her generosity and for her commitment to enriching the School community and education professions. It’s an honor to welcome a scholar as extraordinary as Dr. Daniel Willingham, whose expertise continues to strengthen K-12 education.”
Daniel Willingham is professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1992. Until about 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. Today, all of his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-16 education.
Willingham is the author of several books, including the best-selling “Why Don’t Students Like School?” and, most recently, “Outsmart Your Brain.” His writing on education has appeared in twenty-three languages.
In 2017, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the National Board for Education Sciences.
Barbara Day, Ph.D., is a professor emerita and chair emerita of curriculum and instruction. Day, taught doctoral courses in supervision and research in curriculum and instruction. She also previously coordinated programs in early childhood education, elementary education, and teaching and learning.
Before joining the academy, Day served as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent of schools.
She authored numerous textbooks, including “Early Childhood Education: Developmental/Experiential Teaching & Learning – 4th Edition” and “Good Schools for Young Children 5th Edition.” Day’s research focused on identifying what teachers and curriculum heads want and need in order to be successful.
Day served as president of three international professional organizations: the Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society (founding UNC’s chapter), and the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. She developed the North Carolina Teaching Fellow program at UNC-Chapel Hill and was its program director for 10 years.
This hybrid lecture will provide Campus Life Experience (CLE) credits for UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students and continuing education credits for educators.