1. Evolutionary Educational Psychology
A summary of David Geary’s Principles of evolutionary educational psychology
This is just a summary of the bits that I thought were most interesting. It’s a brilliant paper with a lot to think about.

2. Principles of Educational Evolutionary Psychology
Secondary knowledge has grown out of folk knowledge. There is a gap between secondary knowledge and folk knowledge
Schools exist to bridge that gap
Children are innately motivated towards developing their folk knowledge
The way children acquire folk knowledge is insufficient for the way they acquire secondary knowledge

3. Folk knowledge
Secondary knowledge
Biblical morals, communication with and influencing others’ behaviours
Roman numerals – formal counting system
20C
Quantum mechanics
Newtonian mechanics
200,000BC
Bedrock of folk psychology, biology and physics. Non-formal number counting.
Aristotle and others: classification of animals + plants, physics, four elements
Arabic numerals, algebra
Atomic theory
Linnaeus’ taxonomy
Alchemy
Euclidean geometry
“Today, there is an ever-widening gap between folk knowledge and scientific and technological advances and an accompanying need to acquire novel academic competencies”

4. Cooptation: the adaptation (typically through instruction) of evolved cognitive systems for culturally specific uses i.e. when a primary system e.g. folk psychology, is utilised to produce a secondary system

5. Communication, language, social relationships, theory of mind
Folk Psychology
Communication, language, social relationships, theory of mind
Reading, writing, stories, poems, dramas reflecting nuances of social relationships
Cooptation
Primary
Secondary

6. Systematic taxonomies. Anatomy. Behavioural ecology.
Folk Biology
Classification of animals and plants. Living things have “innards”. Offspring will have the same “essence” as their parents.
Systematic taxonomies. Anatomy. Behavioural ecology.
Cooptation
Secondary
Primary

7. Motion, trajectories, behaviour of simple objects
Folk Physics
Motion, trajectories, behaviour of simple objects
Newtonian mechanics, engineering, quantum mechanics
Cooptation
Secondary
Primary

8. Inferential biases/misconceptions examples
Folk biology: classification focusses on differences between species. Short-term time-frame.
Helps predict behaviour of plants and animals.
Study of natural selection: focusses on differences within species. Time-frame of many thousands of years.
Helps understand processes of speciation.
Folk Physics: Impetus - an object in flight has a force acting on it. Reasonable explanation for everyday situations
Newton’s three laws, predict movements of complex bodies.

9. Widened gap
“As with biology, the knowledge base of the physical sciences is exponentially larger than the knowledge base of folk physics and in some cases (e.g., quantum mechanics) the accompanying conceptual models bear little resemblance to the naïve concepts of folk physics.”

10. Motivation
“Children are innately curious about and motivated to actively engage and explore social relationships and the environment – biases that are directed toward information and activities associated with folk knowledge.”

11. “A burning desire to master algebra or Newtonian physics will not be universal, or even common.”
Those who do dedicate their lives to a specific area have individual differences related to:
Ability to acquire secondary competencies
Intellectual curiosity
Willingness to engage in long and tedious training
Degree to which the underlying folk systems are elaborated

12. For most people, motivation to study secondary areas will be more related to the primary area which underlies it.
E.g. reading is secondary but many people will read stories for pleasure as they relate to primary areas.
Children’s natural curiosities and interests will be unlikely to lead them to secondary knowledge.

13. The need for instruction – primary/secondary gap
Prehistory
Modern era

14. Need for instruction
Primary/Secondary Gap Size

15. John Sweller, Instructional Implications of David C
John Sweller, Instructional Implications of David C. Geary’s Evolutionary Educational Psychology

16. Biologically primary
Biologically seconday
Knowledge is acquired “easily and unconsciously”
Conscious effort
Intrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation
Limited instruction required
Explicit instruction required
Long term memory important in knowledge acquisition
Working memory limitations are limited
Strong working memory limitations
Problem solving does not seem to apply
Problem solving/generate and test model essential