Education Conferences

The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths, and Everyone In-between by Abigail Marsh

Rebecca Gotlieb
by: Rebecca Gotlieb
Posted on: October 16, 2018

Abigail Marsh’s 2017 book , reviews research by her and others showing that extraordinary altruists and psychopaths may be two extremes of a bell-curve of human caring with altruists and psychopaths distinguished by how sensitive they are to feelings of

Using and Misusing Averages: The Benefits of Music?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: October 15, 2018

The “10 Minute Rule” tells us that people can’t pay attention to something for longer than ten minutes. As teachers, therefore, we shouldn’t do any one thing for longer than ten minutes. We need to mix it up a bit.

live theater

Live Theater Boosts Student Knowledge and Tolerance

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: October 12, 2018

Question: What’s the most potentially misleading kind of research? Answer: Research that supports a position you REALLY want to believe. For this reason, I try to be ferociously skeptical of research that sounds really wonderful to me. In this case:

teenage hormones

Teenagers, Hormones, and Other Stubborn Myths

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: October 10, 2018

There’s a short video about adolescence making the rounds on social media. The video offers a quick explanation for highly-emotional teenage behavior. And it has a suggestion or two for parents. The suggestions themselves make good sense: Reassure your child

The Best Length of Time for a Class

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: October 7, 2018

I met yesterday with several thoughtful teachers who had resonant questions about education research. How do we balance factual learning and deep thinking? What’s “the right amount of stress” during a test? How can we promote collaboration while honoring individual

mindset doubts

Is It Time to Re-Re-Think Mindset Research?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: October 5, 2018

Despite lots of mindset doubts, we have good reasons — and recent research — that show how mindset interventions can help students learn. Continue reading →

Can Quick Exercise Breaks Energize Young Students?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: October 2, 2018

According to recent research, quick exercise breaks don’t distract younger students and do improve their mood. Continue reading →

hands-on learning

Does Hands-On Learning Benefit Science Students?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: September 30, 2018

In a recent study, hands-on learning and other inquiry strategies did not help 4th graders master science concepts. The reason? Working memory limitations. Continue reading →

Research on Note-Taking: A Teachable Skill

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: September 27, 2018

Over at the Cult of Pedagogy, Jennifer Gonzalez has a FANTASTIC post summarizing lots of research on note-taking. Some headlines: Note-taking is a skill we should teach. Visuals improve notes. Pauses for revision and reflection help a lot. I should

paper vs. screens

The Best Way to Read? Paper vs. Screens

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: September 24, 2018

The “paper vs. screens” debate has a clear winner: in most circumstances, students understand better and learn more when they read from paper. Continue reading →