Education Conferences

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Why We Forget and How to Remember Better by Dr. Andrew E. Budson & Dr. Elizabeth A. Kensinger

Erik Jahner, PhD
by: Erik Jahner, PhD
Posted on: September 19, 2023

Why We Forget and How to Remember Better by Dr. Andrew E. Budson and Dr. Elizabeth A. Kensinger is a captivating research driven exploration of the intricate workings of human memory. In this comprehensive book, the authors delve into the

An artist's table, covered with an organized but overwhelming collection on pencils, pens, markers, and so forth

Getting the Principles Just Right: Classroom Decoration

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: September 17, 2023

The benefits of classroom decoration seem intuitive. After all, we decorate our homes in order to make ourselves — and our guests — comfortable there. Little wonder that decorating a classroom feels like a natural way to welcome our students,

Young students reading and concentrating

Getting the Details Just Right: “Pre-questions”

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: September 12, 2023

Teachers, of course, ask students questions. ALL THE TIME with the questions. We ask questions DURING a lesson in order to “check for understanding.” We encourage students to ask themselves questions AFTER class, because “retrieval practice” promotes learning. And, we

Female student using pale blue highlighter in a book

Getting the Details Just Right: Highlighting

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: September 3, 2023

Because the school year starts right now, I’m using this month’s blog posts to give direct classroom guidance. Last week, I wrote about a meta-analysis showing that — yup — retrieval practice is awesome. Teachers should be aware of a few

Student contentrating on taking notes and reading books in the library

Getting the Details Just Right: Retrieval Practice

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: August 28, 2023

As we gear up for the start of a new school year, we’re probably hearing two words over and over: retrieval practice. That is: students have two basic options when they go back over the facts, concepts, and procedures they’ve

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The Good Life by Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz

Erik Jahner, PhD
by: Erik Jahner, PhD
Posted on: August 27, 2023

The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness serves as a warm and guiding light, steering us towards a more meaningful and inspiring existence. Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, director and co-director, weave together narratives and

3 students working together on a math problem

Using “Worked Examples” in Mathematics Instruction: a New Meta-Analysis

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: August 21, 2023

Should teachers lets students figure out mathematical ideas and processes on their own? Or, should we walk students through those ideas/processes step by step? This debate rages hotly, from eX-Twitter to California teaching standards. As best I understand them, the

A smiling young man wearing a jeans jacket, wool cap, and headphones sits at a desk and talks to a camera in front of him.

“Teaching” Helps Students Learn: New Research

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: August 14, 2023

Not even two months ago, I admitted my skepticism about a popular teaching technique. While I accept that “students teaching students” SOUNDS like a great idea, I nonetheless worry about the practical application of this idea: Understanding a new idea

Man wearing Virtual Reality goggles, making gestures in the air

My Detective Adventure: “VR Will Transform Education” [Reposted]

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: August 8, 2023

Our blogger is off this week. He asked us to repost this piece, because he’ll be chatting with these researchers again soon!   A friend recently sent me a link to an article with a click-baity headline: something like “Virtual

Learning Styles Vector

The Unexpected Problem with Learning Styles Theory [Reposted]

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: August 1, 2023

Our blogger will be taking the first two weeks of August off. This post generated plenty of conversation when he published it last October.   I recently read a much-liked Twitter post that said (I’m paraphrasing here): If you try