Education Conferences

I’m Curious: Does Curiosity Promote Learning?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 22, 2020

Does curiosity promote learning? New research offers a surprising, complex, and subtle answer to that question. Continue reading →

Retrieval Grids: The Good, the Bad, and the Potential Solutions

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 20, 2020

“Retrieval grids” promote retrieval practice — that’s good! But they might lead to working-memory overload — that’s really bad. Happily, we might be able to solve this problem… Continue reading →

Take Time for You: Self-Care Action Plans for Educators by Tina H. Boogren

Rebecca Gotlieb
by: Rebecca Gotlieb
Posted on: January 16, 2020

Teaching is an emotionally and cognitively demanding job, a fact that the public does not always appreciate. To cope with these demands and help teachers feel and do their best inside and outside of the classroom Tina Boogren encourages teachers

Should Students Exercise DURING Learning? A Twitter Debate Rages…

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 14, 2020

Does exercise DURING learning help students? Twitter knows the answer to the question quite confidently. Research on the topic, however, invites us to be both cautious and optimistic. Continue reading →

Home News: Rememebring Bruce McEwen

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 12, 2020

I first heard Dr. Bruce McEwen talk about the neurobiology of stress in 2010. He had won an award (one of a great many) at MIT, and was lecturing on intricate hormonal interactions within the hippocampus. Even before he began

An Unexpected Strategy to Manage Student Stress

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 9, 2020

We might be inclined to reassure our anxious students, and advise them to “remain calm.” This research, however, suggests a surprising alternative. Continue reading →

Starting the Year Just Right: Healthy Skepticism

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 7, 2020

Adults prefer natural settings to urban ones. We can easily imagine an evolutionary explanation for that preference. But: do children share it? Continue reading →

Home News

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 4, 2020

Congratulations to one-time Learning and the Brain blogger, Dr. Kate Mills. The Association for Psychological Science has named her a “Rising Star” for her “innovative work [that] has already advanced the field, and signals great potential for [her] continued contributions.” Dr.

How Best to Achieve our New Year’s Resolutions

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: January 2, 2020

Psychology research can help us accomplish our New Year’s resolutions, even if we’re offered tempting cake. Continue reading →

The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains by Joseph LeDoux

Rebecca Gotlieb
by: Rebecca Gotlieb
Posted on: December 30, 2019

New York University Professor and National Academy of Sciences member Joseph LeDoux recently published The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains. He argues that understanding the evolutionary history of life on earth, which