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ADHD adolescence attention bilingual education book review boundary conditions classroom advice conference speakers constructivism/direct instruction creativity desirable difficulty development elementary school embodied cognition emotion evolution executive function exercise experts and novices gender high school homework intelligence long-term memory math metacognition methodology middle school mindfulness Mindset motivation neuromyths neuroscience online learning parents psychology reading retrieval practice self-control skepticism sleep STEM stress technology working memoryRecent Comments
- Srijita on The Unexpected Problem with Learning Styles Theory [Reposted]
- Andrew Watson on Introducing “Schema Theory”
- Andrew Watson on Introducing “Schema Theory”
- andrew watson on Introducing “Schema Theory”
- Lukas on Think, Pair, Share: Does It Help? If Yes, Why?
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Yearly Archives: 2017
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Bilingual Preschoolers and Self-Control
If you can speak two or more languages, you’re likely to have some real advantages in life. For starters, you can talk easily with lots more people, and turn off the subtitles on more movies. Are there cognitive benefits to
Beyond Mere “Memory”
Newcomers to the field of psychology and neuroscience often want to learn as much as they can about a student’s memory system. After all: when students learn something new, that means their memory has changed. So, if we know how
Autonomy and Motivation
Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci & Richard Ryan, argues that people are motivated by a desire for three things: autonomy, relatedness, and competence. (Here‘s a handy place to brush up on self-determination theory.) This theory suggests that teachers can
Brain Training and Dementia
When you see claims for an exciting new brain training finding (the headline crows “Dementia Breakthrough? Brain training game ‘significantly reduces risk’ “), you can expect to see the skeptics respond very quickly. As the Guardian reports, the study didn’t
Welcome to “the Messiness”
In a recent interview on this blog, Dr. Pooja K. Agarwal spoke about the benefits of retrieval practice: a study technique that–in her words–focuses on pulling information OUT of students’ brains rather than getting it back IN. For example: if I
The Benefits of Prediction; the Dangers of Vocabulary
What’s the best way to study complex material? Working with Charles Atwood at the University of Utah, Brock Casselman tried an idea: He had students in a general chemistry class do weekly online problems and practice tests; after completing that
Now Even the New York Times Has It Wrong
Here’s a hypothetical situation: Let’s say that psychology researchers clearly demonstrate that retrieval practice helps students form long-term memories better than rereading the textbook does. However, despite this clear evidence, these researchers nonetheless emphatically recommend that students avoid retrieval practice
Good News about Concept Mapping
This meta-analysis, which looks at studies including almost 12,000 students, concludes that creating concept maps does indeed promote learning. Specifically, it’s better than simply looking at concept maps, or listening to lectures, or participating in discussions, or even writing summaries. The
The Benefits of Forgetting
As teachers, we earnestly want our students to REMEMBER what they learned; their habit of FORGETTING leave us glum and frustrated. (In truth, our own forgetting often leaves us glum and frustrated. If you could tell me where I put my
Neuroplasticity in Rural India
You hear so much about “neuroplasticity” at Learning and the Brain conferences that you already know its meaning: brains have the ability to change. In fact, you hear about neuroplasticity so often that you might start to lose interest. You say