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ADHD adolescence attention bilingual education boundary conditions classroom advice conference speakers constructivism/direct instruction creativity critical thinking 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
- Lukas on Think, Pair, Share: Does It Help? If Yes, Why?
- Andrew Watson on Have I Been Spectacularly Wrong for Years? Part 1
- Cher Chong on Have I Been Spectacularly Wrong for Years? Part 1
- Andrew Watson on Practical Advice for Students: How to Make Good Flashcards
- Beth Hawks on Practical Advice for Students: How to Make Good Flashcards
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Monthly Archives: February 2019
Praising Researchers, Despite Our Disagreements
This blog often critiques the hype around “brain training.” Whether Lumosity or Tom Brady‘s “brain speed” promises, we’ve seen time and again that they just don’t hold water. Although I stand behind these critiques, I do want to pause and
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter
Where is your mobile phone right now? How much time have you spent on it today? Could you stand to be without it? In Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, Adam Alter, New York University
Posted in Book Reviews
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Can Teachers Be Trusted to Evaluate Research?
Too often, teachers hear that our judgment about classroom applications of scientific research isn’t to be trusted. And yet, teacher judgment is essential when applying research in the classroom. Given that psychology research affects classroom practice only when teachers use it, why put down the teachers who are essential partners in this process? Our field should focus not on competition, but on respectful collaboration. Continue reading
Posted in L&B Blog
Tagged boundary conditions, methodology, retrieval practice, working memory
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“Mindset Bull****,” “Gimmicks,” and Other Unhelpful Critiques
My friend Cindy Nebel has a thoughtful post about a recent article at TES. Here’s the backstory: a world-famous geneticist has dismissed research into Mindset as “bullshit” and “gimmicks.” Now, reasonable people have their doubts about Mindset Theory. We’ve written
Good News! Contradictory Research on Desirable Difficulties…
As we regularly emphasize here on the blog, attempts to recall information benefit learning. That is: students might study by reviewing material. Or, they might study with practice tests. (Or flashcards. Perhaps Quizlet.) Researchers call this technique “retrieval practice,” and
Is Your Classroom Worth More Than $10,000?
Here’s a remarkable story about potentially falsified research data. The short version: researchers James Heathers and Nick Brown thought that Nicolas Guéguen’s research findings were both too sexy and too tidy. Too sexy: Guéguen’s findings regularly made great headlines. For instance,
Healthy Snacks After Exercise? Depends on the Timing…
We’re likelier to make good snack choices before we exercise than after. This research finding gives us practical advice, and supports a well-known (but recently controversial) theory of self-control. Continue reading
Welcome to San Francisco
If you’re a regular blog reader, you just might be a frequent Learning and the Brain conference attendee. (I got my start in 2007, and haven’t stopped since.) We’re gathering — starting tomorrow! — at the Fairmont Hotel in San
Posted in L&B Blog
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There’s No Polite Way to Say “I Told You So”
Back in 2014, Pam Mueller and Dan Oppenheimer made headlines with their wittily titled study “The Pen Is Mightier Than The Keyboard.” In that study, they found that students learn more from taking handwritten notes during a lecture than from
Can Creativity Be Taught? What’s the Formula?
My edutwitter feed has a lively debate about this question: can we teach people to be creative? This round started with a post by David Didau, summarizing a debate between himself and Paul Carney. Didau believes (oversimplifying here) that creativity