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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Watson
Andrew began his classroom life as a high-school English teacher in 1988, and has been working in or near schools ever since. In 2008, Andrew began exploring the practical application of psychology and neuroscience in his classroom. In 2011, he earned his M. Ed. from the “Mind, Brain, Education” program at Harvard University. As President of “Translate the Brain,” Andrew now works with teachers, students, administrators, and parents to make learning easier and teaching more effective. He has presented at schools and workshops across the country; he also serves as an adviser to several organizations, including “The People’s Science.”
Andrew’s Book– Learning Begins: The Science of Working Memory and Attention for the Classroom Teacher–will be available in March of 2017.
Daring to Flip the Public Health Classroom
“Flipping the classroom” has been around long enough now to have its own Wikipedia page. Proponents suggest that this strategy allows teachers to focus less on direct instruction and more on collaboration, problem solving, and application. Critics respond that direct
Can You Rely on Meta-analysis? Can You Doubt It?
Over at his blog Filling the Pail, Greg Ashman likes challenging popular ideas. In a recent post, he takes issue with meta-analysis as a way of analyzing educational research. In the first place, Ashman argues — in effect — “garbage
When Bad Technology Is Good Instead
Action video games and cell phones take most of the heat in discussions about the perils of technology. Who’s got anything good to say about either? Continue reading
Vital Resources in Psychology: the Best Research for Teachers
These vital resources in psychology research can help teachers find the most effective teaching practices. They also provide lively examples of researchers doing what they do best: exploring complex questions with imagination and humility. Continue reading
Don’t “Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain”
If you’ve got a question about the study you just read — for example, how best to make it work in your classroom — you just might reach out to the study’s author. Continue reading
Training Working Memory: Bad News, and Surprising Great News
Training working memory might be effective not because it increases WM, but because it gives participants a chance to figure out a successful strategy. If so, we can give students the same boost simply by telling them that strategy… Continue reading
Can You Reduce Stress by Writing About Failure?
The method sounds counter-intuitive, but it works: we can reduce stress by writing about failure. Recent research shows that students who wrote about previous struggle responded more calmly to a stressful situation, and did better on a subsequent attention test. Continue reading
“Not Just a Decadent Luxury”: The Power of Naps
We know that sleep is good for learning. But what about NAPS? Over at BrainBlogger, Viatcheslav Wlassoff summarizes research suggesting that naps yield clear benefits for cognition, attention, and emotion. Although I find research into the power of naps generally persuasive,
Homework Improves Conscientiousness: Do You Believe It?
Obviously, conscientious students are more likely to do their homework. Researchers in Germany have found initial reasons to believe that doing homework improves conscientiousness. We can reasonably hope that homework benefits students beyond the learning its helps consolidate. Continue reading
Adolescents and Self-Control: Do Teens Recognize High Stakes?
Why is adolescent self-control so difficult? Recent research suggests that teens don’t consistently recognize the difference between high-stakes and low-stakes situations. And: the brain networks that help them do so don’t mature until we turn 19 or 20. Continue reading