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- Andrea Logan on Handwritten Notes or Laptop Notes: A Skeptic Converted?
- Judith VT Wilson on A Beacon in the Mindset Wilderness
- Simon Horbury on Handwritten Notes or Laptop Notes: A Skeptic Converted?
- Caroline Edmonds on Handwritten Notes or Laptop Notes: A Skeptic Converted?
- Robert Thorn on A Little Help, Please…
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Tag Archives: classroom advice
Handwritten Notes or Laptop Notes: A Skeptic Converted?
Here’s a practical question: should our students take notes by hand, or on laptops? If we were confident that one strategy or the other produced more learning – factual learning, conceptual learning, ENDURING learning – then we could give our
Too Good to Be True? “Even Short Nature Walks Improve Cognition”?
Good news makes me nervous. More precisely: if I want to believe a research finding, I become very suspicious of it. After all: it’s easy to fool me when I want to be fooled. Specifically: I’m an outdoors guy. I’ve worked at
Working Memory: Make it Bigger, or Use it Better?
Cognitive science has LOTS of good news for teachers. Can we help students remember ideas and skills better? Yes, we can! (Check out retrieval practice and other desirable difficulties). Can we promote students’ attention? Yes, we can! (Posner and Rothbart’s
Do Classroom Decorations Distract Students? A Story in 4 Parts…
Teacher training programs often encourage us to brighten our classrooms with lively, colorful, personal, and uplifting stuff: Inspirational posters. Students’ art work. Anchor charts. Word walls. You know the look. We certainly hope that these decorations invite our students in
Why Time is a Teacher’s Greatest Commodity…and What to Do When You Don’t Have Enough of It
Today’s guest post is by Jim Heal, Director of New Initiatives, and Rebekah Berlin, Senior Program Director at Deans for Impact. Long-time readers know how much I respect the work that Deans for Impact does. Their Resources — clear, brief,
The Best Kind of Practice for Students Depends on the Learning Goal
In some ways, teaching ought to be straightforward. Teachers introduce new material (by some method or another), and we have our students practice (by some method or another). Result: THEY (should) LEARN. Alas, both classroom experience and psychology/neuroscience research suggest
The Best Way to Take Class Notes
Teachers often ask me: “how should my students take notes?” That question typically springs from a heated debate. Despite all the enthusiasm for academic technology, many teachers insist on hand-written notes. (Long-time readers know: I have a provocative opinion on
Teachers’ Gestures Can Help Students Learn
Over the years, I’ve written about the importance of “embodied cognition.” In other words: we know with our brains, and we know with and through our bodies. Scholars such as Dr. Susan Goldin-Meadow and Dr. Sian Beilock have done splendid and
Handwriting Improves Learning, Right?
Here’s a good rule for research: if you believe something, look for research that contradicts your belief. So, if you think that retrieval practice helps students learn, see if you can find research showing the opposite. If you disapprove of
Let’s Get Practical: What Works Best in the Classroom?
At times, this blog explores big-picture hypotheticals — the “what if” questions that can inspire researchers and teachers. And, at times, we just want practical information. Teachers are busy folks. We simply want to know: what works? What really helps my