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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 is the author of "Learning Begins: The Science of Working Memory and Attention for the Classroom Teacher."
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ABOUT THE BLOG
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Putting It All Together: Connecting “Motivation” with “Teaching Style”
Researchers tend to focus on particular topics in education. Some folks study attention, while others look…
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Overwhelmed Teachers: The Working-Memory Story (Part II) [Updated with Link]
Last week, I offered an unusual take on working memory in the classroom. Typically, I…
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Overwhelmed Teachers: The Working-Memory Story
If I could pick one topic from cognitive science for ALL TEACHERS to study, that…
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Reframing Motivation: Urgent vs. Interesting
You are walking through a museum after closing time, peering into room after room. You…
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Help Me Understand: Narrative Is Better than Exposition
I’m straight-up asking for some guidance here. Here’s the story… “Psychologically Privileged” For many years…
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Feedback Before Grades? Research and Practice…
The plan sounds so simple: Students practice a new skill. Teachers give them feedback. Using…
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Which Is Better: “Desirable Difficulty” or “Productive Struggle”?
The obvious answer to my question is: “what a silly question.” After all, the two…
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“Comprehensive and Manageable”: Walkthrus Has It All
Teachers who want to rely on cognitive science to improve our teaching have SO MANY…
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How to Change Students’ Minds? Create Surprise…
Sometimes teaching is challenging. And sometimes, it’s REALLY challenging. For instance: Because I’m an English…
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Classroom Cognition Explained, or, Dual Coding Just Right
The Good News: research into cognitive science can be SPECTACULARLY USEFUL to teachers. (That’s why…