Kindergarten students sitting on the floor, listening to the teacher at the chalkboard

The Cold-Calling Debate: Potential Perils, Potential Successes

Some education debates focus on BIG questions: high structure vs. low structure pedagogy? technology: good…



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A primary school student wearing a backpack and sitting at a desk raises an eager hand.

Navigating Complexity: When 1st Order Solutions Create 2nd Order Problems

Here’s a common classroom problem. As I’m explaning a complex concept, a student raises a…



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3 middle school students working together on a problem from a textbook

Collaborative Learning and Working Memory Overload: Good News or Bad?

Consider the following paradox: Teachers need to give students instructions — of course we do! After…



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Exasperated teacher standing in the middle of a chaotic classroom, holding her hands on her head and shouting

The Dangers of “The Big Ask”: In Defense of Stubborn...

Let’s face it: teaching is hard. I’ve been a classroom teacher for roughly 20 years —…



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Picture of a student doing acrobatic movement in the classroom while carrying backpack with doodles on the blackboard

“Embodied Cognition” in Action: Using Gestures to Teach Science

Here’s a topic that has gotten lots of enthusiastic attention in recent years: embodied cognition….



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An artist's table, covered with an organized but overwhelming collection on pencils, pens, markers, and so forth

Getting the Principles Just Right: Classroom Decoration

The benefits of classroom decoration seem intuitive. After all, we decorate our homes in order…



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Young students reading and concentrating

Getting the Details Just Right: “Pre-questions”

Teachers, of course, ask students questions. ALL THE TIME with the questions. We ask questions…



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Female student using pale blue highlighter in a book

Getting the Details Just Right: Highlighting

Because the school year starts right now, I’m using this month’s blog posts to give…



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Student contentrating on taking notes and reading books in the library

Getting the Details Just Right: Retrieval Practice

As we gear up for the start of a new school year, we’re probably hearing…



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3 students working together on a math problem

Using “Worked Examples” in Mathematics Instruction: a New Meta-Analysis

Should teachers lets students figure out mathematical ideas and processes on their own? Or, should…



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