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The Downsides of Desirable Difficulties

For several years now, we’ve been talking about the benefits of “desirable difficulties.” For instance,…

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Rationality by Steven Pinker

Over the last couple of years, we have often felt like the world is losing…

Cake Temptation

Too Good to be True: When Research and Values Collide

Let’s start with some quick opinions: Flipped classrooms… … can transform education and foster students’…

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New Research: Unrestricted Movement Promotes (Some Kinds of) Creativity

Teachers like creativity. We want our students to learn what has come before, certainly. And,…

Skeptical Magnifying Glass

The First Three Steps

Early in January, The Times (of London) quoted author Kate Silverton (on Twitter: @KateSilverton) saying:…

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A “Noisy” Problem: What If Research Contradicts Students’ Beliefs?

The invaluable Peps Mccrea recently wrote about a vexing problem in education: the “noisy relationship…

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The Goldilocks Map by Andrew Watson

The Goldilocks Map: A Classroom Teacher’s Quest to Evaluate ‘Brain-Based’ Teaching Advice is an entertaining…

Dual Coding

Teaching with Images: Worth the Effort?

According to Richard Mayer’s “multimedia principle,” People learn better from words and pictures than from…

Best Video Speed

Let’s Get Practical: How Fast Should Videos Be?

Research often operates at a highly abstract level. Psychologists and neuroscientists study cognitive “tasks” that…

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The Benefits of Direct Instruction: Balancing Theory with Practice

When teachers hear that “research shows we should do X,” we have at least two…