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How Do Experts Think?

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying: “To a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” It means,…

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Teachers’ Gestures Can Help Students Learn

Over the years, I’ve written about the importance of “embodied cognition.” In other words: we…

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Handwriting Improves Learning, Right?

Here’s a good rule for research: if you believe something, look for research that contradicts…

thinking

The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practice to Engage and...

Imagine how schools might be different if educators focused on the process rather than product…

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Why Don’t My High-School Students Just Follow My Advice?

I’ve been teaching for several centuries now. You’d think my students would believe me when…

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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…

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How Can We Help Students Study Better? [Repost]

This story might sound familiar: You attend a Learning and the Brain conference (like, say,…

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“Rich” or “Bland”: Which Diagrams Helps Students Learn Deeply? [Reposted]

Colorful diagrams might raise students’ interest. What do those diagrams do for their learning? Continue reading

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How to Foster New Friendships in School? Seating Plans! (We’ve...

In schools, we want students to learn many topics: math, and history, and reading, and…

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To Grade or Not to Grade: Should Retrieval Practice Quizzes...

We’ve seen enough research on retrieval practice to know: it rocks. When students simply review…