A happy student wearing a vest, bow tie, and an upside-down colander on his head, holding a finger up in the air as lightbulbs glow around him

Research Advice That’s New + Useful: Improve Learning by Reappraising...

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: June 2, 2024

Research benefits teachers if it gives us new, useful ideas. We can feel relief and…

An animal walks through a doorway. It goes in an elephant, and comes out a giraffe

Change My Mind, Please!

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: May 26, 2024

When was the last time you changed your mind about something important? Perhaps you rethought…

A closeup view looking along a post-an-rail fence on a prairie of brown and green

Getting Bossy about Jigsaws; “Don’t Fence Us In”

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: May 19, 2024

Back in February, I wrote about the “Jigsaw method” of teaching. In this strategy, teachers…

anxious

Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Erik Jahner, PhD
by: Erik Jahner, PhD
Posted on: May 17, 2024

From the author of The Coddling of the American Mind, The Righteous Mind, and The…

A young student sits at a desk with her hands covering her eyes; a sympathetic teacher stands next to her with his hand on her shoulder

Updating the Great Cold-Call Debate: Does Gender Matter?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: May 11, 2024

Edu-Twitter predictably cycles through a number of debates; in recent weeks, the Great Cold-Call Debate…

Close up of student with head down on a wooden desk, hair covering his or her face. Other students are working out of focus in the background.

Can students “catch” attention? Introducing “Attention Contagion”

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: May 5, 2024

Every teacher knows: students won’t learn much if they don’t pay attention. How can we…

A futuristic drawing of two heads facing each other, with dramatic lines showing extensive and expansive thinking

Should Teachers Be Excited about “Neural Synchrony”?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: April 28, 2024

This blog — and this company — exist to give good advice to everyone who…

An actor, presumably playing Hamlet, holding up a skull while standing against an all-black background

Improving Multiple-Choice Questions: A Thought-Provoking Pause

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: April 21, 2024

Many teachers carry strong ambivalence about multiple-choice questions (handy abbreviation: MCQs). On the one hand,…

brightmind

Insight into a Bright Mind by Nicole Tetreault

Erik Jahner, PhD
by: Erik Jahner, PhD
Posted on: April 17, 2024

Insight into a Bright Mind: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Stories of Unique Thinking is a profoundly…

Middle schooler wearing headphones and doing work in front of her laptop at a desk

Just In Case: Improving Online Learning

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: April 14, 2024

We teachers benefit A LOT from research-based guidance, but we do have to acknowledge a few…