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Obsessed with Working Memory, Part II

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: July 7, 2019

Working memory allows students to hold and combine information. (We call that “learning.”) What 3 essential facts about working memory should shape our approach to teaching? Continue reading →

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Beyond the Mouse: Pointing in Online Lectures

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: July 5, 2019

When teachers use gestures appropriately in online learning, students learn more. Continue reading →

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Obsessed With Working Memory: Part I

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: July 2, 2019

When I attended my first Learning and the Brain conference, I had never even heard of…

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Does Smartphone Addiction Boost Anxiety and Depression?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: June 29, 2019

Despite all the scary headlines, research on cell-phone usage relies on self-report. And: people are very bad at remembering how much they actually use their phones. We simply don’t yet know much from research about their effects. Continue reading →

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Debunking Education Myths (Without Accidentally Reinforcing Them…)

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: June 27, 2019

Enduring education myths get in the way of student learning. Happily, we have concrete strategies to rebut those myths — without unintentionally making them seem more persuasive. Continue reading →

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Powerful Evidence: Self-Control Training Works — and Changes Brains

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: June 24, 2019

Both survey data and fMRI neuroimaging suggest that a program to help poor children develop self-control skills had real benefits over many years. Continue reading →

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Putting The Canary on a Better Book Shelf

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: June 22, 2019

A student’s “prior misconceptions” often interfere with new learning. To help them understand new material, we first need to identify the misconceptions that make it hard to understand in the first place. Continue reading →

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Decorating the Classroom: How Much Is Too Much?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: June 19, 2019

Teachers decorate classrooms for many reasons — especially to make students feel at home. Recent research, however, suggests that too much decoration distracts students’ attention an interferes with their memory. When it comes to classroom decoration, there can indeed be too much of a good thing. Continue reading →

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Learning Grows: The Science of Motivation for the Classroom Teacher

Rebecca Gotlieb
by: Rebecca Gotlieb
Posted on: June 17, 2019

Andrew C. Watson, the editor of Learning and the Brain Blog, long-time teacher at some…

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Design Thinking: How Does It Work In The Classroom?

Andrew Watson
by: Andrew Watson
Posted on: June 16, 2019

A careful study of design thinking finds modest successes — especially for students who have struggled in school. Continue reading →