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 —…

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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Why We Forget and How to Remember Better by Dr....

Why We Forget and How to Remember Better by Dr. Andrew E. Budson and Dr….

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…

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…

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…

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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The Good Life by Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz

The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness serves as a…

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…

A smiling young man wearing a jeans jacket, wool cap, and headphones sits at a desk and talks to a camera in front of him.

“Teaching” Helps Students Learn: New Research

Not even two months ago, I admitted my skepticism about a popular teaching technique. While…