Tags
ADHD adolescence attention book review boundary conditions classroom advice conference speakers constructivism/direct instruction creativity desirable difficulty development dual coding education elementary school embodied cognition emotion evolution executive function exercise experts and novices gender high school homework intelligence long-term memory math methodology middle school mindfulness Mindset motivation neuromyths neuroscience online learning parents psychology reading retrieval practice self-control skepticism sleep STEM stress technology working memoryRecent Comments
- Replication Studies: Validating Previous Findings in 2024-2025 - Editverse on Messy Science: How to Prepare Students for the Real World...
- What is a “Growth Mindset”? | Tech, Enterprising Architecture, and Related Topics on The Rise and Fall and Rise of Growth Mindset
- Phenomenological Studies: Exploring Lived Experiences in 2024-2025 on Why We Forget and How to Remember Better by Dr....
- Demystifying the concept of deep work – Gyfted on The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World by...
- The Jigsaw Advantage: Should Students Puzzle It Out? [Repost] |Education & Teacher Conferences on Getting Bossy about Jigsaws; “Don’t Fence Us In”
ABOUT THE BLOG
Tag Archives: classroom advice
Does Hands-On Learning Benefit Science Students?
In a recent study, hands-on learning and other inquiry strategies did not help 4th graders master science concepts. The reason? Working memory limitations. Continue reading
Research on Note-Taking: A Teachable Skill
Over at the Cult of Pedagogy, Jennifer Gonzalez has a FANTASTIC post summarizing lots of…
What’s the Best Timing for Collaborative Learning?
Learning can be a lonely business. Does collaborative learning help students? If yes, what guidelines…
Improve Your Syllabus & Lesson Plan With “Prior Knowledge”
By explicitly including prior knowledge in our lesson plans, we can help students learn new material more effective. And, this effect might explain the syllabus-level benefits of spreading practice out over time: the “spacing effect.” Continue reading
Don’t Just Do This Thing; Think This Way
Do hard-to-read fonts improve learning? The answer is: that’s the wrong question. Instead, we should ask: how can we set the right level of difficulty as students learn material? And: are hard-to-read fonts a useful tool in getting to that level. Only the classroom teacher can answer those questions. Continue reading
Just Not a Useful Debate: Learning Styles Theory [Updated]
At one of the first Learning and the Brain conferences I attended, a speaker briefly…
Putting Research to Work in the Classroom: Success?
Some study habits have been shown to work in psychology labs. Do they work in college classrooms? A recent study shows that “retrieval practice” clearly helps students learn. The findings on “the spacing effect” are harder to interpret… Continue reading
Posted in L&B Blog
Tagged classroom advice, desirable difficulty, retrieval practice
Leave a comment
The Best Way to Take Notes: More Feisty Debate
When teachers contemplate asking students to take longhand notes, we should think about the level of desirable difficulty this strategy creates. We should also beware the working memory challenges inherent in note-taking, especially on complex material. Continue reading
The Great Homework Debate: Working Memory Disadvantage?
New research into working memory might give teachers fresh perspective in the great homework debate. Well-designed homework might make new words and concepts easier to learn, because the right kind of practice can reduce differences between high- and low-working-memory students. Continue reading
Pro Tips: How To Think Like A Cognitive Scientist
A short, “intensive” college course might seem like a good idea. However, essential cognitive science principles suggest that students will learn less in them. Researchers consistently show that it’s better to spread learning out over time, and that easy learning doesn’t last. Continue reading