Resources & Ebooks
I’ve added eBooks to the resources page. Resources are free but I’d really appreciate a mention if you use them – many of them take quite a long time to compile and it’s always great to know that people are finding them useful. All I really ask is that you don’t sell them. It’s REALLYContinue reading Resources & Ebooks
Book Review: Powering up Children
[Originally published in The Psychologist] Powering Up Children: The Learning Power Approach to Primary Teaching. Guy Claxton and Becky Carlzon, Crown House Publishing 2019 £16.99 Powering Up Children represents the latest addition to Claxton’s highly successful Learning Power Approach, a set of strategies and metacognitive skills that aim to empower learners to become more confidentContinue reading Book Review: Powering up Children
Why reading aloud leads to better recall
The production effect states that when we read aloud, our memory of the information is stronger than if we read silently to ourselves. Yet this behaviour is often viewed with disdain, especially in older students. When we first learn to read we read out loud, perhaps to a teacher or a parent. Once we becomeContinue reading Why reading aloud leads to better recall
When is a chunk not a chunk?
Chunking describes the process by which individual pieces of information are broken down and grouped together. The process is said to make the recall of information easier because it helps to bypass the inherent limitations of working memory. However, chunking also relies heavily upon long-term memory. Chunking is, therefore, related to another aspect of memoryContinue reading When is a chunk not a chunk?
5 Cognitive Effects
The Generation Effect The generation effect refers to the long-term benefit of generating an answer, solution or procedure versus the relatively poor retention seen in being presented with it. The retrieval of learned information, therefore, is a more effective strategy than, say, re-reading the material because of the cognitive effort required. One study, for example,Continue reading 5 Cognitive Effects
The Myth of 10,000 hours
No, you can’t become an expert after 10,000 hours of practice Often, as children, we are encouraged to believe that if we work hard then we’ll succeed. In reality, this isn’t always the case, yet effort is a major factor in how well we do in the tasks we choose or are given. We can’tContinue reading The Myth of 10,000 hours
Why Learning Should Be Difficult
(But not too difficult) Whichever definition of learning we choose to adopt, the one thing they all have in common is the notion that it involves a relatively permanent change. Robert Gagné, for example, defines learning as ‘a change in human disposition or capability that persists over a period of time and is not simplyContinue reading Why Learning Should Be Difficult
Should You Tear Down Those Classroom Displays?
You’d be hard pushed to find a classroom that doesn’t have some kind of display, yet very little is known about their impact on achievement. Recently, however, a few studies have arisen that attempt to establish the extent to which classroom displays can help or hinder learning. Early research has discovered that putting up student’sContinue reading Should You Tear Down Those Classroom Displays?
Why does the learning styles myth persist?
The belief that people have certain learning styles has been with us for some time now, as has the controversy that surrounds it. However, despite the best efforts of psychologists, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists and education professionals, this myth persist. The theory of learning styles implies that there exist different ways of learning and that individualsContinue reading Why does the learning styles myth persist?
Why do we break the rules?
I don’t write much about classroom behaviour, or rather, I don’t write explicitly about classroom behaviour. In fact, this post is more about behaviour in general, with some comments on behaviour in schools, so please don’t assume that I’m setting myself up as a behaviour guru (there are plenty of those already). In fact, I’mContinue reading Why do we break the rules?
The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and Paul McCartney
Far from being gullible, young children are capable of rejecting claims when they don’t match their experiences, but this doesn’t mean they’re always right. Making the distinction between what is real and what is not seems simple enough although multiple layers of fantasy can quickly complicate things. I, as an adult, no longer believe inContinue reading The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and Paul McCartney
Can knowledge get in the way of creativity?
‘I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination encircles the world’ – Albert Einstein I’ve seen the above quote numerous times, although it’s usually only the Imagination is more important than knowledge bit. It’s a real Einstein quote, unlikeContinue reading Can knowledge get in the way of creativity?
Netflix, binge-watching & the spacing effect
What does binge-watching the latest Netflix addition have to do with teaching and learning? Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed a curious phenomenon. Initially, I put it down to the inevitable slow decline of my cognitive functions as I age, but being the curious kind of person I am (and not being entirelyContinue reading Netflix, binge-watching & the spacing effect
What is Dual-Coding?
During the 1960s, Canadian psychologist Allan Paivio made an interesting yet seemingly simple observation; he discovered that people found it easier to remember concrete nouns that can be imagined compared to abstract nouns where images were harder to come by. For example, if I were to present to you a list containing only words likeContinue reading What is Dual-Coding?
Framing Language To Promote Positive Behaviour
I recently wrote about how we can manipulate our audience for personal gain. I was certainly being somewhat satirical, yet the main purpose of the piece was to highlight how easily we can be manipulated and how often we unintentionally wind up promoting the types of people we would rather not see become even moreContinue reading Framing Language To Promote Positive Behaviour
Resilience: A Love-Hate Relationship
I think Nick Rose hit the nail on the head with his comments on resilience in What does this look like in the classroom? To paraphrase Nick, if you were to ask thirty teachers what resilience was, you would be likely to receive thirty different explanations. I’ve been mulling over the whole issue of resilienceContinue reading Resilience: A Love-Hate Relationship
Extreme Fear
Imagine you’re scaling a rock face, let’s call this particular rock face El Capitan and situate it in Yosemite National Park, California. It’s approximately 3000 feet in height and it’s a difficult climb, actually, it’s vertical. Many climbers have succeeded in climbing El Capitan, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t get scared, especially whenContinue reading Extreme Fear
Using Cues to Enhance Recall
Have you ever found yourself struggling to recollect a particular word or the name of a specific person? You know that you know it, but you can’t find the word, so to speak? The word is on the tip of your tongue. This tip of the tongue phenomenon is quite common. You might be attemptingContinue reading Using Cues to Enhance Recall
Privation: Development in the absence of attachment
Deprivation refers to the breaking of the attachment bond once it had been established. As discussed in a previous article, this would include temporary separations, such as a brief stay in hospital, or permanent separations such as the death of a parent. The key point here (regardless of time length) is that the bond betweenContinue reading Privation: Development in the absence of attachment
A Memory Primer
Memory is essential for learning. In fact, memory is essential for life. Without memory, we would exist in the perpetual present, a void where we are unable to recall a past and incapable of anticipating a future. We wouldn’t recognise our loved ones or be able to plan our futures. And we wouldn’t be ableContinue reading A Memory Primer
