The Emotional Learner

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    • The problem with gist

      The term ‘gist memory’ usually refers to less detailed long-term memories, often (but not exclusively) episodic memories. However, our semantic memories often rely on these memories of events as we use situational cues to help us recall them. It then follows that errors here can have a knock on effect. When we read a book,…

    • Is there a learning personality?

      We tend to identify different personalities intuitively. Some people we might describe as ‘live wires’ while others are more contemplative; others, still, might be prone to worry or are avidly curious. We often describe these differences using folk theories with a light smattering or psychology, so we might call the quiet people introverts and their…

    • From Novice to Expert: The Role of Long-term Working Memory

      The Dutch psychologist Adriaan de Groot doesn’t always get the same kind of recognition as other cognitive psychologists, his name often restricted to paragraph or two in psychology textbooks or a brief citation in the work of others such as Anders Ericsson, Alan Baddeley and John Sweller. Nevertheless, De Groot has been described as ‘the…

    • Cognition and Emotion: A complicated relationship

      Emotion is certainly one of the most neglected influencers in teaching and learning, despite its impact on many learning related processes. While we may discuss at length the role of anxiety, other facets of emotion remain all but absent from the conversation. When emotion is discussed, its role is invariably linked to mental health and…

    • The Importance of Looking Away

      You might have noticed that when you’re talking to someone, it’s often difficult to maintain eye contact. Teachers might have noticed that when children are addressing the class or attempting to answer a challenging question, they will avert their gaze away from their audience. Psychologists call this behaviour gaze aversion and it’s thought to serve…

    • Creating Good Habits

      (Adapted from Becoming Buoyant, 2020, Chapter 5) Do you like popcorn? For the sake of argument let’s assume that you do. Not only do you like popcorn, you are also an avid cinema goer and like nothing more than a large tub of popcorn to enhance the experience. This is a routine that operates like…

    • Collaborative learning and Cognitive load

      Collaborative learning can be described as two or more learners actively pursuing and contributing to a shared goal, or trying to share the effort required to reach that goal. It has become a mainstay of educational practice. During my time as a teacher there was always an expectation that most lessons would involve some element…

    • The problem with positive & negative emotions

      (Adapted from Chapter 3 of The Emotional Learner, 2017) In The Emotional Learner I presented the hypothesis that some emotions help towards the achievement of academic goals by expanding our thought processes and allowing us to invest in psychological capital. Other emotions, on the other hand, restrict these options, leading us into either-or situations (the…

    • Cognitive load and cognitive offloading

      I’ve stated elsewhere that working memory is limited and that these limitations can hamper our ability to learn new things and carry out complex tasks. I’m implying here that learning and remembering are either the same or very similar, so I’m referring to learning in a rather narrow way, but stay with me on this.…

    • Cognitive Load, emotion and buoyancy

      In his 2019 review of twenty years of Cognitive Load Theory, John Sweller explores several avenues of further investigation. One such avenue relates to emotions, stress and uncertainty and how these factors influence cognitive load. Within the education community aspects of cognition in learning are often starkly separated from seemingly non-cognitive factors. Curiously, the former…