Understanding emotions, learners and achievement
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 andContinue reading Cognition and Emotion: A complicated relationship
(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 (theContinue reading The problem with positive & negative emotions
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 formerContinue reading Cognitive Load, emotion and buoyancy
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
Part 2: The role of schools in child and adolescent mental health. This is part 2 of a summary of Are the kids alright? Examining the intersection between education and mental health. Part 1 and context can be found here. The role of schools in contributing to the ‘crisis’ Humphrey asserts that the transformation ofContinue reading Crisis? The Intersection between education and mental health, Part 2
Is there a relationship between your personality type and how you score on an IQ test? The study of personality and intelligence share a number of important factors. The overriding one, perhaps, pertains to the sphere of behavioural genetics, the study of the heritability of human behaviour. What do we mean by heritability? The termContinue reading Personality Type and Intelligence
(A version of this article appeared at The Huffington Post in 2016) We often view emotions as contained within the individual, sitting privately in our own minds or in the minds of others. However, emotions felt by one group or individual have a powerful influence on the emotional states of others (psychologists call this ‘affectContinue reading Why stress is contagious
We use the term a great deal. I used it countless times when I was writing The Emotional Learner without ever feeling the need to define the term. Wellbeing is sometimes used to mean happiness, or perhaps contentment; it’s often used when people speak about mental illness, suggesting that we can view it in termsContinue reading What do we mean by wellbeing?
1. What is Academic Buoyancy? Academic buoyancy is the ability to successfully deal with academic setbacks and challenges that are typical of the ordinary course of school life (e.g. poor grades, competing deadlines, exam pressure, difficult schoolwork)
(a work in progress) Why do some students seem to suffer more with anxiety than others? Limited amounts of stress are good for us (especially if we need to escape from a dangerous situation). This acute stress is often fleeting, involving a complex biological and behavioural mechanism that can increase motivation and cognitive function. ButContinue reading A Model of Student Anxiety
The Emotional Learner 