Understanding emotions, learners and achievement
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
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?
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
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
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
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
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
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
I rarely write about attachment beyond the role it plays in childhood resilience. This is despite having a strong professional and personal interest in it (as well as having taught the topic for more than a decade). My professional interest lies in both my role as a psychologist and a teacher; the way in whichContinue reading An Attachment Primer
Sleep comes in two varieties, slow-wave sleep (or NREM sleep) and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. REM sleep is the stage in which dreaming most often occurs. REM sleep is often called paradoxical sleep. This is because the brain waves of a sleeping brain are very similar to those of an awake brain. Our bodies areContinue reading Some interesting facts about sleep
