Does something crack in secondary school? A large meta-analysis on student engagement

Anyone who teaches in secondary education will probably recognise this: somewhere along the way, something seems to crack. Students become less enthusiastic, less engaged, less curious. School starts to feel more like something they have to do than something they want to do. And then, as a teacher or as a team, you begin to… Read More Does something crack in secondary school? A large meta-analysis on student engagement

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Every Generation Gets the Brain That Fits Its Technology

We rarely think about the brain without tools. Not because we would not want to, but because the brain does not lend itself easily to observation without metaphors. And those metaphors are often drawn from the dominant technologies of the time. That pattern is very old. Consider the idea of the child as a tabula… Read More Every Generation Gets the Brain That Fits Its Technology

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If Music Changes the World, How Do We Measure That?

We like to believe that music changes the world. That singing together heals communities. That an orchestra in an underprivileged neighbourhood does more than just teach people to play notes. I often hold on to that hope. It feels intuitively right, morally attractive, and maybe even politically useful. But what do we really mean when… Read More If Music Changes the World, How Do We Measure That?

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Can emails improve mathematics education? Big words, small effects

I confess: when I first read the title of this article (“A national megastudy shows that email nudges to elementary school teachers boost student math achievement”) and the accompanying press release, alarm bells immediately started ringing. Big words, big numbers, big promises. And one well-known name in the author list, Angela Duckworth, has previously been… Read More Can emails improve mathematics education? Big words, small effects

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Some Good News About Neuromyths in Education

Research on (neuro)myths in education usually brings gloomy news. Teachers widely believe in learning styles, left- and right-brain dominance, brain gym, and other persistent misconceptions. And each new study seems to reinforce the same conclusion: we may know better, but we do not do better. Recently, however, a study appeared that cautiously goes against the… Read More Some Good News About Neuromyths in Education

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Almost a Quarter of What Teachers Say in the Classroom Is About Classroom Management

We have long known that classroom management matters. It matters for learning, for behaviour, and for the well-being of both pupils and teachers. Yet what teachers actually do to keep lessons running smoothly often remains vague. It is usually described in broad terms such as “being strict”, “being warm”, or “supporting autonomy”. There is not… Read More Almost a Quarter of What Teachers Say in the Classroom Is About Classroom Management

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Funny on Sunday: How to impress a woman (MozART group)

I love the combination of music and humour! Check here for more Funny on Sunday.

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Word of the Day: Musical Anhedonia (When Music Does Nothing for You)

This paper had been on my to-do list for a while. Not only because it is intellectually interesting – though it has less direct to do with education than much of what I usually write – but also because it explains something I have carried with me all my life. I am an active musician… Read More Word of the Day: Musical Anhedonia (When Music Does Nothing for You)

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Teacher Talk and Language Development: What a Large Meta-Analysis Shows About Quality versus Quantity

It seems self-evident that what teachers say in classrooms matters. Yet researchers long approached this idea only indirectly. Studies of early language development focused mainly on home environments, parental input, and socioeconomic differences. The well-known 30-million-word gap debate illustrates this focus well. Over time, that debate became increasingly nuanced, with both successful and less successful… Read More Teacher Talk and Language Development: What a Large Meta-Analysis Shows About Quality versus Quantity

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Is AI the Problem, or Does AI Reveal What Was Already Broken?

It can feel as if AI has suddenly become the problem. As if hallucinations, incorrect citations, and superficial texts only appeared with the arrival of ChatGPT and its peers. From my perspective as an education mythbuster, that story does not quite hold. Poor or incorrect citations are not an AI problem. They have always been… Read More Is AI the Problem, or Does AI Reveal What Was Already Broken?

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