A parent program seemed to stop working after a few years. Until the schools closed.

Investing in early childhood education through various programs happens in many places, but thanks to James Heckman, we know that sustaining — maintaining — such investments is important, because otherwise their effects can fade. That already explains part of the title of this post, which almost sounds like the beginning of a riddle. It is… Read More A parent program seemed to stop working after a few years. Until the schools closed.

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Inclusion Should Not Mean Lowering the Bar

Yesterday I wrote about high expectations and a new study suggesting that those expectations may become visible in something very concrete: the tasks you give your students. Teachers were much less inclined to assign cognitively challenging mathematics tasks when thinking about low-performing students than when thinking about high-performing students. Today I came across an inclusion… Read More Inclusion Should Not Mean Lowering the Bar

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High expectations are also about the tasks we give students

Today, a study immediately reminded me of a classic, frequently cited study. Oh, and also of the importance of having high expectations in education. Of course, expectations are about what you think students can achieve. But perhaps you can see them even more clearly somewhere else: in the tasks you give your students. This is… Read More High expectations are also about the tasks we give students

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Funny on Sunday: OpenAI Dots Failed Live on Stage

I do like the videos by Sam Tucker. Follow him for (almost) daily funny tech videos. Check here for more Funny on Sunday.

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A lot of research, little guidance: what do we know about programming and robots in the classroom?

Maybe you’ve forgotten about the little turtle, but ever since Logo by Seymour Papert, programming has found its way into curricula in many countries. Sometimes that little turtle has become rather more real, with robots now also appearing in STEM classes. Little side note: one of my children once remarked that this seems to happen… Read More A lot of research, little guidance: what do we know about programming and robots in the classroom?

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Social media and young people’s mental health: are we missing a step?

It is a hot topic in the media, and I have written about it several times before: the relationship between social media and young people’s mental health. Mental health among young people has been deteriorating, and for some time now we have been looking for explanations (deliberately plural). Anyone looking for a simple answer to… Read More Social media and young people’s mental health: are we missing a step?

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Does writing really help us think? A response to the New York Times opinion piece by Joe Cruz

One of the major concerns surrounding generative AI in education relates to writing, or rather, to the assessment of writing. If pupils and students can have their texts written by ChatGPT or another AI, how can we still be sure whether they have actually thought for themselves? This has already led to all kinds of… Read More Does writing really help us think? A response to the New York Times opinion piece by Joe Cruz

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OECD: Fewer students, but that does not necessarily mean a smaller teacher shortage

Teacher shortages have become a persistent problem in many countries. But at the same time, birth rates are falling in many of those same countries. Fewer children mean fewer students. And fewer students mean we may need fewer teachers, and so surely this will mean that teacher shortages should eventually disappear, at least partially, on… Read More OECD: Fewer students, but that does not necessarily mean a smaller teacher shortage

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Children’s books show many emotions in words, but far fewer in pictures

A character can be afraid, or angry, maybe sad. You can read this clearly in the children’s book. But if you look at the picture on the same page… There is a good chance you will see someone who looks… strikingly calm or happy. That is the finding of a new NBER working paper by… Read More Children’s books show many emotions in words, but far fewer in pictures

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Why are there more diagnoses of ADHD and autism now?

It is the basis for discussions about overdiagnosis. Every now and then, you even read possible explanations that seem more like conspiracy theories. Yet it is a fact: many more children and young people are diagnosed with ADHD or autism today than, say, ten or twenty years ago. In Denmark, for example, the number of… Read More Why are there more diagnoses of ADHD and autism now?

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