Grade retention is a topic I have written about many times before. It can also lead to quite heated discussions in education. At the same time, the scientific consensus is fairly clear: it is generally not the best option. I know there are dissenting scientific voices, too. However, you still cannot avoid the question of… Read More Another possible negative effect of grade retention: your later earnings
Set an enthusiastic teacher in front of their class, the students will become enthusiastic too. And vice versa, enthusiastic students can also make their teacher enjoy teaching more. It does sounds logical, and in my own research I once found how contagious passion can be. This also fits nicely with the idea that what teachers… Read More Teachers and students influence each other’s emotions, but not quite as expected
One of the most striking conclusions from PISA 2025 may be wrong. A new analysis suggests that the apparent sharp decline among more advantaged students may largely be the result of a change in measurement. It was one of the most important new insights from PISA earlier this month: it is now mainly children from… Read More One of the most striking conclusions from PISA 2025 may be wrong!
How do you actually get research-based knowledge into the classroom? This is a question my colleagues at Leerpunt and I keep coming back to. Leerpunt is a knowledge broker for education in Flanders, Belgium. Publishing a report or a set of guidelines is one thing, but ensuring that the knowledge from it is actually put… Read More How do you get research-based knowledge into the classroom?
Sometimes it is frustrating that PISA data can only show us correlations. Not because correlations are worthless. Although the posts in which I keep hammering on about the difference may sometimes make it seem that way, some correlations almost beg for an explanation. A new study by Yifan Wang, Yanru Liu and Dennis Alonzo, published… Read More This PISA correlation is begging for an explanation
We often perceive competition as something bad in education. I promise this blog post will not be a plea to simply reintroduce it. But I’m bringing this topic up because a new study by Corwin Senko and Sarah Pallone suggests that perhaps we should not only look at if students want to perform better than… Read More Can a little competition be good for learning?
I had some reservations about posting this Onion cartoon, as some people may find it offensive. On the other hand, I thought it was thought-provoking enough to spark some discussion. And I have to admit, it also made me smile a bit. Check here for more Funny on Sunday.
The first PISA 2025 results have been out for a while now. Two weeks later, there are still a few puzzles in them that keep occupying my mind. I have already discussed one of them with several people over the past few days. However, I thought I would share my musings here as well. I… Read More A PISA puzzle I cannot quite let go of
This blog post is not another round in the well-known reading wars! Okay, now that that is out of the way, what is this new study actually about? Well, while there is quite a lot of evidence that explicitly and systematically teaching the connections between letters and sounds, or systematic phonics, is an important part… Read More It is not only phonics that is important, but also how you teach phonics!
Some of the most popular guidance reports my own organisation Leerpunt has published discuss differentiation in education. This reminded me of a study I read a while ago that hadn’t become a blog post until now. The question the researchers posed in their paper seems quite simple at first glance: what do you, as a… Read More What do teachers need to differentiate effectively?