What should you do when a press release claims multilingualism can make your brain 13 years younger?

This weekend, I came across this piece on ScienceDaily. Like any good press release, the message is one that rather invites you to click: speaking several languages could keep your brain up to thirteen years younger. This sounds promising, especially if you speak several languages. The newspaper articles almost write themselves, but before you download… Read More What should you do when a press release claims multilingualism can make your brain 13 years younger?

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Who actually expects the most from educational innovation?

My wife was at a conference in Finland last week and sent me this link, along with the slide below, saying, “this might be interesting for your blog.” At first sight, it is about a large-scale experiment in which children in Finland start something resembling kindergarten a year earlier, at five instead of six. Primary… Read More Who actually expects the most from educational innovation?

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A team meeting does not make a team

Anyone who has been following my work and this blog for a while will know that I am quite interested in collective teacher efficacy and collective student efficacy. This post is related to the first of these concepts. Depending on the type of school you work in, there are subject departments, working groups, professional learning… Read More A team meeting does not make a team

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Funny on Sunday: A Very Rare Sort of Bear

This video is maybe less ok if you’re a big fan of Paddington… Check here for more Funny on Sunday.

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This longitudinal study seems to turn everything we know about screen time upside down

A Finnish study followed young people for eight years, tracking their physical activity and screen time at different points and then examining how these were associated with their cognitive performance in adolescence. Sounds impressive, and it is. And things get particularly interesting when more screen time appears to be positively associated with cognition. But… we… Read More This longitudinal study seems to turn everything we know about screen time upside down

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PISA 2025 Is Coming. But What Does It Actually Measure?

On September 8th, the OECD will publish the new PISA results. The results will not be released in December as before, but at the beginning of the school year. And, I must admit, I am quite torn about this. In each PISA cycle, one particular domain takes centre stage. It will be neither mathematics nor… Read More PISA 2025 Is Coming. But What Does It Actually Measure?

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Evidence-informed teaching should not mean evidence-dictated

When I saw the title of this article by Robin Nagy, the music lover in me had to chuckle. It left this Cake song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. But the article itself is much more serious. Nagy is not presenting new research or a theoretical paper. Instead, as an… Read More Evidence-informed teaching should not mean evidence-dictated

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Low expectations don’t always sound like low expectations

There has been quite a lot of discussion lately about the importance of high expectations in education. And I have noticed how a particular mechanism also seems to surface in discussions following the now tragic story of Jason Arday. The connection may seem a little far-fetched, but it is actually quite timely if you read… Read More Low expectations don’t always sound like low expectations

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Getting Teachers into the Classroom Faster, But Also Out Again Faster?

Last week, I already had several journalists on the phone, and one of the topics that came up was the teacher shortage. It is a problem that may become somewhat less severe in the coming years due to demographic changes. But take it from me: the shortage is still causing major headaches for many schools… Read More Getting Teachers into the Classroom Faster, But Also Out Again Faster?

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A few more thoughts on language and thinking

When I wrote this blog post about language and thinking, I genuinely thought hardly anyone would read it. It was a rather theoretical piece about language and thinking in adults. I posted it simply because I found the research extremely fascinating myself. Well, I got that quite wrong. My inbox and social media feeds quickly… Read More A few more thoughts on language and thinking

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