Why one well-studied story can sometimes tell us more than a thousand measurements

In conversations with students and with others, I sometimes notice their surprise when I mention case studies. Science, it seems, is assumed to be something you do with large samples, complex models, and tables full of asterisks signalling statistical significance. As if you can only learn something from hundreds or thousands of participants, and not… Read More Why one well-studied story can sometimes tell us more than a thousand measurements

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Edtech: Big Profits for Companies, Little Learning for Students?

This article from The Economist has been sitting in my open tabs for quite some time. Not because it is sensational, but because it captures something that has been in the air for a while. The topic of educational technology and learning outcomes becomes essential here. The title alone is provocative: Edtech is profitable. It… Read More Edtech: Big Profits for Companies, Little Learning for Students?

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When Feedback Creates Readers (and When It Doesn’t)

A child reads aloud in class. They stumble over a word. The teacher interrupts: “No, that’s not correct. Try again.” The child repeats the word correctly this time. Next sentence. Next mistake. And next correction. It is such a familiar classroom scene that it almost feels natural: feedback during reading instruction is about fixing errors.… Read More When Feedback Creates Readers (and When It Doesn’t)

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What a Nest Thermostat Says About Digital Dependence

yA few months ago, my smart thermostat stopped working. Not with a dramatic error message, but quietly. The app no longer behaved the way it used to. Several functions simply disappeared. Let me tell you a story about technological sovereignty and digital dependence. The reason was simple and uncomfortable: the company behind it decided to… Read More What a Nest Thermostat Says About Digital Dependence

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Are you paying attention? Your heart says something else…

Everyone who teaches knows the image. Or hopes to see it one day, perhaps. Students sit up straight, look to the front, and take notes. The classroom is quiet. On paper, everything looks perfect. This is what engagement is supposed to look like. And yet. Something nags. As a teacher, you can feel that not… Read More Are you paying attention? Your heart says something else…

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Funny on Sunday: Proof without Content

This one is from xkcd. Check here for more Funny on Sunday.

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How useful are meta-analyses really?

They appear frequently on this blog. John Hattie made them world-famous in education. Meta-analyses are often seen as the highest level of scientific evidence. They combine the results of dozens or even hundreds of studies and try to distil one clear answer: Does this approach work or not? For anyone looking for guidance in the… Read More How useful are meta-analyses really?

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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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