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
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?
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
On Friday evening, just before I went to bed, the news came through that Jason Arday had died at the age of 41. I have to admit, the news affected me quite a bit. I did not know him personally, but barely a week earlier I had written a rather critical blog post about him.… Read More Of the dead, speak no ill?
Over the past week, I have looked at quite a lot of research for this blog and, figuratively speaking, put quite a lot of it back on the shelf. Not because it was bad research. But because I often found myself thinking: we largely knew this already, and I have written about studies confirming this… Read More We Apparently Don’t Think Only in Language
The Exploding Heads don’t need Colin from Portsmouth to be funny and poignant! Check here for more Funny on Sunday.
A quick note: this blog post was a difficult balancing act to write. I want to make clear from the outset that a) I think mental health problems are very important, b) I think we should pay attention to them, but also c) that we need to keep a broad perspective. And Esther Yao and… Read More Well intended, but sometimes harmful? Working on mental health at school
Somewhere last week, or perhaps the week before, someone commented on one of my blog posts on social media that perhaps we should simply stop doing most research. The reason, to be fair, was a research finding that this person didn’t particularly like. But I have to admit that I have occasionally had the same… Read More Self-regulated learning doesn’t simply improve with age
Young children learn an enormous amount through imitation. They learn to speak, use cutlery (although some seem to unlearn that skill as teenagers 😉), kick a ball, or tie their shoelaces by watching others and then trying it themselves. Watching and practising is a remarkably powerful way to learn. We also know that young children… Read More Do Young Children Learn Through More Than Imitation?
It has almost become an accepted truth, with social media bans becoming increasingly popular among politicians. Young people spend more and more time on social media. Mental health appears to be declining. So one must be causing the other. Over the past few years, numerous studies have reported an association between heavier social media use… Read More Does Time on Social Media Predict Later Mental Health? A Five-Year Study Suggests Not