As an education mythbuster, I often get questions about statements people make. In recent weeks, one in particular has come up several times: “Reading comprehension does not exist.” For some, that may sound odd. For others, there may be something to it. Perhaps because it touches on something that has been bothering education for quite… Read More Does “reading comprehension” even exist?
Some children are simply late to start talking. We call them late talkers. It seems logical that this resides within the child. A matter of innate ability. Be patient, and it will sort itself out. A recent study in Child Development by Avelar and colleagues raises some questions about that idea. The researchers studied nearly… Read More What childcare teaches us about late talkers and language development
Hattie’s effect sizes still tend to pop up in my blog posts and talks, though usually with the necessary caveats. By now, however, I’ve come to realise that his idea that anything above .40 represents added value has been leading us astray for years. A recent study by Vera Busse and colleagues on writing instruction… Read More Why an Effect Size of .11 Still Matters in Writing Instruction
Found this cartoon here. Check here for more Funny on Sunday.
Imagine two students with similar difficulties. One receives a diagnosis placing him on the autism spectrum. The other gets a label of an intellectual disability. The consequences of both diagnoses can be significant: different expectations, a different trajectory, different opportunities. But what if that difference does not lie only in the student, but also in… Read More When Language Becomes Diagnosis: Multilingual Learners in Special Education
We’ve almost all grown up with it: carrots are good for your eyesight. And spinach makes you strong (but that’s another story, or is it?). In some places, there’s an even stronger version of the claim: carrots can help you see in the dark. But where does that idea actually come from? And is it… Read More Do carrots really improve your eyesight? A myth born in World War II
There is a persistent notion in international education and policy circles: send young people from non-Western countries to Western universities, and they return as bearers of democracy. It sounds almost self-evident. Education shapes. Exposure changes people. And so, society changes along with them. But those same Western educational institutions also shaped various dictators… A topic… Read More Does studying in the West lead to more democracy? What education (cannot) do
Do AI tools create better lesson plans than teachers? Many educators would instinctively answer ‘no’. Some will hope ‘not yet’. But I think: is that actually the right question to ask? A recent study by Trust and colleagues seems to confirm the simple negative answer. The researchers asked ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot to generate more… Read More AI lesson planning: this study shows a problem, but not the right one
Students with hearing or visual impairments were once seen as a challenge for inclusive education. In many ways, they still sometimes can be. But over time, schools have built up expertise, support structures and experience. In many systems, this is no longer where the greatest tensions lie. The group that increasingly defines the challenge looks… Read More When youth services fail, schools become the safety net
In my work, I try to stay sober about AI. Sometimes that comes across as too critical for enthusiasts, sometimes too positive for sceptics. The latter group might feel more at home today, thanks to a new study by Sean P. Walton and colleagues that examines what actually happens when people work with AI. Human AI… Read More AI can improve work. But only if you actually use it