We have known for some time that feedback can help improve teaching. From students and colleagues. The idea is simple: if you gain insight into what is happening in your classroom, you can make more targeted adjustments. And yet, it happens remarkably rarely. Why is this? And we do not know this merely anecdotally. In… Read More Why teachers rarely ask for feedback (and why that’s not an individual problem)
A new OECD study was published yesterday, examining what teachers know about teaching. This report does not provide “the answer” to what constitutes good teaching, but attempts, for the first time on a larger scale, to measure what teachers actually know about teaching and more. You will likely read little about it in the media,… Read More What Do Teachers Know About Teaching? A New OECD Study
We remain remarkably stubborn in our belief that learning and development can be improved by adding something “on the side.” An intervention, a programme, a training. Something psychological, something cognitive, something layered on top of regular education. Think of self-efficacy, executive functions, or motivation programmes. Somewhere in all of this sits an implicit promise: if… Read More Stop adding interventions. Start improving teaching.
Retrieval practice is one of those strategies that’s hard to argue with. The idea is simple: have students actively retrieve information from memory rather than just review it. No passive rereading. Just trying, failing, correcting, and trying again. Its effectiveness has been well-documented for years: what you retrieve sticks better. But as is often the… Read More Better remembering is not better doing: the limits of retrieval practice
There is no shortage of opinions about AI in education at the moment. New tools, new promises, new concerns. And increasingly, new studies. The past weekend in Tokyo I also had many talks about the subject (thank you Carl, Barb and the infamous many others). But if you take a step back, something odd appears.… Read More Does AI work in education? It’s the question everyone is asking. It is also the wrong one.
Imagine that you can memorise 300 digits in five minutes. Or memorise the order of a full deck of cards in less than a minute. For most of us, that sounds like some kind of supernatural superpower. Someone who can actually do all this is Nelson Dellis, a six-time American memory champion and record holder… Read More What the brain of a memory champion teaches us about learning
There is a growing body of research on AI in education, but strikingly often it remains at the same level: does it work better with or without AI? That, in itself, is an interesting question, but it misses something fundamental. It says little about what actually changes in teachers’ work. A recent preprint by Kramer… Read More What does AI do to the work of teachers? Beyond the question of whether it works
Found this animation here! I wasn’t sure if I shouldn’t call it Sarcastic on Sunday this week. And yes I’ve been both reviewer 1 and 2. And I have been on the receiving side of Check here for more Funny on Sunday.
A slightly longer run-up for this blog. I sometimes use a somewhat provocative example when discussing equal opportunities. Should we actually forbid parents from reading to their children in the evening? Not because reading aloud is a bad thing, quite the opposite. But because we know it helps. And therefore, not every child benefits from… Read More How something good can increase inequality: on reading enjoyment
Sometimes I have to read a lot of research before I find something worth blogging about. That was the case this time, to be honest. But then I came across this study, which is both very recognisable and has quite far-reaching implications. The press release summarises it like this: on days when people are mentally… Read More Why your performance depends on the day (not just your ability)