Explicit instruction or inquiry-based learning? Perhaps that’s the wrong question

The process of selecting studies or topics for my blog is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult. I have to admit that it can be very tempting to go for large studies or striking results. I know from experience that these can generate more ‘clicks’. But I personally found last weekend’s study about the feelings scientists experience… Read More Explicit instruction or inquiry-based learning? Perhaps that’s the wrong question

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Schools are not apps. Why do we keep forgetting this?

The most difficult thing in education is not transfer, although it comes close. Nor is it trying to get rid of learning styles, although I’m still doing my very best. No, the most difficult thing in education is scaling up. Many doomed stories in education usually start with someone who looks at conventional schools and… Read More Schools are not apps. Why do we keep forgetting this?

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Can childhood language ability predict where we end up 30 years later?

On Friday, my wife sent me this study. James Bruce Tomblin and colleagues followed a group of people for about thirty years. They observed them from kindergarten until their mid-thirties. The researchers wanted to know whether differences in oral language ability at a young age could predict the socioeconomic position people would reach much later… Read More Can childhood language ability predict where we end up 30 years later?

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Funny on Sunday: Teacher Comedians!

Teaching sometimes can feel like doing stand-up. Sometimes children can be a great interactive audience. Sometimes you can have some hecklers in class. But some of these teachers are really comedians. Check here for more Funny on Sunday.

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Bad news: all those meetings might actually be a good thing

Let me start with an easy confession: I hate meetings. And I am pretty sure I am not the only one. There are a few things employees seem to agree on as quickly as meetings. There are too many of them, and they last too long. And how often have you thought that the meeting… Read More Bad news: all those meetings might actually be a good thing

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In the scientist’s mind

When you read a scientific article, research can sometimes seem like a remarkably emotionless process. First, the researchers formulate a hypothesis. Next, they conduct an experiment. Then they analyse the data and draw a conclusion. Anyone who does research themselves knows, of course, that it rarely feels that way. On the contrary, it is a… Read More In the scientist’s mind

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Genes matter for personality, but they don’t determine it

After all the PISA hype, here is a study that is only indirectly related to education! A massive new study in Nature provides important new insights into the link between our personality and our genes. For this, the (truly ridiculous number of) researchers combined data from 46 cohorts. The number of participants ranged from well… Read More Genes matter for personality, but they don’t determine it

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Third time’s the charm. Here it is… a third rant about Alpha School

I don’t like to rant. I always want to keep things as nuanced as possible. I’m the good cop (my dear friend Paul is often the bad cop). But now I need to write a third rant about Alpha School (check here and here for the first two). But this time it’s not about the… Read More Third time’s the charm. Here it is… a third rant about Alpha School

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A promise is a promise: PISA in the United Kingdom (what can we learn?)

Yesterday, I wrote about the new PISA 2025 results, and my post ended with a question to explore: what happens if, instead of looking at the United Kingdom (UK) as a whole, as reported in the OECD’s first Volume, we look at England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland separately? So, this post delivers on that… Read More A promise is a promise: PISA in the United Kingdom (what can we learn?)

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And here it is… PISA (a slightly idiosyncratic dip into the grab bag)

As I post this, the embargo has been lifted, and articles about PISA 2025 are appearing on news websites around the world. And yes, there is plenty of bad news to report. In many education systems, the results are still moving in the wrong direction. A few years ago, it looked as if these results… Read More And here it is… PISA (a slightly idiosyncratic dip into the grab bag)

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