Author: Pedro

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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This blog is not about PISA… but about a (slightly smaller) study on money, worries and our brains

And no, this does not mean I will suddenly start writing about the big comparative study the OECD will publish today at 9.30 a.m. You will also be able to read all sorts of things about it here. By the way, it is just a little strange to be sitting here writing something when the… Read More This blog is not about PISA… but about a (slightly smaller) study on money, worries and our brains

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Defending science means talking about its problems

These are difficult times for people who do science, blog about science, and defend science. I do all three. Daniel Muijs wrote this blog post over the weekend defending educational research. He starts by acknowledging that there are indeed problems (certainly), but that there is also a lot of good research being done (also certainly).… Read More Defending science means talking about its problems

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