Category: Psychology

Children are not born as blank slates, but as overstuffed bookcases

It is quite literally an age-old debate. Are children born as a blank slate, or is everything already determined from the start? These are two positions that have alternated for centuries, usually in slightly more modern packaging, from behaviourism to insights from genetics. One emphasises environment and experience, the other focuses on disposition and biology.… Read More Children are not born as blank slates, but as overstuffed bookcases

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Test anxiety: less about performance, more about preparation

I enjoy learning new things myself, so this past weekend I not only spoke at ResearchED NYC but also attended several sessions. I would like to briefly reflect on Ben Lovett’s talk about test anxiety. We had a very small audience for him, which surprised me. I consider the subject to be very topical, and… Read More Test anxiety: less about performance, more about preparation

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Does working longer keep your brain sharp? The answer is nuanced

We hear it all the time: we have to work longer. This leads to tensions, strikes, and demonstrations. Just this week, among the pilots in the country where I live. But… are there also personal benefits to working longer? It is perhaps a question that some might find offensive, but it is one that Noah Arman… Read More Does working longer keep your brain sharp? The answer is nuanced

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More motivation at school, more anxiety?

This is one of those studies where your first thought is: yes, we already know that. And yet, it is worth taking a moment to read more slowly. Guixia Wang and her colleagues analysed PISA data from more than 400,000 students in 53 countries. Their question was simple: how does achievement motivation relate to school-related anxiety?… Read More More motivation at school, more anxiety?

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Stop adding interventions. Start improving teaching.

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.

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What the brain of a memory champion teaches us about learning

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

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Not everything has to be fun. But joy in learning still matters.

“Learning needs to be fun” quickly turns into a familiar caricature: classrooms where everything has to be enjoyable, where substance gives way to entertainment. Bring it up in a debate, and people immediately know what you mean. And what they think of it. But in pushing back against that caricature, we may have dropped a… Read More Not everything has to be fun. But joy in learning still matters.

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Who do smartphone bans actually work for? A view from a different research perspective

Smartphones are disappearing from schools worldwide. Sometimes completely, sometimes partially. According to UNESCO, many education systems have, in recent years, decided to limit or ban their use. This is also becoming a reality closer to home, in Flanders and the Netherlands. Various reasons are cited. In France, the original aim was to protect teachers’ privacy.… Read More Who do smartphone bans actually work for? A view from a different research perspective

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Why languages are not random (and what they have in common)

You would expect that if you give people complete freedom, things would go in all directions. Give ten groups the same task, without examples, without consultation, and you expect variation. A lot of variation. And you will probably get that. But rarely is that variation completely random. If you look closely, patterns start to appear.… Read More Why languages are not random (and what they have in common)

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Is the mental health crisis amongst young people an elite problem? A longer read on a complex theme!

I already raised this on my blog before: when we talk about the increase in mental health problems among young people, these seem to be rising mainly among children from more advantaged backgrounds. At the same time, it remains true, as it has for decades, that young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are on average… Read More Is the mental health crisis amongst young people an elite problem? A longer read on a complex theme!

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