This longitudinal study seems to turn everything we know about screen time upside down

A Finnish study followed young people for eight years, tracking their physical activity and screen time at different points and then examining how these were associated with their cognitive performance in adolescence. Sounds impressive, and it is. And things get particularly interesting when more screen time appears to be positively associated with cognition. But… we… Read More This longitudinal study seems to turn everything we know about screen time upside down

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PISA 2025 Is Coming. But What Does It Actually Measure?

On September 8th, the OECD will publish the new PISA results. The results will not be released in December as before, but at the beginning of the school year. And, I must admit, I am quite torn about this. In each PISA cycle, one particular domain takes centre stage. It will be neither mathematics nor… Read More PISA 2025 Is Coming. But What Does It Actually Measure?

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Evidence-informed teaching should not mean evidence-dictated

When I saw the title of this article by Robin Nagy, the music lover in me had to chuckle. It left this Cake song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. But the article itself is much more serious. Nagy is not presenting new research or a theoretical paper. Instead, as an… Read More Evidence-informed teaching should not mean evidence-dictated

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Low expectations don’t always sound like low expectations

There has been quite a lot of discussion lately about the importance of high expectations in education. And I have noticed how a particular mechanism also seems to surface in discussions following the now tragic story of Jason Arday. The connection may seem a little far-fetched, but it is actually quite timely if you read… Read More Low expectations don’t always sound like low expectations

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Getting Teachers into the Classroom Faster, But Also Out Again Faster?

Last week, I already had several journalists on the phone, and one of the topics that came up was the teacher shortage. It is a problem that may become somewhat less severe in the coming years due to demographic changes. But take it from me: the shortage is still causing major headaches for many schools… Read More Getting Teachers into the Classroom Faster, But Also Out Again Faster?

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A few more thoughts on language and thinking

When I wrote this blog post about language and thinking, I genuinely thought hardly anyone would read it. It was a rather theoretical piece about language and thinking in adults. I posted it simply because I found the research extremely fascinating myself. Well, I got that quite wrong. My inbox and social media feeds quickly… Read More A few more thoughts on language and thinking

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Of the dead, speak no ill?

On Friday evening, just before I went to bed, the news came through that Jason Arday had died at the age of 41. I have to admit, the news affected me quite a bit. I did not know him personally, but barely a week earlier I had written a rather critical blog post about him.… Read More Of the dead, speak no ill?

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We Apparently Don’t Think Only in Language

Over the past week, I have looked at quite a lot of research for this blog and, figuratively speaking, put quite a lot of it back on the shelf. Not because it was bad research. But because I often found myself thinking: we largely knew this already, and I have written about studies confirming this… Read More We Apparently Don’t Think Only in Language

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Funny on Sunday: “Let’s Not Use Good AI Data Centre Water On Putting Out Forest Fires”

The Exploding Heads don’t need Colin from Portsmouth to be funny and poignant! Check here for more Funny on Sunday.

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Well intended, but sometimes harmful? Working on mental health at school

A quick note: this blog post was a difficult balancing act to write. I want to make clear from the outset that a) I think mental health problems are very important, b) I think we should pay attention to them, but also c) that we need to keep a broad perspective. And Esther Yao and… Read More Well intended, but sometimes harmful? Working on mental health at school

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