This article first appeared in the Eduk8me newsletter. Be sure to subscribe to be the first to get articles such as this. I hate to break it to you, but the idea of learning styles is a myth. It’s one of those myths that feels so right that it’s hard to believe it’s wrong. I always…
This article first appeared in the Eduk8me newsletter. Be sure to subscribe to be the first to get articles such as this. In a kind learning environment, participants have access to all of the information required to learn and get better at the activity. Think about sports such as tennis and baseball. You immediately get…
“A number of studies have shown that mindfulness can improve cognitive abilities, including certain verbal abilities. However, little research has examined how mindfulness can affect verbal learning and memory. Furthermore, no research has examined the mechanism by which mindfulness may improve learning and memory,” said study author Adam Lueke, an assistant teaching professor at Ball…
To learn new things, we must sometimes fail. But what’s the right amount of failure? New research led by the University of Arizona proposes a mathematical answer to that question. Educators and educational scholars have long recognized that there is something of a “sweet spot” when it comes to learning. That is, we learn best…
It turns out that doctors, more than most professionals, suffer from decision fatigue. The more decisions you make, particularly those that require careful deliberation and high stakes, the less willpower you have to make the next incremental decision. After an entire day of these types of decisions, you’re likely to avoid making any decision whatsoever….
Many adults in the US read no more than a book a year. That’s because books aren’t assigned after you’ve got your paperwork done. We’re surrounded by chances to learn, and yet, unless it’s sugarcoated or sold in the guise of earning a scarce credential, most of us would rather click on another link and…
Kindergarten children whose teachers rate them as being highly inattentive tend to earn less in their 30s than classmates who are rated highly “pro-social,” according to a recent paper in JAMA Psychiatry. In fact, inattention could prove to be a better predictor of future educational and occupational success than the famous “marshmallow test” designed to assess a…
My team at the Reboot Foundation recently asked a simple question: Is the use of technology in schools associated with increased student outcomes? Based on a study of national and international databases, we uncovered a surprising answer, and our work suggests that there’s actually a pretty weak link between technology and student achievement. Source: Does…