Retrieval Practice and Stress
School can be stressful, and 2020 has been a particularly stressful year for many of us. So, for this week’s blog, I thought I would write about retrieval practice and stress. Fortunately, I get to share some good news!
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Grit: Is it important to Teach Passion and Perseverance?
School performance is influenced by several factors. In recent years a new concept has gained attention in that context: "grit" or willpower, an individual characteristic that goes beyond IQ or the access to materials. Although more research is needed, teachers can take advantage of this characteristic and help students to develop it, for example by teaching them not to give up in the face of difficulties.
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Teaching or confusing the students? What the research tells us about the idea that «the teaching method must be varied»
Belgium and several other countries are discussing the possibility to base pedagogical choices on the competencies approach, the discovery approach, and pedagogical differentiation. Based on recent research, Clermont Gauthier, Steve Bissonnette and Marie Bocquillon criticise those proposals, but they point out that the teacher's action must maintain a stable orientation and vary learning activities according to the subject and the students, and not because of the idea that it is necessary to vary.
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Adolescent Procrastination, an Old New Concern for Teachers
Students are not born procrastinators. The behaviour of postponing tasks is a learned habit rooted in childhood. By following the five proven strategies described below, parents and teachers can help students develop resilience to procrastination.
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How to design – or choose – the best educational videos?
At a time when teachers are looking for ways to teach their classes online, videos can be allies. Even more so when there are already materials online that can be easily used. Scientific research has been lefting some clues on how to choose or build videos that best help students learn.
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Learning through mobile phones and tablets: Five ideas from psychological research for an effective result
At a time when distance learning has become urgent, it is important to understand the educational effects of using mobile learning. From what is known to date, the application of psychological theories to the educational use of these devices contributes to promote learning efficiency. Based on the most recent research in this field, five of these contributions are systematised.
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Tips for effective teaching if you have to teach at a distance
Because of the Corona pandemic, we’re all going through a period that none of us have ever experienced. With respect to teaching and learning, kids can’t attend school and we must help them learn at home. And this might last weeks or months. Fortunately, online education offers a solution, but the instructional techniques involved are not (completely) the same as what we do in the classroom during face-to-face education.
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The impact of holidays on learning to write
School breaks open the way for children to forget what they have learned. Holidays are good for students and teachers to rest, but several studies suggest that longer breaks can represent a loss of knowledge in reading and math, and new research shows that the impact is even more negative in writing.
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Resources and strategies for effective online education
Numerous strategies can be used to take full advantage of the possibilities that online education allows for, while avoiding the risks it can cause. Richard Clark (2001) emphatically argued that the learning process is generated by the methods of instruction (the strategies), and not the means (online or face-to-face). If the best strategies are used, declines in learning can be avoided.
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Online education: a need that may have its advantages
The closing of schools to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 has placed online education in the limelight. In a time when online classes have become a forceful option, two relevant questions arise: How can students learn remotely, and what are the advantages of online education?
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Learning through play is more than play
Let children play! Let them figure out and discover stuff themselves! Let them create things! Let them set their own goals and come up with their own ideas! That’s how they learn: naturally!
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Focus is good but varying its target is even better: when and how to use interleaved study
Switching between ideas and exercises during a study session is a powerful way of improving learning. It is especially effective in enhancing inductive learning, such as mathematical concepts or learn visual materials. And it can be used in the classroom.
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