Why It’s Imperative We All Learn To Be ‘Emotion Scientists’
(KQED-Mind/Shift)
Our classroom research shows that where there is an emotionally skilled teacher present, students disrupt less, focus more, and perform better academically. Our studies show that where there is an emotionally skilled principal, there are teachers who are less stressed and more satisfied. And where there is an emotionally skilled parent, there are children who have a greater ability to identify and regulate their emotions.
Metacognition and why it matters in education
(Getting Smart)
Metacognition enables students to reflect on who they are, what they know, what they want to know, and how they can get to that point. I’m not an expert but this is a topic that I’ve become more interested in so I started to look into multiple resources to learn more.
As Teen Stress Increases, Teachers Look for Answers
(Edutopia)
Seventy percent of teens say stress is a major problem. Research backs that up—and teachers are beginning to offer solutions.
Make flashcards more powerful with these 3 tips
(Retreival Practice)
Lots of students use flashcards. But using flashcards doesn’t guarantee they’re using retrieval practice. In fact, students could be wasting their time.
10 simple steps for reducing toxic stress in the classroom
(Education Week – subscription required, free trial)
As the brain science on adverse childhood experiences evolves, teaching must, too
Our brains as hard drives—could we delete, modify or add memories and skills?
(Genetic Literacy Project)
Indeed, our growing understanding of how memories are formed is pushing us toward a day when we’ll be able to scrub disturbing memories from our minds, or even replace them with experiences and skills that would normally take years to learn.
Why the nation should screen all students for trauma like California does
(The Conversation)
As the first person to hold the new role of Surgeon General of California, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is pushing an unprecedented plan to implement universal screenings for childhood trauma within the state’s schools.
When a College Student Has a Troubled Roommate
(New York Times – subscription required, free trial)
The Thanksgiving break may be the first opportunity students have to step back from the situation and evaluate their role.
Students need to learn to manage their own screen time
(Edutopia)
When students understand the benefits of limiting screen time, they are better able to manage their own distractions.
The difference between an expert’s brain and a novice’s
(Science Daily)
In learning new tasks, neuron networks in the brain of mice become more refined and selective. Charting changes in neural activity can help inform the design of better computational models for understanding decision making and cognition.
A framework for student goal-setting
(Edutopia)
When middle and high school students set short- and long-term goals, they can see a path to the success they hope for.
How the brain can rewire itself after half of it is removed
(New York Times – subscription required, free trial)
New scans showed how the brains of people who had a hemisphere removed in childhood continue to function.
Intention-setting in the classroom
(Edutopia)
Asking middle school students to focus on their guiding principles can lead them to more productive individual and group work.
Students are really, really bad at spotting fake news, misleading websites
(Education Week’s Teaching Now- subscription required, free trial)
The video posted on Facebook was provocative: Grainy footage showed scenes of people cramming papers into boxes; a voiceover claimed it showed ballot-stuffing in the 2016 presidential election. “Have you ever noticed that the ONLY people caught committing voter fraud are Democrats?”, text at the bottom of the post prompted.
Are teachers prepared to teach social emotional learning?
(BAM! Radio – audio only, no transcript)
To what extent should teachers be responsible for students’ social and emotional learning? Moreover, are teachers prepared to assume this responsibility?
The unexpected secret to creativity
(Thrive Global)
A moment on a plane with my mother captured how scientists see the creative mind. Neuroscientists recently discovered that artists, writers, actors, and other creative experts are especially good at imagining, in vivid detail, what is far away from the here-and-now.
Angela Duckworth finds grit is not always the best predictor of success in new research
(Daily Philadelphian)
The study found cognitive ability is negatively correlated with physical ability and grit, while concluding physical ability and grit are positively correlated with one another. Duckworth also found that students with the very highest levels of cognitive and physical ability were less likely to graduate from West Point.
Some amazing data/teaching resources
(David Myers’s Talk Psych)
David Myers shares some ‘show-the-class goodies” related to improving conditions around the world in his reflection of Bill Gates’s favorite books.
Opinion: Math scares your child’s elementary school teacher — and that should frighten you
(Los Angeles Time – Op-ed by Daniel Willingham)
Consider why American kids struggle. Mathematical competence depends on three types of knowledge: having memorized a small set of math facts (like the times table), knowing standard algorithms to solve standard problems (like long division), and understanding why algorithms work (knowing why the standard method of solving long division problems yields the correct answer).
It’s time to drop the ‘sticks and stones’ cliche and help kids cope with the pain of exclusion
(Washington Post – subscription required, free trial)
One of the reasons it’s so important to cultivate a sense of belonging in children, explains Walton, is because when kids feel like they are working with others, and that others see them as partners, they are more motivated to keep at a task. This has been demonstrated in small studies of preschoolers as young as four.
Children are being locked away, alone and terrified, in schools across Illinois
(MSN News US)
Ross Greene, a clinical child psychologist and author of the book “The Explosive Child,” said repeated seclusion fuels a harmful cycle. Children who are frustrated and falling behind academically are taken out of the classroom, which makes them more frustrated and puts them even further behind.
