News

Examinations, deadlines and difficulties with friends can result in pressure and stress for students (and teachers). Join us this fortnight to explore how mental health impacts learning with other teachers and the following educational researchers: Discuss risk factors for mental illness with Christina. Ask Sveta about interventions to support social and emotional cognition and self-regulation. Chat with Alice about how emotion understanding relates to behaviour and school outcomes. Speak with Cat about development of social and emotional processing during adolescence. When are live chats? Thursday 17th May, 8-9pm Tuesday 22nd May, 8-9pm Get the dates in your planner now, we’ll remind you before each chat. In the News Why Your Brain on Stress Fails to Learn Properly – 2nd April 2018, Psychology Today Pupil progress held back by teachers’ poor mental health – 23rd January 2018, Leeds Beckett University The government ‘is failing a generation’ with school mental health reforms – 9th May 2018, … Continue reading →

There is some evidence that a growth mindset can benefit learning but when you look behind the headlines, evidence to support the teaching of growth mindsets is unclear. What’s your view on the topic? Join us tonight at 8pm to share your thoughts and discuss how mindsets and metacognition affect your students’ learning. Last week’s chat featured discussions on how to support students struggling to put their ideas into writing and the evidence behind pair work. Catch up on the highlights here. Take me to the live chat, 8-9pm Questions on mindset and metacognition: I am interested in meta -cognition – what is the earliest age that children are really aware of their own learning ability? It would be great if you had any advice on how to establish a growth mindset in children? We try to encourage student response to feedback via metacognition. But it simply doesn’t work as well as I’ve … Continue reading →

There is some evidence that a growth mindset can benefit learning but when you look behind the headlines, evidence to support the teaching of growth mindsets is unclear. What’s your view on the topic? Join us tonight at 8pm to share your thoughts and discuss how mindsets and metacognition affect your students’ learning. Take me to the live chat, 8-9pm Questions on mindset and metacognition: I am interested in meta -cognition – what is the earliest age that children are really aware of their own learning ability? It would be great if you had any advice on how to establish a growth mindset in children? We try to encourage student response to feedback via metacognition. But it simply doesn’t work as well as I’ve read… Do you have any advice or alternatives that I could put into practice… I would love your opinions now how to motivate students and build resilience in … Continue reading →

There is some evidence that having a growth mindset can benefit learning but when you look behind the headlines, evidence to support the teaching of growth mindsets is hazy and a number of misconceptions have crept into this area. As with developing a growth mindset, metacognition has become widely recognised as an effective way to improve learning, although the evidence to support metacognition is stronger. Read more in the topic summary and join us to discuss the research to explain the impact of mindsets and metacognition on learning. Ask Yvonne about feedback and teaching students to ‘believe and achieve’. Chat with Linda about students’ understanding and monitoring of their own cognitive processes. Speak with Anna about how enhancing creativity and keeping an open mind can improve learning. Ask David about psychological development in early years. When are live chats? Thursday 3 May, 8-9pm Tuesday 8 May, 8-9pm Get the dates in your planner now, we’ll remind you … Continue reading →

Curious about the Science of Learning? Keen to ensure your teaching practice is evidence-based and effective? Take advantage of the opportunity to discuss current educational research and how to make use of it in the classroom with researchers and other teachers tonight at 8pm. 4 research scientists are available to chat tonight; Victoria specialises in analysing evidence, Catherine W studies the impact of school PE on academic attainment, Anne researches links between physical and cognitive development and Louise is an expert on the effects of diet on cognition and health. Can’t make the chat tonight? Post questions to 50+ scientists on the site any time to start a discussion about anything that interests you about the Science of Learning. In the news Why Hunt’s screen time limits for kids are scientific nonsense April 2018 – The Guardian Science of Learning – A collection of articles March 2018 – Impact, Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching Discussions happening in the Learning Zone I just … Continue reading →

From a teacher’s point of view, it certainly feels like sleep, diet, exercise and use of video games impact on learning. But what evidence is there to explain how these factors affect learning? Read more in the topic summary and join us to evaluate the evidence and discuss what research says about how different factors impact on the learning of our young people. Chat with the Teensleep Team about the impact insufficient sleep can have on learning, health and wellbeing. Ask Louise about the effects of diet on cognition and health. Speak to Catherine Gammon about the effects of physical activity, particularly among adolescent girls. Explore the impact of external factors on how children learn and remember what words mean with Jessica. Chat with Catherine Wheatley about the impact of school PE on academic attainment in secondary schools. Ask Anne about links between children’s physical and cognitive development. Quiz Victoria on how best to analyse the evidence for different factors that affect learning. When are … Continue reading →

Curious about the Science of Learning? Keen to ensure your teaching practice is evidence-based and effective? Take advantage of the opportunity to discuss current educational research and how to make use of it in the classroom with researchers and other teachers tonight at 8pm. Can’t make the chat tonight? Post questions to 50+ scientists on the site any time to start a discussion about anything that interests you about the Science of Learning. Note – there are no Learning Zone live chats for the next few weeks as schools break for Easter. Teachers – please post your questions in ASK in the meantime and normal play resumes 16th April. In the news Science of Learning – A collection of articles March 2018 – Impact, Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching Applying the Science of Learning in the Classroom February 2018 – Impact, Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching Interview with Sarah-Jayne … Continue reading →

Do ability-based groupings work? What does research say about smart drugs? What evidence backs up teaching methods for students with additional learning needs? Discuss these questions and more with researchers and other teachers in tonight’s live chat on individual differences, 8:30-9:30pm: Chat with Lorna about typical and atypical development of language and literacy. Speak to Emma about the role genes play in behaviour and academic performance. Chat with Jacob about how basic brain processes might cause differences in decision making, particularly in numeracy and mathematics. Can’t make the chat tonight? Post questions to 50+ scientists on the site any time to start a discussion about anything that interests you about the Science of Learning. In the news Every teacher is a researcher of SEND – Optimus Education, 15th March 2018 The academic disadvantage of being born in the summer – Nature Partner Journals, 15th January 2018 For children with dyslexia, multilingualism can be beneficial – Blog on Learning & Development, 12th March 2018 … Continue reading →

Many schools set students in ability-based classes, despite a lack of evidence that these groupings cause an academic improvement. Students are taking smart drugs despite the risks and limited improvement on attention or memory. The Learning Zone is here to help you explore the science of learning and the evidence that backs up different strategies. There are many factors that make learners different to each other, including intelligence, genetics, and developmental disorders. So how do we use the available evidence to ensure we are supporting each student in the best way we can? Read more in the Topic Summary and join the conversation this fortnight with other teachers and the following researchers: Chat with Lorna about typical and atypical development of language and literacy. Ask Camilla about cognitive skills and how individuals process numbers. Talk with Cortenay about how language ability affects other skills like emotion processing and social skills. Speak … Continue reading →

Curious about the Science of Learning? Keen to ensure your teaching practice is evidence-based and effective? Take advantage of the opportunity to discuss current educational research and how to make use of it in the classroom with researchers and other teachers tonight at 8pm. Can’t make the chat tonight? Post questions to 50+ scientists on the site any time to start a discussion about anything that interests you about the Science of Learning. In the news Science of Learning – A collection of articles March 2018 – Impact, Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching Applying the Science of Learning in the Classroom February 2018 – Impact, Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching Neuroscience, Psychology and Education: Emerging Links February 2018 – Impact, Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching Better learning through educational neuroscience? March 2018 – Blog on Learning and Development Recent discussions in the Learning Zone Is there a … Continue reading →