Close up of student with head down on a wooden desk, hair covering his or her face. Other students are working out of focus in the background.

Can students “catch” attention? Introducing “Attention Contagion”

Every teacher knows: students won’t learn much if they don’t pay attention. How can we…

A futuristic drawing of two heads facing each other, with dramatic lines showing extensive and expansive thinking

Should Teachers Be Excited about “Neural Synchrony”?

This blog — and this company — exist to give good advice to everyone who…

An actor, presumably playing Hamlet, holding up a skull while standing against an all-black background

Improving Multiple-Choice Questions: A Thought-Provoking Pause

Many teachers carry strong ambivalence about multiple-choice questions (handy abbreviation: MCQs). On the one hand,…

brightmind

Insight into a Bright Mind by Nicole Tetreault

Insight into a Bright Mind: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Stories of Unique Thinking is a profoundly…

Middle schooler wearing headphones and doing work in front of her laptop at a desk

Just In Case: Improving Online Learning

We teachers benefit A LOT from research-based guidance, but we do have to acknowledge a few…

A colorful bar graph, showing 20%, 40%, 60%,etc.

Graphic Disorganizers; or, When Should Teachers Decorate Handouts?

Teachers regularly face competing goals. For instance: On the one hand — obviously — we…

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To Insta or Not to Insta: That Is the Memory...

Here in the US, we’re having something of a national debate about the benefits/harms of…

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I Am a Doctrinaire Extremist; S/he Is a Thoughtful Moderate

I recently had an email exchange with an educational thinker and leader who has spent…

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The Neuroscience of You by Chantel Prat

What a blast! Despite diving into countless neuroscience introductions, this journey felt uniquely enjoyable, resonating…

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Does Mind-Wandering Harm Learning?

If you teach children for several hours a day, you just know that sometimes they’re…