Dear colleague, As those of us in the United States approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to use today’s post to remind you of some of the practical and professional arguments for resting seriously and earnestly. Human beings can only take so much pressure before their performance declines. Psychologists Yerkes and Dodson codified this idea […]
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What Bill Watterson Teaches Teachers
Dear colleague, Today’s article is a bonus for you as we enter the holiday season. If you’re not sure of a good gift for someone you treasure, I hope it helps. But more than that, I hope you’ll be inspired by the wisdom of Bill Watterson. — DSJ The single best gift I’ve ever bought […]
The Familiarity Trap
A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a student about her math class. This is what she said that stood out to me: “When he’s going over the problems in class it makes so much sense. But then when I go to do it myself, I can’t figure it out.” This is called the […]
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(But LOTS of Teachers Misunderstand and Overcomplicate It)
Dear colleague, In my upcoming Principles of Learning Course (registration opens tomorrow; details are in the P.S. to this blog post), we’re going to look at the following 10 principles of learning: In two of these principles — “tests” and “practice” — there’s an element I touch upon that bears some consideration in our blog […]
Test Stress and Anxiety are Not Inevitable
Dear colleague, There are a few reasons each of us should pay attention to test stress and anxiety. (Not seeing a video? Click here.) But does test-induced stress really affect that many students? In my experience, it does. The other day in class, I asked my students to raise their hand if they feel at […]