Iain Wilson’s Post

Decided to unpack a great literature review on 'Self-Directed Learning'. With #21stCenturySkills as a key goal for students, understanding what it means is an essential first step for educators. #selfdirectedlearning #framework #education #competencies #studentsuccess https://lnkd.in/dJcZ2Tp3

#DidYouKnow that there is 100+ years of cognitive science research behind the simple teaching strategy of #RetrievalPractice, and it’s proven to raise students’ grades? You might assume that all learning occurs during the initial “encoding stage” when learners cram information “in” their brain by re-reading, reviewing, and taking notes. However, a significant amount of learning occurs when students pull information back “out” of their brain. When students are encouraged to retrieve facts and skills in low-stakes settings like reviewing flashcards or taking ungraded quizzes, the mental challenge produces durable long-term learning. In line with this, stay tuned for Kolibri v0.16, which will feature practice quizzes where learners can practice a quiz over and over again, reviewing their answers each time to do repeated effortful retrieval. Learn more and get free teaching resources at retrievalpractice.org (source: RetrievalPractice.org) #BrainScience #CognitiveScience #TheScienceofLearning #LearningTools #Teachingtools #digitaleducationtools #Digitallearning #researchbased #funfact #retrievalpractice #learningtips #teachingtips #teachingresources #teachingtools #educators

Curious about the intertwining of cognitive styles with learning techniques? Dive deep into how these two factors influence the way we understand, store, and recall information! Discover the dynamic connection between one's ingrained learning habits and the strategies that amplify their educational results. As educators, harness the power of these insights to finetune your teaching approaches, addressing students' unique cognitive needs. Webinar Details: Topic: Relationship between Cognitive Styles and Learning Strategies Thursday, 17th August 2023 at 8:30 PM Friday, 18th August 2023 at 3:30 PM AEST Don't miss out! Reserve your place now and engage in a riveting discussion on the contemporary avenues of learning: https://lnkd.in/g6riDuMf #educationwebinar #learningstyles #learningstrategies #CognitiveStyles #teachingmethods #educators #professionaldevelopmentforteachers

Engaging students interactively to focus on errors, and the reasons for them, facilitates productive failure and learning from errors. https://lnkd.in/g-TYCgRE

Team high-structure promotes “desirable difficulties,” like spacing, interleaving, retrieval practice, and generative learning strategies. Team low-structure promotes “productive struggle,” as students wrestle to construct their own understanding through inquiry, discovery, and so forth. I have long argued that cognitive science reseach can’t tell teachers what to do. Instead, that reseach can help teachers think about what to do. If we shift the high-structure/low-structure debate from a to do list (“follow these pedagogical steps”) to a to-think list (“think about making students THINK HARD in these ways”), we just might get the best ideas from both approaches. https://lnkd.in/gXpPkSdG

I spoke tonight at #RECurriculumConversations about the religion and worldviews approach to RE. Its value lies within the focus on personal knowledge in particular. We need to help learners navigate their (changing) positionality in order to unpack misconceptions. When we explicitly give learners a means for unpacking positionality, they are at an advantage. Learning builds in schemas. As we learn, we arrange information into sets of ideas –networks- big webs of information- that help us make sense of the world. This makes future recall easier because whole sets of ideas are recalled together. But there is a big problem for teachers here. Each schema is unique to the person.  Although it helps us remember things, we need to invest heavily in building strong foundations and checking students’ prior knowledge and activating it BEFORE giving them more. We need to anticipate misconceptions, perspectives and perceptions AND tackle them. Giving students the opportunity to reflect on their changing worldview and lens is imperative to high quality RE teaching and learning. Thank you to brilliant organisers and hosts, Natalie and Andrew, for giving me the opportunity to take part in this event. https://lnkd.in/ejzxqsKs

Ever wondered how seemingly unrelated activities could shape your students' understanding of a lesson? The answer lies in 'priming', a powerful psychological tool that can influence our responses. Check out this enlightening video by the Science of Learning Research Centre, and an associated infographic that explore the concept of priming and its application in the classroom. The video starts with a fun game demonstrating how exposure to certain stimuli can shape subsequent responses, and then delves into the neural processes behind this phenomenon. Learn how pre-lesson activities can prime students for better interpretation and understanding of lesson content. From planning your lessons to tailoring warm-up activities, these resources will guide you on how to use priming effectively in your teaching approach. As you explore these resources, consider the questions they raise about how far learning strategies can be primed, which types of activities prime specific strategies, and how adaptable these activities are for various classrooms. Ready to transform your teaching approach? Explore the video here: https://buff.ly/41a3xjp #InsPIREntu #ScienceofLearning #SoLntu

Curious about memory's role in learning? 🧠✨ Explore our FREE 5-minute guide for practical tips on boosting memory retention and enhancing classroom effectiveness: https://loom.ly/hwh5uuU 💡📚 #cognitivescience #researchschoolsnetwork #makingresearchreal

Learning to read well requires automatic decoding and comprehension. Readers who consciously decode letters and words struggle to focus on the meaning. Key cognitive skills like attention, visual discrimination, sequential processing, and working memory must be automatic for successful reading, but these are often lacking in struggling readers and are not taught in schools. While schools don't teach these skills, they can be developed. BrainWare SAFARI, a cognitive skills development program in a video-game format, has shown dramatic improvements in students' cognitive abilities in just 11-12 weeks. This program helps struggling, normal, and gifted readers improve their literacy by strengthening essential cognitive skills. https://lnkd.in/gBWw_Cx9 #ReadingSkills #CognitiveDevelopment #EdTech #StrugglingReaders #BrainTraining #Literacy #DigitalLearning #EducationalGames #LearningSuccess #VisualProcessing

🧠Prior Knowledge Makes Learning Stick🧠 Consider the cognitive load placed upon students encountering entirely novel information. This scenario can be likened to the demanding task of simultaneously juggling and acquiring a new language. By strategically activating prior knowledge, educators can significantly enhance the learning experience.    Our working memory is like a mental whiteboard – limited space for new ideas. By connecting new concepts to what students already know, we free up space for deeper analysis and critical thinking. When students can weave new information into their existing knowledge framework, it becomes more meaningful and easier to remember. Activated prior knowledge strengthens the neural connections that support long-term memory. For example: When teaching Shakespeare’s sonnets, instead of diving straight into the concept of iambic pentameter, we can ask students to brainstorm famous love poems they know and discuss the use of metaphors, similes, and imagery. This builds a bridge to understanding Shakespeare's techniques.🎭 ❓❓ How can you activate prior knowledge in your subject? Share in the comments. #teachingandlearning #ibdp #ibmyp #englishlanguageteaching #education #realworldlearning #criticalthinking #memory #edtech