3 Things: Phone vs. Book, The Zeigarnik effect, Creative Imitation

Three things I've learned this week about teaching, learning, and psychology.

Self-Directed Learning that Works: Teaching the Science of Learning

How can teachers best develop self-directed learners? Why does learning how to learn matter now more than ever? Self-directed learning is something of a mystery in education. We all want students to develop a deeper, lifelong interest in learning. Yet clear answers on how to do this are hard to come by. On one end …

3 Things: Describing Attention, Illusion of Explanatory Depth, Meaningful Signals

Three things I've learned this week about teaching, learning, and psychology.

Ultralearning by Scott Young [Book Notes]

Ultralearning | by Scott Young Summary: Learning new skills and upgrading on-the-job have become more necessary than ever. Yet the cost of education continues to skyrocket. Ultralearning is an aggressive approach to self-directed learning that can be used to accelerate a career, transition into a new career, or seek out a hidden advantage in a profession. …

The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World by Adam Gazzaley and Larry Rosen [Book Notes]

The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World | by Adam Gazzaley and Larry Rosen Summary: Humans exist in the tension between intention and action. Unfortunately, the digital age is only making it harder to follow through on our intentions. Constantly-connected smartphones interfere with our goal-setting abilities and allow increasing amounts of task-switching. The result …

3 Things: Creating New Ideas, Bi-Literate Brains, and Book Notes

3 insights about teaching, education research, and psychology.

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World by Maryanne Wolf [Book Notes]

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World| by Maryanne Wolf Summary: Humankind's best complement and salve to the digital age is the reading brain whose circuits developed over the past 6,000 years. The human reading brain led to the emergence of cognitive patience, which shapes the quality of our thought and depth of …

Indistractable: How to control your attention and choose your life by Nir Eyal [Book Notes]

Indistractable: How to control your attention and choose your life| by Nir Eyal Summary: There will be two kinds of people going forward – those who allow their attention (and lives) to be controlled by others, and those who are “indistractable.” Distraction is a desire to relieve discomfort driven by both internal and external triggers. Eyal …

Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman [Book Notes]

Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect | by Matthew D. Lieberman Summary: While Western culture prides individualization, humans are far more social than we understand. Our brains have adapted to bet heavily on human connection, mind reading, and harmonizing. Yet many of our institutions, schools, and places of living do not take advantage of, …

The Hidden Lives of Learners by Graham Nuthall [Book Notes]

The Hidden Lives of Learners | by Graham Nuthall Summary: The lives of learners remains hidden and unseen in most classrooms. Nuthall's extensive data collection - audio, video, observations, interviews, pre and post assessments - attempts to uncover the hidden lives of learners. His main discoveries: teachers underestimate the impact of peer culture on learning, and overestimate …