learning
How children learn. Memory, revision, reading and writing: what helps children take things in and keep them.
"Learning styles: what is useful and what is not"
The idea that children have a fixed "learning style" is popular but not supported by research. What to do instead.
2 min read"Reflection: thinking about what you have learned"
Reflection means looking back at what happened and what it means. Simple prompts, three kinds of reflection and a few examples for children.
2 min read"Retrieval practice: learning by recalling"
Trying to recall something from memory strengthens it. How to use low-stakes quizzes, flashcards and "brain dumps" with children.
2 min readDeeper questions to ask in maths
Questions that move children from getting answers to understanding maths: ask how they know, whether it is always true, and what would change.
2 min readExecutive function in children
Executive function covers planning, self-control and flexible thinking. How these skills develop and how adults can support them.
2 min readHelping children enjoy learning and feel well
Children learn best when they feel safe, are curious and have a say. Practical ways to build that at home and in school.
2 min readHelping children understand, not just remember
Deep learning means understanding ideas well enough to explain and use them. Teaching approaches and home habits that support it.
2 min readHow to help children remember more
What actually helps children remember: testing themselves, spacing practice, sleeping, moving and making meaning. What does not help, and why supplements are not the answer.
2 min readHow writing helps children learn
Writing helps children think, remember and express feelings. Practical ways to build writing skill, from planning to journaling, at home and at school.
2 min readLearning how to learn
Children learn more when they know how to plan, check and adjust their own learning. Here is what that looks like and how to teach it.
2 min readLearning is easier when children make connections
New ideas stick when they are linked to something a child already knows. How to build those links with questions, stories and everyday examples.
2 min readPreventing the summer reading slide
Children can lose some skills over the long summer break. Easy, enjoyable ways to keep reading going, at home and through libraries.
2 min readRevision techniques that work for children
Which revision methods are backed by research and which just feel productive, with a simple plan for exams and tests.
2 min readStudy techniques for children
Habits, places and routines that help children study at home, from primary age to teenage years, and what to do about learning styles.
2 min readThe forgetting curve and why review matters
Memories fade fastest soon after learning. Hermann Ebbinghaus measured this in the 1880s, and it is why short, spaced reviews work.
2 min readUsing pictures, sound and video to help children learn
Pictures, narration and video can help children learn when they are used with purpose, and hinder when they overload or distract. Guidelines from the research.
2 min readWhy fluency matters in learning
Fluency means doing something accurately, quickly and with ease. Why it frees up thinking in reading, maths and writing, and how to build it.
2 min readWorking memory and learning
Working memory holds what you are thinking about right now. It is small, it varies between children, and classroom tasks can easily overload it.
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