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Understanding how exercise affects cognition.

Exercise and Cognition: Modest but Real

I was sitting in the staff room last Tuesday, staring at a pile of half-marked essays and a lukewarm cup of tea,...

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Understanding how sleep affects learning overnight.

Consolidation Happens Overnight

I was sitting in a Year 9 assembly last Tuesday, watching a boy in the third row stare at a poster with...

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Understanding how deliberate practice works.

Practising the Bit You Are Bad at

I remember sitting in a windowless training suite back in 2014, nodding politely while a consultant in a slim-fit suit explained exactly...

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Learning how expertise is built through experience.

Ten Years and Good Feedback

I remember sitting in a windowless seminar room during my first year as a middle leader, nodding politely while a consultant in...

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Understanding how creativity is developed through tools.

Creativity Requires Something to Be Creative With

I was sitting in a CPD session last Tuesday—the kind where the air conditioning is too loud and the presenter is far...

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Learning how problem solving develops in domains.

Problem Solving Is Domain Specific

I’ve sat through enough “innovation seminars” to know the drill: some consultant in a slim-fit suit stands at the front of a...

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How to learn mathematics effectively through practice.

Practice and Understanding Reinforce Each Other

I remember sitting in a departmental meeting ten years ago, staring at a glossy, twenty-page manual on “innovative mathematical discovery models” that...

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Tips on how to learn a language.

Language Learning Needs Volume of Input

I spent most of my career watching well-meaning educators and “polyglot influencers” sell a version of learning that simply doesn’t exist outside...

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Tips on how to learn vocabulary.

Learning Words by Using Them

I’ve lost count of how many “revolutionary” vocabulary apps and glossy, colour-coded word mats have been shoved into my department over the...

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How background knowledge affects comprehension in reading.

You Cannot Skill Your Way Past Not Knowing

I remember sitting in a middle leadership meeting ten years ago, listening to a consultant in a sharp suit explain that if...

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