I’m really excited to be presenting at ResearchEd Ipswich next weekend. I’m talking about the power of visuals in science … More
Category: teaching
Using Visual Explanations Leads to Better Performance
I have been listening to Barbara Tversky’s wonderful new book: Mind in Motion, about the roots of thinking in the … More
A Short Booklet on What Research Says About Using Visuals in Teaching
Dear all, I have been thinking hard (and reading a lot) about using visualisations in class. Here is a booklet … More
Learning Intentions
I have been worrying about Learning Intentions for a quarter of a century. Occasionally I discreetly ask someone I trust … More
Using Visual Representations to Help Solve Abstract Physics Problems
By year 6, pupils are skilled mathematical problem solvers. They can solve multi-step questions involving abstract concepts. This sounds like … More
When knowledge is wrong…
Babies are born knowing physics. They express surprise when an object appears to be suspended in mid-air or pass through … More
What are the Cognitive Loads of reading and how can we reduce them?
Reading is a physics problem that doesn’t receive much attention in class. I think it should. Science professionals read a … More
The single most important thing for teachers to know…
Dear Reader, There is a lot being written about Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and how important it is. I have … More
Integrating Questions and Diagrams to Reduce Cognitive Load for Novice Physicists
I think this will be the last of my problem-solving blogs for a while – it’s a little one about … More
Haven’t We Got Enough To Do Already? Why Science Teachers Should Teach Vocabulary and How to Make it Stick
There are words in the English language that science teachers wish the English department would teach – words like … More
