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

Science: A Great Source of Metaphor…

Have you got time to read two very short science texts? Both of them are surprising and wonderful. First text: a … More

Definitions

Definitio. I. Quantitas materiæ est mensura ejusdem orta ex illius densitate et magnitudine conjunctim. Definition I The quantity of matter … More

Silent Reading: What’s Going On Inside?

The student is silent. Eyes flick across the page. The page turns. It’s a good book. What could go wrong? … More

I Asked 100 Scientists…. My Royal Society of Chemistry Blog

I wanted to know how scientists and engineers learnt to read professional texts, so I asked some. 100 professional scientists … More

High-quality textbooks won’t work without high-quality textbook reading.

Last Thursday (11th June), Nick Gibb delivered a speech titled the social justice case for an academic curriculum. As a … More

Of The Cells and Pores of Frothy Bodies

Science is a practical subject. It is also a literary subject. Reading science texts is important. It is the key … More