Dear Reader, There is a lot being written about Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and how important it is. I have…
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…
Going Goal-Free to Learn How to Solve Physics Problems
In previous posts, I have been writing about teaching problem solving (here, here and here). This post describes a strategy…
Using Worked Examples to Reduce Cognitive Load in Physics
Learning how to solve problems is the key to becoming a physicist (here and here). The problem with problem solving is…
What I Think About When I Think About Energy
Occult, mysterious and ad-hoc, energy should have no place in modern physics. Newton had no use for it. Motion, in…
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…
Cooperative Reading
I started thinking about cooperative learning in 2010 and have made slow punctuated progress since. I know enough to write…
How Practical Work in Physics Supports Knowledge
Back in 1994, I began by PGCE at Oxford University. I was lucky to have a brilliant tutor, Brian Woolnough.…
The Role of Stories in Physics
Stories play a huge role in learning. Our brains suck them up. We should use stories in physics lessons. In…
How to Teach Problems…
Physics is all about the problems. In my last post, I picked apart the knowledge I needed to solve this…
Reading for Learning 