GenAI tools in education have been gaining momentum for years, but I’ve written about AI only once so far. Why? Because frankly, I’m tired of thinking about it. Here’s my current approach to genAI in my classroom, and my two recommendations for what to do if you’re tired, too.
Read MoreUse a structured “ask me anything” (AMA) activity to encourage retrieval practice and community building. Here's how to do it in your classes, for any grade level or class size, including no-tech and ed tech options.
Read MoreWelcome back to school! The whirlwind of lesson prep, meetings, professional development—and of course, teaching—is here. Here are my favorite back-to-school activities to engage students with retrieval practice during the first week of class.
Read MoreWhite boards for retrieval practice are engaging and effective for learning, providing flexibility for question prompts and student responses. Read tips by cognitive scientist Dr. Janell Blunt and make this a no-prep strategy for your classroom.
Read MoreWhat do we do when we’re behind on prep and burned out? We revisit a past lesson or play a movie (sad, but true). If you need a lesson fast, use a brain dump. It takes little to no prep, it can be stretched into a 30-minute activity, and students actually learn — no filler movie needed.
Read MoreI want to share two of my favorite back-to-school activities, which are a huge hit in my classroom: using a trivia fact and using word pair mnemonics. Whether you have new students in your classes or returning students from the fall, K–12 students or graduate students, try these activities to build community and engage students in retrieval practice.
Read MoreHarness powerful teaching strategies, unleash the science of learning, and transform your classroom with resources by cognitive scientist Dr. Pooja K. Agarwal.
Transform learning in your classroom with practical research-based teaching tips by cognitive scientist Dr. Pooja K. Agarwal.
How can we support students during exam time and reduce test anxiety? Learn more about my research on student test anxiety and get quick lesson ideas to reduce anxiety with retrieval practice. It might sound counterintuitive, but the more students practice retrieval, the more comfortable they become with high-stakes tests.
Retrieval practice doesn’t require more class prep for us or ChatGPT for our students. Here are 8 no-prep prompts for retrieval practice I’ve developed over my 10+ years of teaching. I’ve also included a variety of new resources I highly recommend.
Here's a list of 40 cognitive scientists you need to know. They publish the newest research on retrieval practice, actively engage in science communication with educators on Twitter, and demonstrate diversity beyond the traditional ivory tower. Follow them, cite them, interview them, and reach out to them.
The world has changed and teaching has changed. One thing hasn't changed: The importance of learning and the frustration of forgetting. Here are 5 new resources and downloads, all free, all by cognitive scientists, all to empower you to unleash the science of learning.
Want a quick way to access classroom research on retrieval practice? Download our database of 50 experiments and read a detailed literature review by cognitive scientists.
Lots of students use flashcards. But using flashcards doesn't guarantee they're using retrieval practice. In fact, students could be wasting their time. This week, we share three research-based tips to make flashcards more powerful. Help students study smarter, not harder.
Whether you teach at an elementary school or a medical school, you've probably heard of the instructional strategy, think-pair-share. Don’t skip the “think” step! Read on for research-based tips on incorporating retrieval, spacing, and interleaving to make think-pair-share an even more powerful strategy in your classroom.
How can we use retrieval practice to break up our lessons, quickly and easily, without pausing to facilitate class discussion or collect papers? Use a retrieval strategy we simply call "Two Things," a no-quiz activity for your classroom.
With the end of the semester within sight, we feature a small strategy that makes a big impact on student learning – based on decades of cognitive science research. In scientific lingo, we call it "free recall."
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Read my new book, Smart Teaching Stronger Learning. Whether you teach K–12 students or graduate students, or you’re new to teaching or a long-time educator: If you want to improve student learning, this book is for you.