Items to Share: 22 June 2014

Education Focus

• "Active learning" in college STEM courses--meta-analysis - Daniel Willingham 'Scott Freeman and his associates (Freeman et al, 2014) conducted a meta-analysis of 225 studies of college instruction that compared “traditional lecturing” vs. “active learning” in STEM courses. [...] Student performance on exams increased by about half a standard deviation. Students in the traditional lecture classes were 1.5 times as likely to fail as students in the active learning classes.' 

• How to manage behaviour with praise | Webs of Substance '[...] we introduced ‘Assertive Discipline’; an American programme developed by Lee Cantor. Aspects of the training materials made me cringe and there was little suggestion that it was based upon anything more than experience, but in the absence of anything else, it began to form the basis of an approach that I have used ever since..' 

• An hour with the DfE: How should we improve the use of research in schools? - Tom Bennett: TES  'Most teachers get all their research in one big pill at the start of their careers, and then sod all after that, forever. This makes it pretty important that they get good research to begin with, otherwise they'll carry it around with them like a conjoined twin for the rest of their careers.' 

• The Case for Banning Laptops in the Classroom : The New Yorker

Other Business

• A Don’s Life: Time Management 'I have picked up a few "time management" tips -- on the job. For example, start booking appointments from the end of the day backwards (they tend to sprawl less that way, for reasons I dont quite understand). Try booking appointments at slightly odd times (12.05, rather than 12.00) -- as it makes it rather clearer that your time is squeezed.'

• RIP, Daniel Keyes, author of "Flowers for Algernon" - Boing Boing Obituary for the author. "Flowers for Algernon" is short, intelligent, thought-provoking, haunting and memorable science fiction. Read it! 

• Human rights: a straitjacket on liberty | spiked A very clear article attacking the shibboleth of "human rights"—well worth arguing with! Does not mention Isaiah Berlin on negative and positive rights, but a commenter does. 

• Jessa Gamble – Life without sleep [aeon.co] 'New technologies are emerging that could radically reduce our need to sleep - if we can bear to use them'