Australian children are facing some big challenges. NAPLAN data shows about one in three students in years 3 to 9 are behind in reading-related skills. It is also estimated about one in seven children have poor mental health. Until recently, most people assumed these were separate problems. However, there is growing evidence difficulties with reading and mental health may be […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Some kids with reading difficulties can also have reading anxiety – what can parents do?
Evolution revolution: how a Cape Town museum exhibit is rewriting the story of humankind
Picture your typical human evolution museum display. You walk into a dimly lit space with glass boxes on white plinths or roped off areas. There are lots and lots of bones. Maybe a bit of history on how those bones were collected, and pictures of the famous people – usually men – who collected them. […] … learn more→
Tips for learning a language as an adult
When adults and seniors face the need to learn a new language or choose this learning voluntarily, there are many doubts that arise and that can stop the new company or slow down its evolution, if it is finally undertaken. Learning a language as an adult brings objective advantages , among which stands out a greater awareness […] … learn more→
6 books to help talk to your child about climate change
Many children and young people are anxious about climate change and what it means for their futures. But adults can face the dilemma of how to talk to children about these incredibly serious issues without upsetting them further. We are educational linguists investigating how writers and illustrators communicate ideas related to climate change to children. Books are an important way to help conversations […] … learn more→
We fact-checked residential school denialists and debunked their ‘mass grave hoax’ theory
Recently a politician from a village in Prince Edward Island displayed an offensive sign on his property in which he proclaimed there is a “mass grave hoax” regarding the former Indian Residential Schools in Canada. Although many have called for him to resign, he is just one of many people who subscribe to this false theory. A hoax is […] … learn more→
Faced with terrorist attacks, how can we protect teachers?
Three years after the death of Samuel Paty , history-geography professor killed leaving his college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines), the assassination this Friday, October 13, 2023 of Dominique Bernard, French professor in the city Gambetta-Carnot school in Arras once again opens up the question of the protections to be provided in educational establishments, in particular for teachers who can suffer […] … learn more→
School suspensions entrench disadvantage. What are the alternatives and how have they worked overseas?
Suspension from school is meant to be a last resort for serious problem behaviour. Despite that, an alarming number of children are suspended every year, often at young ages, for minor reasons. Indigenous children, those with a disability, and/or those living in out-of-home care are grossly over-represented. So what are the alternatives to suspension and how have they worked […] … learn more→
Why do school books hide Spain’s slave past in America?
There are mythical stories that constitute an essential part of the master narratives and the national imagination. And there are historical investigations that have great difficulty finding their place in education and in public memory . This is the case of Spain’s role in the slave economy from 1500 to 1886, which still struggles to tear down the wall […] … learn more→
Fewer students, more quality in education?
For the fourth consecutive year, demographic data indicate a notable drop in birth rates in Spain . If this represents a long-term structural trend, can we think that education budgets will suffer a significant decrease? Can some logic be established between spending on education and the number of schoolchildren? Would it be acceptable that a decrease in the number of […] … learn more→
Students understand calculus better when the lessons are active
College students learn more calculus in an active learning course in which students solve problems during class than in a traditional lecture-based course. That’s according to a peer-reviewed study my colleagues and I published in Science. We also found that college students better understood complex calculus concepts and earned better grades in the active learning course. The […] … learn more→
