Forget money and power, focus on growth, caring, and health I don't know about you, but I tend to cringe when I hear the term "influencer." It highlights a person's power over others. Pursuing such power seems hollow, to me. And now there's a pre-registered, open science, peer-reviewed meta-analysis to support my
What ethical principles should guide the use of AI in Education? I have dear friends and colleagues who are very excited about what artificial intelligence (AI) can offer education. There's a lot of chatter about tools like ChatGPT and Khanmigo. The potential is clear: imagine personalized, patient, on-demand tutoring for every student in the world. That's just
How can educators become anti-racist? Lots of people say they aren't racist. But it's something very different to be anti-racist. And it can be particularly difficult for people to be anti-racist in today's society. In this wonderful article, Vargas and Saetermoe (2023) have described the journeys educators have to
Engagement: I know it when I see it. I think. Engagement is one of those funny education phenomena. Most educators can tell when a student is or is not engaged, and think engagement is a predictor of student success, but coming up with a clear definition has been tricky (see here, here). Fredricks' "ABC" model of engagement
How can we help students integrate information from multiple sources? I miss the encyclopedia. For people "of a certain age" like me, there was a time when most school assignments only required that I find an entry in the encyclopedia, read it, and then write a summary of it. Maybe I'd be asked to add a
Don't share misinformation! No really, don't share misinformation! Social media algorithms are really good at figuring out what people like. Instagram shows me the same "surprise, it's someone from your past that is going to make you cry" videos over and over: My susceptibility to tearjerker videos seems harmless, but what if I was
How AI hype can be dehumanizing, and demeans us both. I've really liked what Emily Bender has written about AI. She and her co-authors coined the term "stochastic parrots" to describe how large language models aren't "thinking" but rather are a simply a statistical system that stitches together the most likely string
A new way to think about how teachers can promote students' self-regulated learning. Self-regulated learning (SRL) knowledge, skills, and dispositions are strong predictors of student success (see note below), above and beyond other individual difference factors. Charlotte Dignath has done great work to document both the direct and indirect ways teachers can instruct SRL. Yet, finding time to teach students how to self-regulate
Should students have their video on or off when learning online? I suspect many of us who had to suddenly switch to emergency remote instruction at the outset of COVID are not eager to reflect on those days. But, one of the many residual effects of COVID is that educators and students are more often using online learning options, so we&
How do we create spaces where people feel good about engaging with one another? This newsletter is about learning, teaching, and sharing in the digital world. So, it might seem surprising to see two posts in a row on civic engagement. But, I believe the modern, digital world has many tools to bring us together, and just as many tools to push us apart.
How do we help people engage civically with each other and the world? Political and other types of polarization seem to have reached all-time highs, particularly in the United States. However, there is some evidence that people overestimate political polarization and that, instead, it is emotional polarization that is making civic discourse more coarse and problematic. This suggests that part of the path
I've Ghosted Substack Hello Friends! After doing a lot of musing, I've decided to move Bemusings over to Ghost. This is my first post here on Ghost, so I'm going to keep it short. First, many, many, thanks for all the positive feedback you've shared about Bemusings.
News Coming soon This is Bemusings, a brand new site by Jeffrey A Greene that's just getting started. Things will be up and running here shortly, but you can subscribe in the meantime if you'd like to stay up to date and receive emails when new content is published!
Newsletter Will some students learn more easily with VR headsets than others? Lawson and Mayer (2023) provide initial evidence that we need more research on individual differences and learning in virtual reality.
Newsletter How can we apply the science of learning to college-level teaching? Overton et al. (2023) have published an essential (and free!) resource for postsecondary educators.
Newsletter Knowledge matters for reading. But what knowledge? Hattan et al. (2023) systematically reviewed the literature on prior knowledge and reading, and found promising results but also a need for more specificity.
Newsletter Does social media cause mental health problems? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine call for more transparency and research on the relationship between social media and mental health.
Newsletter What if our standards for education included love, freedom, and joy? Zusho et al. (2023) argued that educational standards should not only include rigor, and I agree.
Newsletter Useful research, problematic headline Altamura et al (in press) conducted a useful meta-analysis of how digital reading habits relate to reading comprehension. But a headline about it troubles me.
Newsletter Can deliberate practice improve critical thinking skills? Motz et al (2023) tested repeated exposure to induction training for critical thinking in psychology and found it improved people's critical thinking.
Newsletter Let's face it, mindsets are...complicated. de Ruiter & Thomas (2023) assert a situated theory of mindsets.
Newsletter You better think while you use social media Salovich et al (2023) showed you can learn inaccurate information on social media, but taking an active, evaluative approach can help.
Newsletter What do people think when they come across COVID-19 (mis)information in their social media feed? In a new article, our research team explored mental processing and social media behaviors after incidental exposure to COVID-19 information and misinformation.
Newsletter Students learn and achieve in systems. Our research should reflect this. Amidst a critique of expertise, grit, and mindset literatures, Macnamara and colleagues (2023) highlight the importance of taking a systems view of education.
