Digest #175: Authentic Assessments
cover image by Skitterphoto on PexelsThe idea of authentic assessments has been around for over 30 years now. In 1990, Grant Wiggins coined the term ‘authentic assessment’ (1) and in recent years this assessment approach has received a considerable boost. The pandemic as well as the rise of AI in education have required educators to…
Digest #174: Assessing Learning Strategies
1) Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)The MSLQ is in the public domain and is free to use with acknowledgement to the authors. The MSLQ is divided into several different scales. The Motivation Scales assess Value Components (intrinsic and extrinsic task orientations, task value), Expectancy Components (control beliefs, self-efficacy), and Affective Components (test anxiety). The…
Digest #173: Responsible Use of AI in Education
By Carolina Kuepper-TetzelA recent guest post on “The Benefits and Risks of ChatGPT for Education” provided a balanced view on the use of AI in education by highlighting some of the pitfalls and opportunities to support various aspects of teaching and learning. Generative AI is not going anywhere and so it is vital for educators…
Digest #172: Mnemonic Devices
By Carolina Kuepper-TetzelOur memory capabilities are fascinating and with some tricks we can expand our memory performance quite significantly. These tricks are called mnemonic devices. Mnemonic devices let us organize, elaborate, and visualize information so that we can retrieve that information easier in the future. Mnemonic devices are best applied to learning lists of concepts…
Digest #171: Resources for Calendars and Scheduling
By Althea Need Kaminske(cover image by MabelAmber on Pixabay)Time management can be a challenge for learners at all levels. Generally, the farther along you are in your educational journey, the less your time is managed for you. You are given more independence and autonomy to set your own priorities and manage your own time -…
Digest #170: Fun Activities to Reduce Forgetting (and Boredom) over the School Break
The time between the end of a school year and the start of a new one can feel long and from a memory perspective considerable forgetting occurs. Engaging children and young people with different activities can help to counteract forgetting and boredom. In today’s digest, we highlight different activities and free resources. 1. Primary games &…
Announcing Our New “Ace That Test” Book!! And Other Books We Enjoy (Digest #169)
We have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Our newest book, Ace That Test: A Student’s Guide To Better Learning is coming out this summer—July 19 to be exact. You can preorder through Amazon now! Starting June 28, you can preorder through the Routledge link on our website. You can read Chapter 1 for free here!We are SUPER…
Digest #168: Introduction to ChatGPT
Everyone is talking about it, but we may not yet fully grasp what it is and what it means for education: ChatGPT. ChatGPT stands for “Generative Pre-Trained Transformer” and is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot. This means that you can have a dialogue with an AI bot. It will provide you with answers to questions,…
Digest #167: Should we give up on growth mindset?
5) Goodbye growth mindset, Hello efficacy and attribution theory by Mirjam Neelen and Paul Kirschner @P_A_KirschnerThis blog post was written before this latest revival of the growth mindset controversy, but provides an accessible description of why many interventions might fail in the ways that they simplistically apply mindset research. Instead, a clear and easily applied…
Digest #166: Perfectionism in Education
By Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel“Perfection is the opposite of done!” I came across this statement recently and it made me think about how perfectionism really affects one’s work and studying. Growing up, I always thought of perfectionism as a good thing, as something to aspire to. However, more recently I am questioning this thought. It adds unnecessary…
