GUEST POST: The Motivation Cheat Code: Sidestep Willpower Using Science
So, how do you build dependable habits?Don’t get me wrong, sometimes life just gets in the way, a deadline creeps up or training gets extended last minute. But, having some sort of structure helps you respond instead of react. When habits are in place, you have a mental anchor, a reliable starting point, even in…
Cognitive Networks: Exposure Matters
Cover photo by Gerd Altmann from PixabayBy Megan SumerackiIn my last blog, I wrote about cognitive networks and implicit bias. The gist of the post was that our systems allow us to categorize and generalize, flexibly and automatically, and that this generally helps us. For example, we have some general rules about what a chair…
Retrieval Practice in the Health Professions
Cover image by u_9p7tw4noz0 from PixabayBy Althea Need KaminskeNote: The following describes Health Professions Education within the U.S.As a learning scientist interested in how learning works, health professions education is an exciting and dynamic environment to explore best practices in the application of the principles and strategies that we study in cognitive psychology. Recently, Cindy…
Reblog: How To Convince Students To Use Effective Study Strategies?
As mentioned, the authors used a mixed-method approach. One the one hand, they asked students during the pre- and post-assessment to indicate how many minutes they had spent using successive relearning or other learning strategies, when they had started studying for the exam, their confidence in recalling specific content from the course, etc. On the…
Cognitive Networks and Implicit Bias
Images above by WOKANDAPIX, Yinan Chen, Taken, kieurope, M S, and GSLCMedia, from PixabayWe are able to categorize, and to generalize. Every time you see a chair that you have never seen before, you don’t have to learn that it is a chair and can be used for sitting. This is because you have learned some general rules…
Imitation versus Retrieval Practice in Foreign Language Pronunciation Learning
The question then is whether imitation is the best approach to learning pronunciation or whether an alternative approach is equally or more effective. Kang et al. (1) investigated exactly this research question. They looked at comprehension and production (i.e., pronunciation) of foreign language words and pitched an imitation approach against a retrieval practice approach. In…
Mood and Memory
Cover Image by huoadg5888 from PixabayBy Althea Need KaminskeWhen I meet with a student to discuss why their performance in a class isn’t where they want it to be, I remind them that there are many factors that affect how well they do in a course. Many of those things are under their control -…
GUEST POST: A Neuroscientific Perspective on Understanding and Managing Stress
References1. Lewis, J. & Stiebahl, S. (2025). Student mental health in England: Statistics, policy, and guidance. Research briefing, House of Commons Library. https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8593/CBP-8593.pdf2. McEwen, B. S. (2006). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators: central role of the brain. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 8(4), 367–381. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2006.8.4/bmcewen3. Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G., & Siegel, S. D. (2005). Stress and…
Expert Thinking and AI (Part 2)
Generative chatbots like ChatGPT also have a remarkable ability to pass for human-like performance in some limited social contexts, scoring well on standardized exams assessments typically used to measure aptitude and performance in a field (2). However, the lack of agency in chatbots means that they are unable to take responsibility for their actions.They cannot…
Expert Thinking and AI (Part 1)
Cover Image by cottonbro studio from PexelsBy Althea Need KaminskeNote: To the best of my knowledge I did not use generative AI to write this post. Any mistakes or insights are my own. AI is big right now. It’s been big for a while, but it seems to be more and more aggressive in the…
