Summer's Here! Reading, Listening, Reflection
Jonathan Firth's Memory & Metacognition Updates #49
Hello, and welcome to my last newsletter before the summer. I’m going on annual leave soon, and although I’ll be back later in July, I will wait until the end of August before resuming the updates.
No doubt many of you are ready for a well-deserved break too, if it hasn’t already started. Enjoy!
I’ll take the opportunity to recommend some summer reading before I sign off. For those of you who are relatively new to these updates, you might want to start with some of the most popular posts from recent months, most of which also recommend a particular research study. The following run of five posts focused on metacognition specifically:
There have been various posts on memory and learning, of course, and I’d recommend these ones:
For some broader summer reading and listening, I’d like to suggest the following books and podcasts:
‘From the laboratory to the classroom: Translating science of learning for teachers’. This book is an edited volume, and a great way to dip into specific issues in a bit more depth, for example: visual techniques, reading skills, interleaving.
‘Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst’ by Robert Sapolsky. I don’t talk much about neuroscience, but it’s certainly interesting to read about it, and this book is well written and accessible.
Rosenshine’s ‘Principles of instruction’. The name and concept is now quite well known, and a lot of people have shared summaries, but have you read this more detailed booklet? I am planning to say more about it after the summer, so consider this pre-reading!
‘An introduction to curriculum research and development’ by Lawrence Stenhouse. I had to pick this up second hand because it’s from the 1970s, but it feels astonishingly current in terms of its arguments and suggestions.
One of my own: ‘The teacher’s guide to research’. As is perhaps obvious, I consider myself a research-engaged teacher, and this book is all about how practitioners can engage with, and in, research.
Education is a profession where reflection is encouraged. We want to be self-improving in our practice, but how well can we really know our own minds? Psychologist Richard Nisbett discusses the issue on this podcast appearance:
Richard Nisbett on telling more than we can know (access via website).
Here’s another podcast that’s great just as a general intro to all things psych, from the brain to Freud to modern cognitive and social psychology. If you feel you need a primer on the basics, it’s really useful and accessible:
‘Psych’ by David Pizarro and Paul Bloom (Spotify).
I hope you enjoy some of those.
As for the next academic year, I’m also reflecting on what I have done, as well as looking ahead and setting targets. One thing that would help a lot would be if you would share with me what kind of weekly post you would benefit from the most.
Okay… here is a poll. Thank you!
Thanks in advance for your input. And have a great summer 😎
Jonathan
Last week: Universities Asking About Learning Styles...?
Website: www.jonathanfirth.co.uk
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