Every source, annotated and linked.

8 sources · sources with full research records listed first

1. Professional guidance·2021

   Collin, J., & Smith, E. (2021). Effective professional development: Guidance report. Education Endowment Foundation.

   Guidance on designing teacher professional development around mechanisms that build knowledge, motivate teachers, develop teaching techniques and embed practice. Informs how Cognitive Lab structures its pathways.

   Publisher page(opens in a new tab)
   Research recorddesign, findings, limitations

   Research question

   What characteristics of teacher professional development are associated with improved pupil outcomes?

   Design

   A guidance report drawing on a systematic review and meta-analysis of professional development.

   What it found

   • Recommends PD that builds knowledge, motivates teachers, develops teaching techniques and embeds practice.
   • Identifies specific mechanisms, such as modelling, rehearsal, feedback and action planning.

   Limitations

   • Guidance synthesises evidence and professional judgement; not every recommendation is equally well tested.

   Educational implications

   Learning about a strategy is not enough on its own; rehearsal, feedback and planned follow-up matter.

   Cognitive Lab interpretation

   Cognitive Lab’s pathways include modelling, practice, application plans and follow-up reflection for this reason.

   Editorial summary · last checked 2026-10-18 · not independently reviewed

2. Systematic review·2017

   Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2017). Does far transfer exist? Negative evidence from chess, music, and working memory training. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(6), 515–520.

   Summarises meta-analytic evidence that training in chess, music or working memory rarely transfers to distant academic or general cognitive skills, especially in better-controlled studies.

   doi:10.1177/0963721417712760(opens in a new tab)
   Research recorddesign, findings, limitations

   Research question

   Does training in chess, music or working memory transfer to distant skills such as academic achievement or general intelligence?

   Design

   A short review summarising several meta-analyses of cognitive training.

   What it found

   • Far transfer effects were generally small or absent.
   • Effects tended to shrink in better-designed studies, such as those with active control groups.

   Limitations

   • Written by authors of the meta-analyses it summarises.
   • Does not address near transfer or the intrinsic value of chess or music.

   Educational implications

   Be cautious of programmes claiming that training one skill will improve learning broadly.

   Cognitive Lab interpretation

   Cognitive Lab uses this as a reason to teach strategies within subjects rather than through general “brain training”.

   Editorial summary · last checked 2026-10-18 · not independently reviewed

3. Narrative review·2014

   Howard-Jones, P. A. (2014). Neuroscience and education: Myths and messages. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(12), 817–824.

   Reviewed common neuromyths among teachers and discussed how neuroscience can responsibly inform education.

   doi:10.1038/nrn3817(opens in a new tab)
   Research recorddesign, findings, limitations

   Research question

   Which misconceptions about the brain are common among teachers, why do they persist, and what does neuroscience actually say?

   Design

   A narrative review of neuromyths in education.

   What it found

   • Myths such as learning styles and “left-brain/right-brain” learners were widely endorsed by teachers in several countries.
   • Myths often grow from distorted versions of genuine findings.

   Limitations

   • Prevalence data come from surveys that differ in sampling and wording.
   • A review rather than a new empirical study.

   Educational implications

   Be cautious of products and training that use brain terminology to justify teaching practices.

   Cognitive Lab interpretation

   Cognitive Lab uses this review to explain why it labels claims by evidence type and avoids brain imagery as decoration.

   Editorial summary · last checked 2026-10-18 · not independently reviewed

4. Narrative review·2013

   Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.

   Evaluated ten study techniques against a common set of criteria; practice testing and distributed practice received the highest utility ratings.

   doi:10.1177/1529100612453266(opens in a new tab)
   Research recorddesign, findings, limitations

   Research question

   Which commonly recommended study techniques have strong evidence across learners, materials and settings?

   Design

   A narrative review that rated ten learning techniques on their utility using the available evidence.

   What it found

   • Practice testing and distributed practice were rated as high utility.
   • Elaborative interrogation, self-explanation and interleaved practice were rated as moderate utility.
   • Summarisation, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery for text and rereading were rated as low utility.

   Limitations

   • Ratings are expert judgements, not a formal meta-analysis.
   • The evidence base reviewed predates many recent classroom studies.
   • A “low utility” rating means limited evidence of broad benefit, not that a technique never helps.

   Educational implications

   Teachers can prioritise retrieval and spacing when helping students study independently, and be cautious about rereading and highlighting as main strategies.

   Cognitive Lab interpretation

   Cognitive Lab uses this review as a map of relative evidence strength rather than a ranking to apply mechanically.

   Editorial summary · last checked 2026-10-18 · not independently reviewed

5. Narrative review·2008/2009

   Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008/2009). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105–119.

   Set out what evidence would be needed to support matching instruction to “learning styles” and found that adequate support was lacking.

   doi:10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x(opens in a new tab)
   Research recorddesign, findings, limitations

   Research question

   Does matching instruction to a learner’s preferred style improve learning?

   Design

   A review that set out the evidence needed to support the learning-styles hypothesis, then examined the literature against it.

   What it found

   • Supporting the hypothesis requires a specific crossover interaction: each style group learns better with its matched method.
   • Very few studies used a design capable of testing this, and those that did largely did not find the predicted pattern.

   Limitations

   • Concludes there is no adequate evidence, which is not the same as proving no individual differences exist.

   Educational implications

   Do not sort students by visual, auditory or kinaesthetic “style”. Choose representations to suit the content.

   Cognitive Lab interpretation

   Dual coding is about combining words and visuals for everyone — not about matching a style.

   Editorial summary · last checked 2026-10-18 · not independently reviewed

6. Book·2011

   Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible: How to promote engagement, understanding, and independence for all learners. Jossey-Bass.

   The Project Zero book that describes thinking routines such as See-Think-Wonder. It is a practitioner account built from classroom work, not a controlled test of each routine.

7. Theoretical paper·2007

   Immordino-Yang, M. H., & Damasio, A. (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1(1), 3–10.

   A theoretical essay arguing that emotion is integral to thinking and learning, not separate from it.

   doi:10.1111/j.1751-228X.2007.00004.x(opens in a new tab)
8. Narrative review·1990

   Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13, 25–42.

   Described attention as a set of separable networks — including orienting, alerting and executive control — rather than a single faculty.

   doi:10.1146/annurev.ne.13.030190.000325(opens in a new tab)