Six domains of the science of learning.

6 domains · 37 modules

• D1

  The Learning Brain

  What can neuroscience responsibly tell teachers — and what can it not?

  An orientation to how brain research relates to classroom learning: what plasticity means, why many popular “brain-based” claims fall apart, and how to read neuroscience headlines with care.

  • Foundations: reading the scienceHow to tell experiments, models, reviews and classroom evidence apart.Available · draft
  • Neuromyths in the classroomCommon misconceptions about the brain, where they came from, and what the evidence says.In development
  • Plasticity and learningWhat it means for experience to change the brain — without overclaiming.Planned
  • Encoding and consolidationHow experiences become lasting memories, in terms that do not overreach.Planned
  • Brain developmentWhat changes across childhood and adolescence, and what that does not imply for teaching.Planned
  • Interpreting brain imagingWhy a brain scan rarely tells a teacher what to do.Planned
• D2

  Memory & Learning

  Why do some things stay with us while others fade within days?

  How memories are formed, strengthened and retrieved — and why the activities that feel most productive while studying are not always the ones that last.

  • Retrieval practiceWhy trying to recall something changes how well you remember it later.Available · draft
  • Spaced practiceHow the timing of review shapes what is remembered.In development
  • InterleavingMixing problem types, and why it can feel harder while helping learners discriminate.Planned
  • Working and long-term memoryHow a limited workspace and a vast store work together.Planned
  • Forgetting and reviewWhy forgetting is normal and how review can be planned around it.Planned
  • Schema and prior knowledgeWhy what students already know shapes what they can learn next.Planned
  • Feedback and memoryHow corrective feedback after recall changes what is retained.Planned
• D3

  Attention & Cognitive Load

  How much can a learner hold in mind at once — and what competes for that space?

  The limits of working memory and attention, how instructional design can add or remove unnecessary load, and the debates that remain open.

  • Cognitive load in instructionIntrinsic and extraneous load, worked examples, split attention and fading support.Available · draft
  • Working memory limitsWhat “limited capacity” means, and what it does not.In development
  • Selective attentionHow learners choose what to process, and what pulls attention away.Planned
  • Task switchingThe costs of moving between tasks, and why “multitasking” misleads.Planned
  • Scaffolding and fadingBuilding support in, then removing it as expertise grows.Planned
  • Split attention and redundancyWhen separated or duplicated information adds unnecessary load.Planned
• D4

  Visual Cognition

  When does combining words and pictures help — and when does it get in the way?

  How learners process diagrams, images and text together; the principles behind effective visual explanations; and why “visual learners” is a misleading idea.

  • Dual codingPairing words with purposeful visuals — and why it is not about learning styles.Available · draft
  • Multimedia design principlesCoherence, signalling, contiguity and segmenting.Planned
  • Concept mappingMaking relationships between ideas visible.Planned
  • Graphic organisersTimelines, flow charts and comparison grids as thinking tools.Planned
  • Generative drawingWhen asking students to draw supports understanding.Planned
  • Reading diagramsTeaching students to interpret visual representations.Planned
  • Visual learning myths“Visual learners” and other claims the evidence does not support.Planned
• D5

  Emotion & Motivation

  How do feelings, stress and a sense of agency shape what students learn?

  The interplay between emotion, attention and memory, and frameworks for understanding motivation that avoid quick fixes.

  • Emotion and memoryWhy emotionally significant events can be remembered differently.Planned
  • Motivation and autonomySelf-determination theory in classroom terms.Planned
  • Curiosity and interestWhat sparks and sustains interest, and its limits.Planned
  • Belonging and safetyClassroom climate and the willingness to attempt hard tasks.Planned
  • Stress and learningWhen pressure helps and when it gets in the way.Planned
  • Cognitive engagementDistinguishing busy activity from active thinking (ICAP).Planned
• D6

  Executive Functions

  What does it take to plan, resist distraction and switch between ideas?

  The core executive functions — inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility — how they develop, and what that means for classroom routines.

  • The three core executive functionsInhibition, updating and shifting — in plain terms.Planned
  • Self-regulation routinesClassroom structures that reduce unnecessary executive demand.Planned
  • Planning and goal-settingHelping students break work into steps they can manage.Planned
  • MetacognitionThinking about one’s own learning, and teaching it explicitly.Planned
  • Training transfer claimsWhat brain-training and “far transfer” evidence actually shows.Planned