Podcast episodes

Variation theory isn’t a theory of how memories are stored. Nor is it a theory of how learning can be impeded (like cognitive load theory); it doesn’t tell you what to avoid doing. Crucially, it…

When Engelmann developed his popular Direct Instruction1, his principle was that students were capable of learning anything. This seems like a good rule to follow; it removes blame from the student. If they didn’t manage…

Stafford Beer, a systems theorist, regularly claimed that a system’s purpose is what it does. There was no point claiming, he thought, that its purpose was what it consistently failed to do. In this post,…

Around 2012ish, a new movement rode into the UK (school) educational scene. It came with the banner of “evidence-based”, to counter the previous movement. I’m not writing to contend whether the movement was right or…

Claude Shannon’s groundbreaking information theory focused on getting a message from A to B. It’s now one the major underlying theories of the computers we use every day. Its principles also tell us something fascinating…