Education and Learning

Education and Learning offers an accessible introduction to the most recent evidence-based research into teaching, learning, and our education system.

• Presents a wide range references for both seminal and contemporary research into learning and teaching
• Examines the evidence around topical issues such as the impact of Academies and Free Schools on student attainment and the strong international performance of other countries
• Looks at evidence-based differences in the attainment of students from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, and explores the strong international performance of Finnish and East Asian students
• Provides accessible explanations of key studies that are supplemented with real-life case examples

Preface xi

1 Introduction: What Can We Learn from the History of Education? 1

2 Memory: How Do We Remember What We Learn? 18

3 Language: What Determines Our Acquisition of First and Second Languages? 50

4 Reading: How Do We Learn to Read and Why Is It Sometimes so Difficult? 81

5 Intelligence and Ability: How Does Our Understanding of These Affect How We Teach? 109

6 Sex Differences: Do They Matter in Education? 142

7 Metacognition: Can We Teach People How to Learn? 173

8 Academic Selection: Do We Need to Do It and Can We Make It Fair? 207

9 Creativity: What Is It, and How and Why Should We Nurture It? 239

10 Education Policy: How Evidence Based Is It? 276

11 Comparative Education: What Lessons Can We Learn from Other Countries? 309

12 Life-long Learning: How Can We Teach Old Dogs New Tricks? 348

13 Technology: How Is It Shaping a Modern Education and Is It Also Shaping Young Minds? 374

14 Conclusions: What Does the Future Hold for Education? 403

Index 406

“Overall, I share the authors’ underlying belief that psychology has something useful to contribute to improving education, and I applaud their efforts to demonstrate how to take an evidence-based approach to practical issues in education.” (PsycCRITIQUES, 17 November 2014)

Jane Mellanby is Emeritus Fellow in Experimental Psychology at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford. She is the creator of VESPARCH, a verbal and spatial reasoning test designed to identify children who are under-achieving relative to their potential.

Katy Theobald is a public service delivery consultant. She has experience teaching mathematics in both the UK and India, and her research includes exploration of the impact of careers guidance on secondary school students' educational progression.

How best can we help our children to learn? With education at the forefront of governmental policy, influenced by fast-changing technology and neuroscientific research, new theories and strategies for learning are constantly being presented. As teachers, parents or students of education, we risk becoming overwhelmed and unable to sift out what matters. How do we decide which strategy is best for our schools? Whose opinion can we trust? Education and Learning offers a comprehensible introduction to evidence-based research into optimal teaching methods, how we learn, and our educational system.

This book explores the different facets of education and the factors that affect learning – from ability, creativity and gender to culture, metacognition, age, and technology. It synthesizes up-to-date findings in each field, presenting sound evidence and debunking myths. Each topic is clearly presented, with research examples, real-life case studies and discussion of practical implications. Accessible and timely, Education and Learning provides valuable insights, information and food for thought for parents, teachers, students, and anyone interested in the future of the next generation.