Eclectic Technology

Do we teach our learners how to learn? Neuroscientists are often at the cutting edge of research, and much more is known about how we learn. Is it time for educators to up this mantle and teach their classes what is known?

This post is divided into the following sections.

* Technology and Distraction - We know that the Internet may be distracting to many learners. Did you also know that the science is showing that multitasking does not really exist? When one multitasks the brain is rapidly switching  between different tasks, which interferes with  forming memory.

This discussion continues and is followed by a number of Takeaways, concepts that you may want to share with your learners. These include:

* Stress is bad for learning.

* Classroom decorations can be distracting.

* Test for a reason.

* Spend more time teaching learning skills.

Additional information is available in the post.

We live in age with many distractions. What happens to students when they are constantly being interrupted by one digital device or another? What impact might this have on their ability to cultivate "skills of attention...if students don’t learn how to concentrate and shut out distractions, research shows they’ll have a much harder time succeeding in almost every area."

What should we do to help students learn to focus? Should learning to focus become a part of the curriculum? Learn more about this topic by clicking through to the post.

In the 1960s Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel and colleagues created an experiment, the "marshmellow test" to measure self-control in preschoolers. Would they eat one mini--marshmellow right away or would they wait 15 minutes to eat two mini-marshmellows?

Fast forward about 50 years and researchers have come up with a new "test that challenges the willpower of schoolkids to resist the brain-candy of today’s digital distractions — the YouTube videos, Instagram and mobile gaming apps like Angry Birds."

Why try to measure self-control. Researchers hope that it "will advance their studies of ways to improve academic perseverance in students."

Learn more about the original "marshmellow test" and this new test in the thought-provoking post. Additional areas that are discussed include:

* Road-testing the test

* Staying on task

* Different takes on willpower and grit

* A debate over drudgery