Jared Cooney

Gold stars; smiley faces; trophies; ribbons; pizza parties; Boz Scaggs concert tickets … 

These are all different iterations of the same type of ‘token economy’ reward system that is liberally applied in classrooms across the globe. 

I imagine you would be hard pressed to find any school that didn’t use some form of a token economy. In fact, some schools are pushing this ‘rewards arms race’ to new extremes -- many public schools in America, for example, are now using financial incentives (including direct bank deposits) as a motivational tool. 

Regardless of the specific mechanism, rewards systems are implemented with the goal of altering student behavior … and broadly speaking, they work. 

However, just because something works does not mean it’s an optimal solution. 

For example, imagine you went to the doctor’s office with a sore knee. The doctor could quickly eliminate your knee pain by amputating your entire leg, but it’s unlikely this approach would be the optimal one. 

And sure, that example is a bit ridiculous, but my point is many people take a narrow or short-term view of rewards systems without considering the longer-term effects. 

In this 'From Theory to Practice' video, I examine a classic piece of research that can help us do just that: 

The Token Economy: An Evaluative Review (Alan E. Kazdin and Richard R. Bootzin)

Here are some of the questions I tackle in this installment: 

What is the origin of the ‘token economy’, and how did it shape the reward systems that are often applied in schools and classrooms?

What is ‘generalizability’, and how does it impact the utility of any reward system applied across varying contexts?

Do reward systems actually promote long-term behavioral changes among students, or are any results simply dependent on the rewards themselves?

What is the ‘Crespi effect’, and how does it undermine a common strategy for using rewards systems?

What are three practical takeaways for schools and teachers that we can draw from this research? 

Give it a watch, and let me know what you think in the YT comments.

And, as always, if you find this video valuable, interesting and/or entertaining, you can support our channel by liking, sharing and subscribing ;)

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JARED COONEY HORVATH | PhD, MEd Dr. 

Jared Cooney Horvath is an award-winning cognitive neuroscientist, best-selling author and renowned keynote speaker with an expertise in human learning, memory, and brain stimulation. 

Dr. Horvath has published 4 books, over 30 research articles, and currently serves as an honorary researcher at the University of Melbourne and St. Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne. 

His research has been featured in popular publications including The New York Times, WIRED, BBC, The Economist, PBS's Nova and ABC’s Catalyst.

https://www.lmeglobal.net/media​​ 

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LME GLOBAL 

New educational research sheds light on the #1 biggest problem facing the use of computers and technology in the classroom. --- 

Burden of proof. In a perfect world, this logical obligation ensures that any entity making a claim must bear the responsibility of proving that claim.   

This elevates established knowledge over alleged knowledge, and helps protect people from being overwhelmed by the avalanche of novel ideas and assertions that come at us each and every day. 

In law, this means accusers must demonstrate grievance: defendants need never prove they did not commit a crime. In medicine, this means pharmaceuticals must demonstrate efficacy: clinicians need never prove drugs do not alleviate symptoms. And in education, this means tools must demonstrate positive impact: teachers need never prove tools do not improve learning. 

Of course, we do not live in a perfect world. Too often in law, public opinion shifts the burden of proof back to the defendant, leading to wrongful convictions. Too often in medicine, economic incentives shift the burden of proof back to the clinician, leading to avoidable complications. And too often in education, external hype shifts the burden of proof back to the teacher, leading to impaired learning. 

Nowhere in education has this shift been more blatant than when it comes to the adoption of computers and internet technologies in the classroom. 

In a recent international survey, 92% of students reported having access to a computer at school. In New Zealand, 100% of schools are equipped with high-speed internet, while in Australia the computer-to-student ratio has dropped below 1:1 (meaning there are more computers than students in school).  In the United States, yearly expenditure on K-12 learning software exceeds $8 billion annually, while in the United Kingdom schools spend an average of £400,000 on computers every year. 

With these numbers, you’d think the burden of proof had been met and that the evidence for the beneficial impact of computers on learning had been clearly established. 

Think again. 

A 2015 OECD international review of the impact of computers in education reports: 

“The results show no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading, mathematics, or science in countries that invested heavily in [computers] for education ... [S]tudents who use computers very frequently at school do a lot worse in most learning outcomes … And perhaps the most disappointing finding is that technology is of little help in bridging the skills divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students.” 

After reviewing 126 research studies exploring technology-based education interventions, the global research center J-PAL concluded: 

“Initiatives that expand access to computers … do not improve K-12 grades and test scores. [Furthermore], online courses lower student academic achievement compared to in-person courses.” 

And recently, Larry Cuban (Emeritus Professor of Education at Stanford University and educational technology researcher for over 30-years) pithily summed up the state-of-affairs: 

“The introduction of computers into schools was supposed to improve academic achievement and alter how teachers taught. Neither has occurred.” 

The evidence has overwhelmingly shown that computers do little to boost academic performance (although this has done little to quell the excitement over education technology … but that’s another topic for another time). 

But why is this the case? 

Well, in my newest 'From Theory to Practice' video, I examine an interesting analysis that can help us understand the #1 biggest challenge facing the productive use of computers in the classroom. 

The Common Sense Census: Media Use By Tweens and Teens (Common Sense Media Inc, 2015) 

Here are some of the questions I tackle in this installment: 

-- What is primary function, and how does it shape the way people perceive and utilize popular tools. 

-- What is the primary function of computers for students aged 8 to 18, and how does this influence the way they use technology in the classroom? 

-- According to the OECD, do students who frequently use computers at school perform better or worse than their less technologically-exposed peers? 

-- What is the inherent problem with the popular trend of ‘gamifying’ classroom learning? 

-- What are three practical takeaways for teachers and academic leaders that we can draw from this study? 

Give it a watch, and let me know what you think in the YT comments. And, as always, if you find this video valuable, interesting and/or entertaining, you can support our channel by liking, sharing and subscribing ;)

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JARED COONEY HORVATH | PhD, MEd Dr. 

Educational research sheds new light on the efficacy and application of school homework. 

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If you ask five plumbers why they always install drain pipes with a gradient of at least 1.65%, they’ll all tell you that it's the minimum safe ‘fall’ to prevent wastewater backflow. 

If you ask five pro tennis players why they commonly change racquets during a match, they’ll all tell you that it helps maintain consistent string tension. 

If you ask five teachers why they regularly assign homework, they’ll all likely tell you something very different -- from providing practice opportunities, to flipping classroom learning, to engaging parents in the learning process, and so on. 

Despite this lack of consensus, the popular justifications for homework generally appear to be reasonable and logical. However, upon further review, it turns out that many of these justifications reflect personal preference rather than a robust base of evidence. 

In Australia, a country with around 10,000 schools, students this year will collectively complete approximately 400 million hours of homework. That’s more than 45,000 years’ worth of time! 

And this, by the way, is in a country where over 90% of 13 to 17-year-olds fail to meet the minimum basic physical activity guidelines (according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). 

This is not to suggest that kids should necessarily be running around instead of doing homework -- although a compelling argument could be made for this. Instead, it's meant to emphasize that with such a massive investment of time and energy, it’s reasonable to assume we must have very clear answers to questions like: 

Is homework actually effective at improving student learning and performance? How much homework is ideal? How frequently should it be assigned? For which age groups is it best suited? 

Unfortunately, for most schools and parents, these answers are elusive and/or irrelevant in the face of the well-worn “homework is important because we’ve always done it” argument (although, to be fair, in recent years the blind cult of homework has faced more rigorous scrutiny across the globe). 

In this video, I examine a research study that can help us better answer some of the aforementioned questions about homework: 

Adolescents’ Homework Performance in Mathematics and Science: Personal Factors and Teaching Practices. (Fernández-Alonso, et al | 2015) 

Here are some of the questions I tackle in this installment: 

What is the PISA, and how has it led many schools astray when it comes to their general homework philosophy/policy?

Is the relationship between homework and student performance a linear function, or is homework subject to diminishing returns?

According to research, approximately how much homework supports peak learning and academic performance?

What are some key takeaways for teachers regarding how we might think about and approach homework going forward? 

Give it a watch, and let me know what you think in the comments. And, as always, if you find this video valuable, interesting and/or entertaining, you can support our channel by liking, sharing and subscribing ;)  

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JARED COONEY HORVATH | PhD, MEd 

Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath is an award-winning cognitive neuroscientist, best-selling author and renowned keynote speaker with an expertise in human learning, memory, and brain stimulation. 

Dr. Horvath has published 4 books, over 30 research articles, and currently serves as an honorary researcher at the University of Melbourne and St. Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne. 

His research has been featured in popular publications including The New York Times, WIRED, BBC, The Economist, PBS's Nova and ABC’s Catalyst. https://www.lmeglobal.net/media 

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LME GLOBAL 

(Sleep Cycles) How Much Sleep Do Teenagers Really Need ... and Why?

In this installment of 'From Theory to Practice', we look at a new piece of research that examines the fundamental linkage between sleep, learning and memory formation:

A Mechanism for Learning with Sleep Spindles (Adrien Peyrache and Julie Seibt, April 2020) LINK: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/do... 

If you have any teenagers in your home or classroom -- or if you just remember your own high school sleeping habits -- you already know that staying up late, struggling to rise with the alarm clock, and snoozing until noon on weekends are par for the course. 

One reason that adolescents become night owls is due simply to the demanding lifestyle of this age group -- which includes heavy loads of homework and busy social lives. 

But another, more natural reason is triggered by a unique biological shift that occurs during the teenage years. Scientists have known for a long time now that our biological clocks shift forward during adolescence! 

Instead of feeling drowsy in the evenings, teenagers tend to become more alert and have a difficult time settling into sleep (likely because melatonin, which causes sleepiness, is secreted on a delayed timetable). 

 By the same token, in the mornings -- when young children and adults are wide-awake and primed for the day -- teenagers maintain elevated melatonin levels, and often feel groggy as a result. 

And this is exactly why the chorus of doctors and school administrators advocating for later high school start times has grown louder in recent years.

A teen who rises for school at 6:30 a.m. is fighting against a biological force of sleepiness, and later in the day might find it difficult to doze off in time to make-up for this lost sleep.

In this video, I look at prominent piece of sleep research, and discuss the important relationship between sleep, learning memory formation. 

Here are some of the questions I tackle in this installment: 

 What are the two unique forms of neuroplasticity … and which one is most prevalent during sleep?

What are sleep spindles … and why do scientists believe they are essential to long-term memory formation and consolidation?

What are sleep cycles … and why are they NOT all created equally?

How are teenagers unique with regard to sleep cycles and circadian rhythms … and how does this phenomenon conflict with traditional schooling practices?

What are the key takeaways for teachers when it comes to managing teenage/adolescent students and helping them achieve better learning outcomes? 

If you find this video valuable, interesting and/or entertaining, you can support us by following our Tumblr & YouTube channel.

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 JARED COONEY HORVATH | PhD, MEd Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath is an award-winning cognitive neuroscientist, best-selling author and renowned keynote speaker with an expertise in human learning, memory, and brain stimulation. 

Dr. Horvath has published 4 books, over 30 research articles, and currently serves as an honorary researcher at the University of Melbourne and St. Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne.