BOLD
I started writing for BOLD in 2017, and have been Deputy Editor since 2021. Find all of my written contributions below.
Articles
What’s the best way to teach kids decimals?
Language matters when children learn mathematics
How does metacognition help children learn?
Thinking about their own thinking helps children become more independent learners
Do children need phonics to read English?
Despite some concerns, a phonics-based approach might help to close the attainment gap
Learning to play
Could supporting children to play help them to balance hope with the reality of the challenges we face? (written with Gemma Wirz)
Learning to create communities
How can caregivers encourage children to find new ways to care for themselves, others and the environment? (written with Gemma Wirz)
Learning to notice and connect with nature
How can caregivers help children notice and connect with the natural world? (written with Gemma Wirz)
Learning to share concerns
Could talking about emotions and concerns for the future help caregivers connect with children? (written with Gemma Wirz)
Learning to thrive
What is the role of play, agency, compassion and nature in children’s wellbeing and development? (written with Gemma Wirz)
How can analogies promote learning?
Analogies can be a powerful tool for helping children understand new concepts
Helping every child maximise their potential through personalised education
A new UNESCO report calls personalised education a human right
A BOLD new year
2022 marks the next step in BOLD's exploration of the science behind children's learning and development (written with Gemma Wirz)
How specific are developmental disorders?
Children's diagnoses are not as simple as they may seem
Does class size impact children’s learning?
Class size is a complex issue with multiple impacts on pupils and teachers
Maths anxiety is a global concern
How can students worldwide be supported to develop a love of maths?
Do children believe abilities are fixed?
Young children appear to believe differences in performance are due to stable personal characteristics
Do teaching assistants help students learn?
Schools must provide training and resources to ensure teaching assistants make a positive impact on learning
Digital technology should be available for all young people
Hunger at school widens the attainment gap
Breakfast clubs may help children learn
Working memory training in school
Are there benefits for learning?
How can education systems prepare for uncertainties?
The pandemic widens the attainment gap
How can disadvantaged students be supported?
What makes feedback on schoolwork effective?
How can teachers ensure students learn from feedback?
Consequences of exam cancellations
Will inequalities between students increase?
How teachers can support their students during the COVID-19 outbreak
Supporting children's learning at home
How parents can complement the work of teachers during the COVID-19 outbreak
The importance of school breaktimes
Unstructured play helps students learn
Encouraging gender equality in schools
Teachers and parents should help fight gender stereotypes
The consequences of maths anxiety
It's not only poor performers who are affected
(Translated into German for Fritz & Fränzi magazine)
Adolescents need sleep to learn
So can we teach them how to sleep well?
(Translated into German for Fritz & Fränzi magazine)
Personalising educational materials
Learning should be tailored to individuals, not to ability groups
The costs and benefits of working outside of lessons
Teaching children about diverse families
LGBT-inclusive education is important for children's wellbeing
Teachers learn about neuroscience
What are the key principles?
How can we keep valuable teachers in post?
Overcoming students’ misconceptions
‘Stop and think’ helps them learn counterintuitive concepts
Educators want evidence and tools, not strict instructions
Fighting for educational neuroscience
It’s time to embrace the interdisciplinary learning sciences
School-based advocates for evidence
Can school ‘Research Leads’ improve education?
Translating questionable research to the classroom
Can we trust the results of educational neuroscience studies?
Ensuring research informs teaching and learning
How can we make educational trials work?
What do individual changes in IQ mean for education?
Advantage or disadvantage for learning?
Students contributing to research
Drawing on students’ opinions and experiences to improve research
Teachers and scientists talk to share their expertise
Educational neuroscience benefits from educators’ research in the classroom
An ongoing issue that requires prevention and intervention
Desirable difficulties in learning
What are they and how can they help students learn?
What is metacognition and how can it help students learn?
Searching for evidence
Nature and nurture in education
What is heritability and what does it have to do with education?
What are the potential benefits of gathering detailed learner data?
What could the future of teaching and learning look like?
Electrical brain stimulation to enhance learning
Can and should it help children with learning difficulties?
Is it as simple as it sounds?
Can it have a meaningful, long-term impact on performance?
Identifying what works in education
The challenge of conducting research trials in school
Separating fact from fiction
Bringing scientific evidence to the classroom
The rise of educational neuroscience
Interviews
Can personalized learning increase educational equity?
If not implemented well, personalized learning technologies risk harming the most disadvantaged students [Hanna Dumont]
Why schools need to earn students’ trust
Students who distrust institutions are more likely to drop out of school [Catrin Finkenauer]
Reducing children’s school-related stress
Can bringing neurobiology and educational research together help children with difficult lives outside the classroom? [Madeline Harms]
Helping children help each other
Adults can guide children to help others in ways that reduce inequality [Jellie Sierksma]
Creating a classroom culture that fosters a growth mindset
How teachers can shape learning environments that engage students and reduce educational inequalities [Cameron Hecht]
Self-views impact educational outcomes
How children see themselves is affected by socioeconomic status, and shapes their achievement [Sarah Hofer]
Making child development research inclusive
How can research procedures, equipment, and environments be made more comfortable and welcoming? [Eryn Adams]
Helping parents engage in their children’s education
Can encouraging parents to see their children’s learning differently reduce educational inequality? [Sharon Wolf]
Culture in the mathematics classroom
How are racial-ethnic identity and mathematics identity connected? [Melody Wilson]
The cognitive psychologist seeking to improve children’s metacognition
Alicia Forsberg is helping learners understand their memory limitations
The critical roboticist designing social robots to promote educational equality
Katie Winkle wants robots to benefit all children in the classroom
The cognitive scientist asking how kids solve problems
Roman Feiman is discovering sophisticated reasoning in young children
The psychologist tracking the development of children’s fairness and peer relationships
Jeanine Grütter is discovering what creates an inclusive classroom where all children feel that they belong
Jake McMullen is developing interventions to support flexible mathematics skills
The education scientist helping children recognize the mathematics all around them
The economist asking how education impacts equality
Guido Neidhöfer is showing how all children benefit from a more just society
The cognitive psychologist linking sensory perception and children’s learning
Nora Turoman is investigating how distractions impact children’s working memory
The developmental psychologist capturing the diversity of children’s experiences
Manuel Bohn is learning more about the development of cognition by studying children and great apes
The cognitive scientist helping kids persist through challenges
Julia Leonard is uncovering what motivates children to put in the effort to learn
The psychologist nurturing students’ positive development
Lisa Bardach is exploring ways to promote motivation and learning
The computer scientist designing technology that helps kids thrive
Alexis Hiniker is uncovering how digital experiences can support or undermine children’s flourishing
The statistician building data platforms to improve children’s learning
Ben Domingue is helping other researchers measure complex educational outcomes
The social scientist preparing children and teachers for lifelong digital learning
Rene Kizilcec is making EdTech more supportive, effective, and engaging
The experimental psychologist observing how children’s memories grow
Zoe Ngo is connecting brain development to memory growth
The social psychologist shedding light on inequality at preschool
Sébastien Goudeau is uncovering why schools fail to close achievement gaps
The neuroscientist building the science of making good choices
Patricia Lockwood is looking at decision-making and social behaviour from childhood to old age
The developmental scientist asking “what is curiosity?”
Jamie Jirout is reimagining schools as places of curiosity-driven learning
The neuroscientist observing cognition during the earliest stages of life
Michael Skeide’s brain research is laying the foundation for meeting children’s individual learning needs
The educational psychologist promoting inclusive teaching and learning in multilingual countries
Ivy Kesewaa Nkrumah is studying how children’s learning outcomes are affected by the language in which they learn
The educational scientist showing how learners bring creativity to EdTech
Emmanuel Béché is viewing learners as active contributors to their learning with technology
The cognitive psychologist tracing the roots of intuitive thinking
Tomer Ullman is examining common-sense reasoning about physics and psychology
The social scientist using a wealth of data to identify policies that reduce inequality
Luca Maria Pesando is investigating the societal forces that shape family and educational inequalities
The data scientist putting humans at the center of educational AI
Roberto Martinez-Maldonado is prioritizing ethics, privacy, and security in developing AI for classrooms
The developmental psychologist exploring the forces that shape children’s cooperation
Katherine McAuliffe is studying when, why, and where cooperation works best
The cognitive scientist asking why learning is sometimes easy and sometimes hard
Darko Odic is exploring what happens when children learn something new
The developmental neuroscientist asking why children's brains develop differently
Catherine Lebel is examining the complex, wonderful ways that children differ
The literacy researcher exploring the hidden senses involved in children's reading
Natalia Kucirkova is reconceptualising reading as a full-body experience
The development economist aiming to help children in difficult circumstances thrive
Alex Eble is working on the economics of education for underserved children
The developmental psychologist exploring the profound consequences of children's self-views
Eddie Brummelman is finding out how self-views can maintain inequality in education
The developmental psychologist using AI to support parents
Dana McCoy is bringing technology to families in marginalized communities
Supporting children's early learning in France
Towards a promising future for children in vulnerable families [Thomas Villemonteix and Liem-Binh Luong]
"My vision is for children to be able to exercise their right to learn"
Supporting children who have fallen behind in their learning [Mya Gordon]
Learning through play and exploration
Play-based child-centred early years education in Ghana [Tony Dogbe]
"I want to see all young people thriving"
Giving youth the skills they need to grow as future leaders [Moitshepi Matsheng]
Upholding children's rights in Ghana
Ensuring that all children are healthy, safe, and able to learn [David Pwalua]
"Quality education is still a privilege"
The pandemic magnified educational challenges in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa [Guilherme Lichand]
Exploring dyslexia and dyscalculia
An understanding of these developmental disorders will help children get the support they need [Michael Skeide]
Preparing students for global challenges
Evidence-based solutions for transforming education in Latin America [Santiago Isaza Arango]
"All children should have equal access to joyful, foundational learning"
Helping children in challenging circumstances learn how to learn [Caitlin Baron]
"I envision an inclusive and equitable education system"
Reforming education so children can build a better future [Tom Vandenbosch]
How can we make education systems fairer for children?
Recognising the value of diversity in development [Nienke van Atteveldt]
Our changing understanding of neurodivergence
Is it helpful to label and group young people with developmental disorders? [Sue Fletcher-Watson]
Building empathy for oneself, society, and the planet
Teaching children skills for the future [Simran Mulchandani]
Educating girls for the future of Kenya
Gender equity through education [Tonee Ndungu]
The Psychologist
I was Deputy Editor of The Psychologist for three years. Find my reports, reviews, interviews, and more below.
Reports
Getting through a potentially traumatic event
George Bonanno's keynote at the BPS Conference.
Michael Marmot's Transformation Seminar at the Anna Freud Centre.
The BPS and Senate House Library Psychology Research Day.
Written with Ella Rhodes and Jon Sutton, BPS careers in psychology webinar.
Webinar on decolonising the psychology curriculum.
Peter Worley's webinar, More thought in education.
Keeping the momentum in forensic psychology
Written with Ella Rhodes, the Division of Forensic Psychology conference.
Social psychology in changing times
The Social Psychology Section annual conference.
The unique life history of humans
Alison Gopnik's keynote at the BPS conference.
Towards a mental health super science
Miranda Wolpert MBE's keynote at the BPS conference.
Including children in their own education
The Division of Educational and Child Psychology annual conference.
The launch of the British Neuroscience Association's Credibility in neuroscience manifesto at the House of Commons.
The Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development's 21st anniversary celebration in London.
A symposium on reducing flying in academia at the University of Sheffield.
Difficult conversations in the SpeakEasy
Written with Jon Sutton on psychology-themed events at Latitude Festival.
Seeking accuracy before balance
Three sessions from the World Conference of Science Journalists in Switzerland.
The knowledge exchange and impact session at the British Psychological Society annual conference.
Can individual differences tell us more?
Professor Gina Rippon's talk on myths of the female brain.
Reviews
Telling Science Stories by Martin W. Angler.
The play Run Sister Run by Chloë Moss.
How to Argue with a Racist by Adam Rutherford.
Exposing the facts of patriarchy
The Guilty Feminist by Deborah Frances-White and Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez.
Hope, resilience, and mental toughness
Desert Island Discs with firefighter and psychologist Sabrina Cohen-Hatton.
The play Reasons to Stay Alive based on Matt Haig's book.
The secret to great storytelling
The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr.
For Folk's Sake: Morris Dancing and Me on BBC Four.
Q&As
'Ambivalence is normal human nature'
William R Miller on his book On Second Thought.
Microaggressions: 'A constant and unwelcome companion'
Susan Cousins and colleagues on their book Making Sense of Microaggressions.
'Adolescence is one of the most fascinating stages of human development'
John Coleman on his book The Teacher and the Teenage Brain.
Rachel M Allan on her book How to Help Someone with Anxiety.
What do you find energising at work?
Emily Hutchinson on her co-authored book The Strengths-Based Organization.
'People give their best to leaders who have their back'
Katy Granville-Chapman and Emmie Bidston on their book Leader.
'Representation and methodology need to change'
Rose Capdevila for International Women's Day.
Cyber-racism – it doesn't just happen to footballers
Susan Cousins, following a racist online attack.
Written with Laura Cox, Susan Golombok on her book We are Family.
Julia Harrington, Jonathan Beale, Amy Fancourt and Catherine Lutz on The 'BrainCanDo' Handbook of Teaching and Learning.
'A person with a learning disability is a person first'
Saba Salman on her book Made Possible.
'Women fight victim blaming every step of the way'
Jessica Taylor on her book Why Woman are Blamed for Everything.
'Anxiety frequently howls at shadows where there are no true threats'
Eric Goodman on his book Your Anxiety Beast and You.
'Trying to keep up the illusion of authority is decreasing trust'
Gemma Milne on her book Smoke & Mirrors.
'Many of us are not optimally using our attention span'
Stefan Van der Stigchel on his book Concentration.
'It's an exciting time to be researching and writing about drugs'
Suzi Gage on her book Say Why to Drugs.
'There is a spectrum of responses to killing far-off enemies'
Peter Lee on his field research with RAF Reaper drone pilots.
'We need to support our diverse population'
Susan Cousins on her book Overcoming Everyday Racism.
Creating compassionate NHS organisations
Maria Kordowicz on the importance of compassion in the workplace.
'Games have helped me a lot throughout my life'
Pete Etchells on his book Lost in a Good Game.
'These are big, contentious conversations'
Nathan Filer on his book The Heartland.
Interviews
'The aim of the game is to support kids'
Rob Webster on teaching assistants.
'Almost every area of psychology has something to contribute to addressing climate change'
Lorraine Whitmarsh on tackling climate change.
'There are Jonas Salks, the Louis Pasteurs, the Marie Curies of education'
Paul A Kirschner on his book How Learning Happens.
'Babies really enjoy being babies'
Caspar Addyman on his book The Laughing Baby.
'I understood when I listened to people's stories'
Deanne Bell on decolonising psychology.
Features
Written with Ella Rhodes, we speak to psychologists about the impact of class.
Learning from educational neuroscience
The potential benefits and concerns in an ever-growing field.
Other
Our editor in conversation with Chair of the Psychologist and Digest Editorial Advisory Committee – plus comments from the deputy editor.
Editorials
Cupboard love
A vegan future?
Decolonising psychology
Letter
From my time as PhD student, contributing to the debate on learning styles.
Elsewhere
If you're looking for an old blog post, please get in touch via anniebb.bold@gmail.com.
My blog posts for the NPJ Science of Learning Community can be found here.