Debunking the myth of productive multitasking is challenging. Don't people do two or more things at once every day? We joke about being able to walk and chew gum simultaneously, and listening to music makes mundane tasks, like chores, more pleasant to perform. The key to doing these things simultaneously is that we can do one or both of them almost automatically without experiencing cognitive challenge. Washing the dishes does not require me to plan, problem solve, or analyze

If one were perfect, there would be nothing to learn. Yet, despite the logical impossibility of unbroken academic perfection, students of all ages try to achieve it. The fear of being wrong is instilled early, and praise for being right is highly appealing. I worked with a kindergartner afraid to read aloud because she might make a mistake. I have also seen older children suffer particularly for their perfectionism. In one case a sixth grade student known for her academic exc

When something wasn’t clicking for a child in my first grade classroom, one of the first resources I would consult was the birthday list. How old a student is relative to his peers can make a surprisingly big difference in school. Think of how much an elementary-school-aged child can change in just six months. He might grow taller, get more adult teeth, develop better fine motor coordination, learn new vocabulary, regulate his emotions better, and become more empathetic, amon