Dan Willingham
@dtwuva.bsky.social
Professor @UVa who's puttin' the funk back in functional brain imaging and the psycho in psychometrics. One study is just one study, folks.
Exercise improves academic performance in Norwegian college students (open) www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1...
November 24, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Exercise improves academic performance in Norwegian college students (open) www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1...
Every psychologist knows this feeling: you’re not mad that these two sections are adjacent. You’re grateful that they’re separate sections.
November 23, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Every psychologist knows this feeling: you’re not mad that these two sections are adjacent. You’re grateful that they’re separate sections.
Data from Peru: telling women they've met the exam cut-off to pursue a STEM major increases the probability they'll take it. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 19, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Data from Peru: telling women they've met the exam cut-off to pursue a STEM major increases the probability they'll take it. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Although it's commonly believed that left-handedness is associated with creativity...it's not. link.springer.com/article/10.3...
November 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Although it's commonly believed that left-handedness is associated with creativity...it's not. link.springer.com/article/10.3...
Really inspiring review of five decades of cardiac medicine that almost certainly kept Dick Cheney alive, his first heart attack was at age 37...and the importance of the US scientific infrastructure--currently under existential threat--to those miracles. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | The science that extended Dick Cheney’s life was a choice
The biomedical research engine will create more breakthroughs — if we keep it up and running.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Really inspiring review of five decades of cardiac medicine that almost certainly kept Dick Cheney alive, his first heart attack was at age 37...and the importance of the US scientific infrastructure--currently under existential threat--to those miracles. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted by Dan Willingham
The circle of hell Dante forgot - Who Raised You - is teeming w people who put their bags on Amtrak seats. Their curse is to eternally battle NJ Transiters watching videos at full blast & those who trample tiny kids to deplane 30 sec sooner. Feels like a promising reality tv concept.
October 27, 2025 at 11:32 AM
The circle of hell Dante forgot - Who Raised You - is teeming w people who put their bags on Amtrak seats. Their curse is to eternally battle NJ Transiters watching videos at full blast & those who trample tiny kids to deplane 30 sec sooner. Feels like a promising reality tv concept.
BREAKING: Survey by @nature.com reveals that "supervisors who make a conscious effort to support and mentor their PhD candidates have more-satisfied students."
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision
Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:27 PM
BREAKING: Survey by @nature.com reveals that "supervisors who make a conscious effort to support and mentor their PhD candidates have more-satisfied students."
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
RCT of Montessori preschool: at end of K, significantly higher reading, short-term memory, theory of mind, and executive function scores. Intention-to-treat effect sizes > .20. www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
October 22, 2025 at 11:06 AM
RCT of Montessori preschool: at end of K, significantly higher reading, short-term memory, theory of mind, and executive function scores. Intention-to-treat effect sizes > .20. www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
Not so fast…UVa rejects compact but is reportedly near a deal w the feds www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
White House Moves Toward Settlement With First Public University
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Not so fast…UVa rejects compact but is reportedly near a deal w the feds www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
uva rejects the compact
October 17, 2025 at 8:42 PM
uva rejects the compact
I review Google's new AI tool. Not ready, not really close to ready, but shows promise.
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
Will Google's New AI Tool Help Teachers?
"Learn Your Way" Shows Promise but Has a Way to Go
dtwuva.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 11:23 AM
I review Google's new AI tool. Not ready, not really close to ready, but shows promise.
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
Why do people share fake news? "While perceived message truth was the main driver of persuasion, message transmission was primarily driven by positive emotion and social engagement, indicating that social connection is prioritized during information sharing." psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
September 30, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Why do people share fake news? "While perceived message truth was the main driver of persuasion, message transmission was primarily driven by positive emotion and social engagement, indicating that social connection is prioritized during information sharing." psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
I've just learned of Art Reber's death. Art was a leader in an area of research that was my main focus early in my career. He was a great psychologist and unfailingly kind. www.molesfarewelltributes.com/obituaries/a...
Arthur Samuel Reber - Moles Farewell Tributes
Arthur Samuel Reber March 11, 1940, to September 2, 2025 Born in Philadelphia, PA, to parents Jacob Reber and Yetta Gluchowsky, Arthur studied psychology at the University of Pennsylvania – interrupte...
www.molesfarewelltributes.com
September 24, 2025 at 11:17 PM
I've just learned of Art Reber's death. Art was a leader in an area of research that was my main focus early in my career. He was a great psychologist and unfailingly kind. www.molesfarewelltributes.com/obituaries/a...
Are the Purported Causes of NAEP Score Decline Actually Symptoms? open.substack.com/pub/dtwuva/p...
September 23, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Are the Purported Causes of NAEP Score Decline Actually Symptoms? open.substack.com/pub/dtwuva/p...
ICYMI: The effect of digital tech on children's attention...less likely affecting whether they *can* pay attention and more likely affecting whether they *choose* to. www.educationnext.org/pay-attentio...
Pay Attention, Kid!
Has the use of digital technology impaired students’ ability to focus?
www.educationnext.org
September 21, 2025 at 8:05 PM
ICYMI: The effect of digital tech on children's attention...less likely affecting whether they *can* pay attention and more likely affecting whether they *choose* to. www.educationnext.org/pay-attentio...
State takeovers of districts *not* associated with improved student performance in reading or math. Especially striking as you'd at least expect regression to the mean effects. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
September 14, 2025 at 8:58 PM
State takeovers of districts *not* associated with improved student performance in reading or math. Especially striking as you'd at least expect regression to the mean effects. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Why aren't practices based on research implemented in schools? @tomdee.bsky.social has insights, and ideas for change. www.edweek.org/leadership/o...
High Quality Research Rarely Informs Classroom Practice. Why? (Opinion)
The connection between education research, policy, and practice is broken. Here’s what it would take to fix it.
www.edweek.org
September 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Why aren't practices based on research implemented in schools? @tomdee.bsky.social has insights, and ideas for change. www.edweek.org/leadership/o...
Have student's attention spans been decimated by digital technologies? In @educationnext.bsky.social I look at the data and conclude that's not the problem. www.educationnext.org/pay-attentio...
Pay Attention, Kid!
Has the use of digital technology impaired students’ ability to focus?
www.educationnext.org
September 9, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Have student's attention spans been decimated by digital technologies? In @educationnext.bsky.social I look at the data and conclude that's not the problem. www.educationnext.org/pay-attentio...
Preschool shows smaller advantage than observed in 1960s and 70s--why? Todays programs have too much -whole-class instruction in math & reading & kids who *don't* go have, on average better experiences. files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED6...
September 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Preschool shows smaller advantage than observed in 1960s and 70s--why? Todays programs have too much -whole-class instruction in math & reading & kids who *don't* go have, on average better experiences. files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED6...
A deep dive from @gtoppo.bsky.social on why kids aren't reading for pleasure www.the74million.org/article/why-...
Why Are So Few Kids Reading for Pleasure?
Doomscrolling. Poor literacy instruction. Overscheduling. These are some of the reasons cited for a generational decline in students reading for fun.
www.the74million.org
September 3, 2025 at 6:04 PM
A deep dive from @gtoppo.bsky.social on why kids aren't reading for pleasure www.the74million.org/article/why-...
Drop in LLM Chatbot usage when school lets out for the summer. (Data from OpenRouter, reported by @morningbrew.bsky.social)
August 31, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Drop in LLM Chatbot usage when school lets out for the summer. (Data from OpenRouter, reported by @morningbrew.bsky.social)
Across subjects and grades (6th-college) prequestions improve learning--new evidence from real classrooms (open) psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
August 29, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Across subjects and grades (6th-college) prequestions improve learning--new evidence from real classrooms (open) psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
New review of meta-analyses on the effect of S-T relationships shows large sig relations with 8 clusters of S outcomes: acad ach, acad emotions, student behavior, beh problems, exec funct, motiv, school belonging and engagement, & well-being. psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...
August 29, 2025 at 12:26 AM
New review of meta-analyses on the effect of S-T relationships shows large sig relations with 8 clusters of S outcomes: acad ach, acad emotions, student behavior, beh problems, exec funct, motiv, school belonging and engagement, & well-being. psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...