The Learning Scientists Podcast

In this podcast episode, Dr Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel interviews Dr Elida Cena (Queen’s University Belfast) and Dr Ashley Robertson (University of Glasgow) about their recent study on “Studying with GenAI: Student views on the opportunities and risks of GenAI in higher education”. Their study centered students’ voices in discussions about generative AI (GenAI) in higher education, aiming to explore how they use these tools, their perceived benefits, and concerns about the impact on learning and assessment. Conducted at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Glasgow, the research sought to uncover common experiences across different institutional contexts while recognizing the influence of local cultures.

In Episode 99, Megan talks about flashcards. Flashcards are a tool like anything else; they can be used to promote effective learning strategies, and also used in ways that are not so effective. This brief episode is designed to help students understand the best ways to use flashcards, and ways to avoid using flashcards.

In Episode 98, Cindy interviews Sarah Oberle and Mitch Weathers, experts in executive functioning.

In Episode 97, Althea reads her blog post Thinking is Hard.

In Episode 95, Cindy talks with Myriam Da Silva about believing in yourself to support learning.

In episode 95, Cindy talks with Emily Kircher-Morris, M.A., M.Ed., LPC, a licensed professional counselor specializing in supporting neurodivergent kids and adults (and their families).

In Episode 94, Althea reads her blog post Retrieval Practice in the Health Professions.

In Episode 93, Carolina chats with Dr Chiara Horlin, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow, about wellbeing in educators and specifically about a phenomenon called ‘compassion fatigue’.

In Episode 92, Althea talks with Leonardo Feletto. Leo has a PhD in Molecular Biology and is now a science teacher. But most important for this particular episode, Leo is a science communicator.

In Episode 91, Cindy talks with Sean McCormick, founder and Executive Director at EF Specialists. They discuss the research on executive functioning training, especially for neurodiverse students, and the degree to which it transfers to everyday life. In the episode, they mention several research studies. For free resources, please visit efspecialists.com.

In Episode 90, Megan reads her blog post Dual Coding: Can There be too Much of a Good Thing?

For some of our podcast episodes, we are going to read blog posts, audiobook style. This allows listeners to access the written material from the blog in audio form, which we imagine may help some who don’t have much time for reading (but DO have time to listen in the car). It also allows us to bring some of our most interesting, important, and/or popular posts back into the spotlight. Today’s episode is our first of this type! In Episode 89, Carolina reads her blog post Who should Create Study Plans?

In Episode 88, Megan, Cindy, Carolina, and Althea talk about the new direction of the Learning Scientists Podcast, and about multitasking!

In Episode 87, Cindy chats with Mitch Weathers, a veteran teacher and Founder and CEO of Organized Binder. Mitch discusses what exactly is meant by executive functioning, his own learning struggles as a student, and his many projects aimed at improving students’ executive functioning skills including his recently released book, Executive Functions for Every Classroom: Creating Safe and Equitable Learning Environments.

In episode 86, Cindy talks with Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, neuroscientist, educator, and author of Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights from Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick. In this episode, Jared reviews some of the history of technological advancements, how technology has impacted learning, and shares some of his ideas for how artificial intelligence may impact both learning and society moving forward. Visit our website, learningscientists.org/podcast-episodes, for the show notes, including a link to share your thoughts with Jared.

In Episode 85, Megan talks with Natalia Kucirkova, PhD, a Professor of Early Childhood and Development at the University of Stavanger in Norway and Professor of Reading and Children’s Development at The Open University, UK. Natalia leads a network of learning scientists, WiKIT, who support diverse EdTech organizations to be more evidence-based and aligned with the science of learning. She is author of the open-access book, How and Why to Read and Create Children’s Digital Books: A Guide for Primary Practitioners and The Future of the Self: understanding Personalization in Childhood and Beyond.

In Episode 84, Carolina talks to Dominic Wyse and Charlotte Hacking; the authors of the brand-new book “The Balancing Act: An Evidence-Based Approach to Teaching Phonics, Reading and Writing”. Together they explore the chapters of the book that takes a research-informed approach to teaching pupils how to read and write.

In Episode 83, Althea interviews Jamila Sams, CEO and founder of We Do It For the Culture (TM), a culturally responsive social emotional learning curriculum rooted in Hip-Hop culture for middle and high school students. Jamila discusses the five components of social-emotional learning, hip-hop, and shares examples of how the curriculum has connected with students.

In Episode 81, Megan, Cindy, Carolina, and Althea walk through their Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) Annual Conference on Teaching (ACT) talk! The episode was recorded in October 2023 when all four Learning Scientists were together in Portland, Oregon for the conference. After they gave their formal talk, they recorded their talk in one of their hotel rooms to reach more people.