Prof @ UVa who's puttin' the funk back in functional brain imaging and the psycho in psychometrics. One study is just one study, folks.
Keswick, Virginia, USA
Joined October 2009
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Guy I know was complaining about making his 8th grader's lunch. I didn't have presence of mind to say anything so 3 days later I made this. I don't think the guy's is on Twitter, this is my therapy.
If you regularly ask people—eg, students, or team members—to “explain,” you’ll love this book. Tania Lombrozo is one of the most perceptive cognitive psychologists today, and here she unravels the complexities of explanation. Highly recommended. a.co/d/0fXtVXGS
Just as with judgements of understanding, people mistake computer knowledge as their own.
open.substack.com/pub/stephe…
Are there sensitive periods during which adverse experiences have especially profound effects on brain development? This review concludes evidence is mixed, but research is dogged by conceptual, theoretical, and methodological heterogeneity.
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.co…
Daniel Willingham retweeted
Meta had an internal PR plan to try and discredit Jon Haidt because he was a critic of social media.
Meta was going to recruit academics, like Andrew Gelman, to write take down pieces. They were trying to turn academics against one another through a "whisper strategy".
This is a very serious problem for open academic debate. If academics who share negative evidence about a platform are targeted by campaigns to smear our credibility, we are in deep, deep trouble.
This creates a very serious conflict of interest for anyone who is paid to do this.
law360.com/articles/2542517/…
"Pulling in the reader from the first sentence, this book offers a concise, thoughtful roadmap for implementing Montessori education." Exc review of book co-written by my incomparable wife, Trisha Thompson-Willingham. journals.sagepub.com/pb-asse…
Yet another empirical investigation concludes no validity to VAK learning styles. psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d…
Daniel Willingham retweeted
Somewhere E.D. Hirsch Jr. says, “I told you so.”
Natalie Wexler argues social studies boosts literacy: more social studies time raises reading scores (unlike extra reading time), especially for low-income kids, by building knowledge/vocabulary. Louisiana, Massachusetts, Kentucky created state curricula; Delaware pilots "Literacy for We the People," pairing civics/history with writing/speaking skills via simulated hearings. nataliewexler.substack.com/p…
Orangutan mothers travel long distances, eat less so their kids can have playdates. (Also probably wonder why other mom never offers to host).
earth.com/animals/orangutan-…
New Willingham Substack
When Everyone Makes Sense and Nobody Learns:
A friendly challenge to the education commentariat.
dtwuva.substack.com/p/when-e…
Free online books from the @ckschools library! Suitable for strong independent readers age 8+, or as read alouds for younger readers. coreknowledgefreelibrary.org…
Nice to see Louisa Moats getting this recognition: profile in @TIME time.com/article/2026/09/23/…
Daniel Willingham retweeted
New @nytimes piece ranks 30 education interventions on both effectiveness & costs.
For me, the key takeaway is NOT about what academics (including myself) rated as most effective or least costly.
It is about the decision making process districts use. 🧵
nytimes.com/2026/09/28/upsho…
This piece is excellent: on the wrenching decision many Black parents face when it comes to their children's schooling. drmiah.substack.com/p/the-im…
I do hope you get thoughtful advice in how to implement this policy. History shows it's not hard for it to go wrong.
We've all heard someone say 'school wasn't really for me’.
And we should think about why that is. Our system is set up to reward young people who thrive in academic subjects and exams, but what about those who learn best by getting stuck in and doing things?
Too often they're left behind.
So we’re introducing new vocational GCSEs - proper, nationally recognised qualifications giving young people practical, hands-on learning that they can study alongside Maths, English and Science.
And we’re creating 200,000 more work experience opportunities, so every teenager gets the chance to experience the world of work before they leave school.
A one-size fits all approach simply doesn't work - I want to build an education system that values both academic and technical paths and gives all young people hope that their future will be brighter, whether it starts at university or not.
Daniel Willingham retweeted
O PARADOXO DO PISA
Comparando os resultados dos países, uma vez mais se torna claro:
Para ter bons resultados no PISA é preciso não trabalhar para o PISA
e sim desenvolver o conhecimento estruturado
Ensaio uma explicação do paradoxo no meu livrinho Aprender
Daniel Willingham retweeted
I'm finishing a paper I wrote with my colleagues. I used LLM to help with the abstract, and to improve a few sentences (maybe 5-10 sentences in a 73 pages long paper) in order to increase readability. Pangram says the paper is 63% AI, and this is total BS. I have checked a poem written by Victor Hugo, and it flags as 100% AI! Serious question: what will happen if people/journals/entities start to use these AI detection tools to evaluate our work? Will people be wrongly accused of using AI to their papers? This needs an urgent discussion among academics!
Another take-away from @nhannahjones's piece...if you, consciously or unconsciously, think "the smart kids will always be okay," you're wrong. The smart kids need attention and good instruction too.
The best take I've seen on @nhannahjones's NYTimes piece..."The article is less compelling for what it says than for what it doesn’t." eduwonk.com/2026/09/an-educa…
