Welcome to the August 2024 Learning Brain News.

Every month the Learning Brain News team sorts through a large list of new research papers, articles and commentaries to select the most interesting items for you to read.

Included this month: 
Remembering, Thinking, Teaching Mathemetics, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Social Media Bans, and Sci-Fi Books.

Enjoy,
The Learning Brain News Team 

Hurts to Think: The Unpleasant Truth About Mental Effort

New research suggests that mental exertion is often associated with unpleasant feelings such as stress and irritation, challenging the notion that people enjoy mentally demanding tasks.

Despite the discomfort, people still engage in challenging tasks for potential rewards, indicating that the motivation may lie in the benefits rather than the effort itself.

Eye-Tracking Study: Insights Into Learning Mathematics

Eye-tracking allows studying aspects that cannot be seen, for example, the thinking processes of a student solving a mathematical problem. Researchers have integrated eye-tracking into education and are using the technology to radically improve the teaching of mathematics.

UNITED KINGDOM

International Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning 
Edinburgh, 26-27 September 2024

A physical and digital conference about Distance Teaching and Learning.

AUSTRALIA

Australian International Education Conference 
Melbourne, 22-25 October 2024

This conference provides opportunities for networking & learning and attracts attendees from Australia and overseas.

AUSTRALIA

Action Learning - Action Research Conference
Sydney, 7-8 November 2024

An inter- and trans-disciplinary conference on action research, action learning and participative practice.

Ant Insights Lead to Robot Navigation Breakthrough

How can insects go so far beyond their homes and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots.

How Your Brain Remembers: How Episodic Memories Form

The brain is constantly storing new experiences that it has to integrate into the jumble of existing memories. Surprisingly, it does not overwrite previous memory traces in the process.

ADHD: Stimulant & Non-Stimulant Medication Almost Equal in Improving Executive Function

Non-stimulant medication is nearly as effective as stimulant medication at improving executive function in children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in May by Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

Learning How to Learn Ebook

Children go to school to learn. For each year of schooling there is a curriculum that has to be delivered by their teachers.

The curriculum is the "what" of education. Of course we want our students to learn “what” is delivered by the curriculum.

But education is more than the “what”. It must include the “how” of learning.

Read about the “how” of learning, why it’s important and what needs to be done to help students learn how to learn in this eBook by neuroscientist and educator, Dr Martha Burns.