Teaching & Learning Page:
Web Pages:
A website dedicated to 3D models showing how things work.
I did share this last yearm, but it's so good it's worth a re-share.
Techie Tips:
Menu Bar is Your Secret Shortcut Guide
If you forget a shortcut, just click around in the menu bar at the top of any Mac app.
You will see the commands, and next to many of them — the shortcut, you were looking for.
The symbols might look cryptic at first:
⌘ = Command
⌥ = Option
⇧ = Shift
⌃ = Control
⇪ = Caps Lock
fn = Function
Learn those, and the menu bar becomes your cheat sheet.
Sketches:
Variable Rewards
Variable rewards are remarkably powerful. Sometimes, you get something good. Sometimes, you get nothing. But every so often, it's something amazing. That unpredictability keeps us coming back.
This kind of reward schedule is known for being highly addictive. Here are a few examples I've witnessed firsthand.
The Reward Chest
The reward chest, or comparable source of goodies, has proliferated in games. Here's how it can work: Each day, or few hours, there's another chance to open a reward chest. It's scarce—don't miss it. Most of the time, it gives you something standard. But once in a while, you open it to find something amazing — a rare weapon or skill. Better open just one more…
The Email Inbox
Mostly, it's standard stuff. Sometimes, it's great — an exciting job intro, a message from an old friend, a special offer. That occasional thrill keeps us checking in.
I've noticed this with new members on Patreon or print sales of the sketches. From time to time someone places a big order—it could be tomorrow, it could be never again, or it could be this one time I check my inbox.
Reviewing animal camera trap photos
We were recently reviewing photos from a set of animal camera traps in a nearby park. Often, the camera trap was triggered by another crow or raven. But sometimes you get a badger or an animal looking right at you. And the next photo might have a hedgehog or a rare bird. Better just look at one more.
Beachcombing
Beaches are wonderful environments for serendipity (and play). It's always a joy walking along the strand line to see what you might find. There are usually a few lovely shells. Other times, there's nothing. But sometimes there's a crab. Or a starfish. Or once, a war relic. Maybe it'll be this time.
The examples go on:
Slot machines — just enough wins to keep you playing, with the occasional sound across the casino of a bumper win.
Pokémon cards — most cards are standard and just build up your deck, but there's always a shot at a rare card worth hundreds in the next pack you open.
A generous compliment from your boss — might have you hoping the next project brings another.
A surprise gesture of affection — from a friend or partner might keep you on the edge for more.
Social posts — the one that blew up with thousands of likes. Maybe that'll be yours this time.
Your football team — they don't win every week, but they win just enough to keep you dreaming that today might be a great day.
Nir Eyal discusses Variable Rewards as part of his Hook Model:
Trigger > Action > (Variable) Reward > Investment
Because the rewards are sporadic and unpredictable, we build anticipation before we act—and when a reward comes, it satisfies an emotional itch and fuels habit formation.
Variable rewards can be much more engaging than predictable rewards. Nir Eyal breaks them into three types:
Social rewards—feeling connected or admired (Rewards of the Tribe)
Material or informational rewards—such as money or finding something (Rewards of the Hunt)
Intrinsic rewards—mastering a challenge, beating a level (Rewards of the Self)
Life has intermittent variable rewards. However, some products and games are deliberately built around them. And I have come to realise that they are powerfully addictive.
Please don't use them for evil.
What Drives Us:
Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose
In Dan Pink’s book Drive, he looks at scientific studies showing that the all-too-common approach to motivating people—rewards and punishments, or the carrot-and-stick approach —ultimately doesn’t help motivate people to do the tasks and work we have to do today.
Instead, we do our best work when driven by intrinsic motivation — motivation from within, rather than imposed externally through rewards or punishments.
The three facets he highlights that help intrinsic motivation are:
Autonomy:
Being in control and able to guide both what we do and how we do it.
Mastery:
Our desire to continually improve, learning, and better ourselves.
Purpose:
Working towards something we think is worthwhile. Having a North Star to aim for and a reason it’s worth doing what we’re doing.
I find it a useful framework to think through whenever I’m not feeling motivated, or when I want to help ensure the people I’m working with stay motivated.
Article:
Why Interleaving is a Smart Way to Teach And Learn
by Debbie Thompson
Fifteen years ago, I was teaching my year 7 maths class. Students aged 11 and 12 sat
waiting for me to start teaching a new topic.
We had just finished working through fractions, and my students had hoped to do a
project so that they could show off what they had learned. I announced our new topic of
geometry, and was met with some groans. Some hands went up.
“Why are we switching topics again?”
I explained that the idea behind the switch was to help them link topics together so that
they could be better mathematicians. And weeks later, their test scores showed that most
of the students had remembered more, and that they were solving problems with better
flexibility and insight.
I had stumbled on a cognitive science teaching technique called interleaving.
What Is Interleaving?
Interleaving is where different topics, skills, or problem types are mixed together in a
lesson. So instead of spending a full week on algebra and then moving to geometry,
interleaving would mix the two topics in the same lesson.
This is different to blocked practice, where learners focus on one topic at a time in each
lesson.
While blocked practice can be easier to follow in lessons, interleaving challenges the
brain to retrieve and apply knowledge in different contexts and scenarios. As a result,
students can learn better, remember better and transfer that knowledge and skills to
work with a broader range of problems.
The science behind interleaving
Interleaving taps into several cognitive processes.
Switching topics forces students to recall information more actively, which strengthens
memory. By comparing different types of problems, learners become better at identifying
which strategies apply where. Revisiting topics over time , rather than in one go, improves
retention.
In short, interleaving makes learning harder now but better later.
Some classroom examples of interleaving
Here’s an example of using interleaving in my classroom.
On a wet Wednesday afternoon ten years ago, I had a class of 20 students, aged 12 and
13. I’d already decided to use interleaving in my lesson, so instead of giving 20 problems
on multiplying fractions, I mixed in problems on division, decimals, and word problems.
That allowed my students to think critically about which operation to use.
And in another class that day, I mixed in algebraic expressions with geometric proof in a 1
hour lesson with a class of students aged 15 and 16.
At first, students were frustrated. But by exam time, they were solving unfamiliar problems
with confidence. They were memorising and thinking about how these topics fitted
together. That helped them focus on different scenarios and contexts in which those skills
could be used to solve a range of problems.
And some of my colleagues in different departments had also used interleaving in their
teaching.
My colleague, Mr Frank, decided to alternate between cell structure, photosynthesis, and
genetics. He told me later that this had helped students see connections and apply
concepts across two different areas.
Then in an English lesson with 11 and 12 year olds, my colleague, Ms O’ Connell,
decided that instead of drilling verb conjugations in isolation, she would mix them with
vocabulary, reading comprehension, and speaking practice.
She felt that this mirrored real-life language use well.
Later on, she tried interleaving in her English class of 14 to 15-year-olds. She mixed poetry
analysis with persuasive writing and grammar drills. “My students were overwhelmed,”
she admits. “I realised I needed to scaffold more and give them clearer transitions and
cues.”
Switching things up
Now I teach most of my lessons one-to-one online.
A few weeks ago, I was helping a GCSE student named Amir, aged 16, who struggled with
maths. For weeks, I used blocked practice , in line with what his parents had asked me to
do, where I went over one topic per session, getting him to practice questions on it
several times.
The result was that Amir could answer standard type maths questions, but he froze during
tests and exams.
It was clear this approach wasn’t helping Amir to get good marks in tests and exams, so
after speaking with the parents, I decided to try something new.
I created a maths carousel where, in each lesson, we took a tour through the topic, a quick
resume of its history, types of questions that could come up, and how they could be solved using lots of examples, and at the end, I would invite Amir to put together a mind map of what he had learned.
I was surprised at the results. Amir was able to pull together the elements of the lesson
into a colourful and informative mindmap, using his creative skills.
“I hated it at first,” Amir admitted. “It felt like mental gymnastics. But then I really
started to enjoy doing it.”
And, I could see that gradually, he began to recognise patterns and apply concepts more
flexibly.
Putting together a scheme or programme of work using interleaving takes time, and it
usually helps to get a plan done for each term in advance. That way, a teacher knows
what’s coming next, but students often don’t, so it keeps them guessing and thinking
about links between topics.
Some benefits of interleaving
Here’s why I think that educators and learners should consider using interleaving.
Revisiting topics over time strengthens memory, and learners become more skilled in
choosing the right strategy to answer and solve questions and problems on a variety of
topics. They are better able to transfer knowledge across different contexts.
Life rarely presents problems in neat categories, and interleaving prepares students for
complexity.
Disadvantages and challenges
I’ve found that interleaving isn’t a magic bullet. Here are some things that can make it
difficult to use well.
Learners may feel disoriented or frustrated by frequent topic shifts, and because it’s
harder, students may think they’re learning less, even when they’re learning more.
Teachers need to design lessons carefully to ensure that topics fit together in such a way
that learners’ knowledge, skills, and creativity improve.
Then there is the issue of standardised testing, where learners are tested on just one
topic every few weeks. Interleaving becomes hard to do as other topics that are
introduced during teaching may not align with short-term goals.
Tips for Using Interleaving Effectively
When I did my teacher training, over 30 years ago, interleaving wasn’t mentioned. As a
student teacher, I was given lots of information on teaching theories, then sent away to a
school to practice and develop my skills for six weeks.
I stumbled on interleaving around fifteen years ago. Before then, I had dabbled with it, but
I hadn’t really used it consistently. Now I often use it in my teaching.
Here are a few things I’ve found that make interleaving work in my lessons.
I start with mixing two topics before adding more to a lesson. I help students identify what
type of problem they’re facing, and then I encourage learners to explain why they chose a
strategy.
Before I use interleaving, I often use blocked practice first to get learners used to a topic,
then I use interleaving to help them remember and apply their skills to solve a given
problem.
I let students know that struggle is part of the process and a sign of deep learning.
Teaching for keeps, and not just for tests
Interleaving is a mindset that invites educators to teach students in a way where learning
is more likely to be remembered.
For me, learning isn’t just about students doing well in tests or exams, so using
interleaving helps my students to think well, not just to recall facts, techniques, and
concepts. And while using interleaving might feel messy at first, I think that it mirrors the
complexity of real life, where problems don’t come with labels and solutions aren’t always
obvious.
So, whether you’re a classroom teacher, tutor, or parent helping with homework, consider
mixing things up. The path may be harder, but the deep, flexible learning that can result is
worth it.
Book Recommendation:
Lateral Thinking
Edward de Bono
THE classic work about improving creativity from world-renowned writer and philosopher Edward de Bono.
In schools, we are taught to meet problems head-on: what Edward de Bono calls 'vertical thinking'. This works well in simple situations - but we are at a loss when this approach fails. What then?
Lateral thinking is all about freeing up your imagination. Through a series of special techniques, in groups or working alone, Edward de Bono shows how to stimulate the mind in new and exciting ways.
Soon you will be looking at problems from a variety of angles and offering up solutions that are as ingenious as they are effective.