Blake Harvard

Attention Contagion in the Lecture Hall - The Effortful Educator Are inattentive behaviors contagious in the classroom?If so, how do they negatively impact students?

Attention Contagion in the Lecture Hall

Are inattentive behaviors contagious in the classroom? If so, how do they impact students?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2024/12/18/a...

Learning Names and Modeling Spaced Retrieval Practice - The Effortful Educator When and how do I introduce my students to learning strategies?

Day 1 with students.
Time to introduce retrieval practice and spaced practice as I learn my new students' names.

Here's how I intro and model this:

theeffortfuleducator.com/2024/01/11/l...

😁

Sherlock Holmes and Covert Thieves of Attention - The Effortful Educator Teachers should think a little more like Sherlock Holmes in their classroom to improve attention and learning.

Sherlock Holmes and Covert Thieves of Attention

Teachers should think a little more like Sherlock Holmes in their classroom to improve attention and learning.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/03/03/s...

Remembering What It's Like To Be A Student - The Effortful Educator Place yourself back in the student's seat and remember what it's like to be the learner. You'll be a better teacher for it.

Remembering What It’s Like To Be A Student

Place yourself back in the student's seat and remember what it's like to be the learner. You'll be a better teacher for it.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/04/02/r...

Engagement in the Classroom - The Effortful Educator What does engagement look like in the classroom?

Engagement in the Classroom

'Engagement' is a bit of a buzzword in education.
What is it really? How do you see it in the classroom?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2018/03/02/e...

How do you explain practice to your students? We know that retrieval practice makes students feel they are learning less than reading their notes. Analogies are a great way to overcome this barrier.

This is, of course, solid advice from @blakeharvard.bsky.social; I pondered if we really knew about our students hobbies - "fishing" was a popular reply. "So, do you expect to just sit on your backside by the river, playing on your phone, and still get good results?". "Yes we do". "Oh".

1/2 Finally sitting down to read “Do I Have Your Attention” by @blakeharvard.bsky.social This quote really struck me: “The more context we have surrounding a particular topic, they easier it may be to retrieve that information”

Analogies for Learning - The Effortful Educator An easy way to relate to students and start a discussion about using more advantageous learning strategies like retrieval practice and spaced practice.

Analogies for Learning

An easy way to relate to students and start a discussion about using more advantageous learning strategies like retrieval practice and spaced practice.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2024/11/10/a...

Do I Have Your Attention? Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning (The Teacher CPD Academy) Do I Have Your Attention? Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning (The Teacher CPD Academy) [Harvard, Blake] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Do I Have Your Attention? Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning (The Teacher CPD Academy)

“Blake Harvard is masterful in teaching us about concepts of working memory, long-term memory, extraneous load, attention contagion, and forgetting in a manner that elevates the grasp of our own powers as instructors.” - @patricebain.bsky.social

tinyurl.com/nh25hcr7

A Classroom Teacher’s Take on AI - The Effortful Educator Do I see AI as good or bad for education and learning?

A Classroom Teacher’s Take on AI

Do I see AI as good or bad for education and learning?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/03/18/a...

Building Upon A Firm Foundation - The Effortful Educator In building taller buildings, architects and engineers cannot ignore the foundation. In teaching our students, we cannot ignore the foundation.

Building Upon A Firm Foundation

In building taller buildings, architects and engineers cannot ignore the foundation. In teaching our students, we cannot ignore the foundation.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/05/30/b...

What's Your Lens? - The Effortful Educator Teachers, when designing lessons, where do you start? What drives your process?

What’s Your Lens?

Teachers, when designing lessons, where do you start? What drives your process?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/04/14/w...

The Roots of Knowledge and Learning - The Effortful Educator The roots of knowledge and learning provide the nourishment necessary for creativity and innovation to flourish.

The Roots of Knowledge and Learning

The roots of knowledge and learning provide the nourishment necessary for creativity and innovation to flourish.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/01/22/t...

"Blake gives us a variety of evidence-informed strategies, rich with retrieval and spaced practice, that could easily be incorporated in classrooms full of students of various ages and disciplines." - @patricebain.bsky.social

Find out more about my book:
theeffortfuleducator.com/do-i-have-yo...

What We Retrieve Matters - The Effortful Educator Does information related to explicitly retrieved content experience the positive outcomes of the testing effect?

What We Retrieve Matters

Does information related to explicitly retrieved content experience the positive outcomes of the testing effect?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/02/24/w...

Sherlock Holmes and Covert Thieves of Attention - The Effortful Educator Teachers should think a little more like Sherlock Holmes in their classroom to improve attention and learning.

Sherlock Holmes and Covert Thieves of Attention

Teachers should think a little more like Sherlock Holmes in their classroom to improve attention and learning.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/03/03/s...

Psychology in the Classroom #6 - Automaticity - The Effortful Educator What is automaticity? How does this impact our students and the classroom?

Psychology in the Classroom #6 – Automaticity

What is automaticity? How does this impact our students and the classroom?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2022/02/08/a...

Exactly!

Psychology in the Classroom #2 - Curse of Knowledge - The Effortful Educator What is the curse of knowledge? How does it impact the classroom?

Psychology in the Classroom #2 – Curse of Knowledge

What is the curse of knowledge? How does it potentially impact BOTH teacher and students?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2022/01/11/c...

Assuming - Enemy of the Effective Classroom - The Effortful Educator Is assuming public enemy #1 in the efficient and effective classroom?

Assuming – Enemy of the Effective Classroom

Whether it is the students or teacher assuming, it's ultimately detrimental to instruction and learning.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2022/03/29/a...

Building Upon A Firm Foundation - The Effortful Educator In building taller buildings, architects and engineers cannot ignore the foundation. In teaching our students, we cannot ignore the foundation.

Étrangement, on a parfois l'impression que ce qui est perdu dans tant de prétendues avancées en #éducation, ce sont les bases de l' #apprentissage.
@blakeharvard.bsky.social
#EduSky

Harnessing Attention and Explaining Better Learn how to grab students' attention and communicate more effectively in this free webinar, Harnessing Attention and Explaining Better!

Free webinar today with myself and @mrzachg.bsky.social. It will be recorded if you cannot make it to the live event. 🙂

Not too late to sign up. Check out the link below for more info:

www.eventbrite.com/e/harnessing...

The Simple Classroom - The Effortful Educator "Coach Harvard, your classroom isn't necessarily easy, but it's simple." Why did I see that as a wonderful compliment? What is the simple classroom?

The Simple Classroom

"Coach Harvard, your classroom isn't necessarily easy, but it's simple."

Why did I see that as a wonderful compliment? What is the simple classroom?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2024/10/02/t...

The Simple Classroom - The Effortful Educator "Coach Harvard, your classroom isn't necessarily easy, but it's simple." Why did I see that as a wonderful compliment? What is the simple classroom?

The Simple Classroom

"Coach Harvard, your classroom isn't necessarily easy, but it's simple."

Why did I see that as a wonderful compliment? What is the simple classroom?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2024/10/02/t...

“Thank goodness for this book. Blake Harvard’s topic–the basic functions of human cognition–is quite literally the most important body of knowledge for any teacher to know in order to design and adapt instruction for students."
-@douglemov.bsky.social

theeffortfuleducator.com/do-i-have-yo...

A Classroom Teacher’s Take on AI - The Effortful Educator Do I see AI as good or bad for education and learning?

A Classroom Teacher’s Take on AI

Do I see AI as good or bad for education and learning?

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/03/18/a...

Building Upon A Firm Foundation - The Effortful Educator In building taller buildings, architects and engineers cannot ignore the foundation. In teaching our students, we cannot ignore the foundation.

Building Upon A Firm Foundation

In building taller buildings, architects and engineers cannot ignore the foundation. In teaching our students, we cannot ignore the foundation.

theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/05/30/b...

The Dangers of Feelgoodism in Education - The Effortful Educator Just because a catchy educational quote or image makes us feel good (or confirms our already established beliefs) doesn't mean it is based in fact or logic.

Excellent (as always) from @blakeharvard.bsky.social

I did think the feelgoodism tweets and memes were innocuous but no... they can engender practices that are detrimental...
theeffortfuleducator.com/2022/01/20/t...