🦉Is your child using outdated study habits? (#113)

Happy Wednesday!

Sometimes the most obvious solutions are wrong. Today we're looking at how cognitive science is upending traditional study methods, why microschools are taking off in Florida, and what brain research tells us about how we actually learn.

In this edition:

• 💡 Why scheduling learning might be our biggest mistake

• 📊 Half a million Florida students choose alternative education

• 🛠️ The science of studying (that actually works)

• 📖 Word of the day: How your brain builds memories

If you enjoy this edition, forward this email to a friend! First time reading? Subscribe and learn more at OpenEd.co.

💡 THOUGHT

The Box Called Learning

Katie Martin at Learner-Centered Collaborative writes about a fundamental mistake in education: treating learning as an event rather than a process.

Think about your own childhood memories. The deepest learning probably didn't happen between 9 AM and 3 PM. It happened when you:

• Fixed your bike after it broke (engineering)

• Counted change at the store (math)

• Argued with friends about rules (debate)

• Got lost and found your way home (navigation)

Education isn't a 9-3 event. It's a 24/7 process happening whether you plan it or not.

When you force kids to "start learning" at 9 AM, you're accidentally teaching them that learning is unnatural, needs an authority figure, and follows a schedule.

The most successful people never learned this lesson. They never stopped being curious.

📊 TREND

The Rise of Micro

In Liberty City, Miami, seventh-grader Albrielle Jones is making lip gloss.

Not for fun – for market. She's developing products to sell at local farmer's markets while her classmates work on their own ventures. One's planning a food truck. Another is learning to code.

This is happening at Primer, one of Florida's fastest-growing microschool networks. Their model is simple:

• Classes capped at 15 students

• Teachers paid 40% above market

• Afternoons reserved for passion projects

• Full scholarships available

It's working. Their Liberty City campus opened in November with 120 students. By December, the waitlist hit 80.

This is part of a larger shift. Florida just announced that over 524,000 students – nearly 1 in 6 of the state's 2.9 million K-12 students – now use education scholarships to customize their learning. Another 30,000 access supplemental learning funds for tutoring and curriculum.

Read more in the Miami Herald.

🛠️ TOOL

The Learning Scientists

A team of cognitive scientists is making research on learning accessible to parents and students. Their work matters because most popular study methods (highlighting, re-reading notes) don't actually work.

The Learning Scientists focuses on two questions:

• How does the brain actually learn?

• What strategies match this biology?

Here are two key findings worth implementing:

Retrieval Practice: Having your child explain concepts without notes strengthens neural pathways more than passive review. Even wrong answers help – the effort to recall is what matters.

Spaced Practice: The brain consolidates information between study sessions. Three 30-minute sessions across a week create stronger memories than a single 90-minute cram.

Their website offers:

• Visual guides for each strategy

• Implementation tips for parents

• Free downloads

No products, courses, or upsells – just researchers translating science into practical tools.

(WORD) OF THE DAY

consolidation (kon·sol·i·day·shuhn)

From Latin consolidare: "to make firm." The process by which your brain converts short-term memories into long-term knowledge. Like concrete hardening, memories need time to set. This is why cramming the night before a test rarely works – your brain hasn't had time to consolidate the information.

This also explains why "sleeping on it" often helps solve problems. Your brain is strengthening connections while you rest.

That’s all for today!

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

P.S. If you’d prefer to just receive the weekly edition, you can change your subscription settings here.