Education reform has downplayed the importance of practice in learning, but this could be responsible for the US’s drop in international math rankings. We need to embrace a balanced approach that takes advantage of both declarative and procedural learning, so that all students can benefit and be successful. Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski’s book ‘Uncommon Sense Teaching’ is an excellent resource for educators to learn more about this. Read full article here
Oddities
Why Do Modern Pop Songs Have So Many Credited Writers?
The music industry has changed dramatically over the last few decades – with the number of songwriters credited on number one hits more than doubling. This is due to a combination of factors, including money, the computer and a changing definition of what songwriting is. For example, if The Beatles’ classic “I Feel Fine” was released today, it would likely have four writers credited instead of two, due to the influence of producers, samples and interpolations. With the rise of lawsuits, artists now preemptively add songwriter credits to their songs, even if the similarities between their song and the source material are coincidental. It all goes to show that the music industry is becoming more complex and competitive. Read full article here
Merv
March 29, 2023
