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Numerous works have suggested the essential role of sleep in consolidation of different types of knowledge that we acquire on a daily basis.

Moreover it has been shown that if during leaning, a beep or an odor would get associated with the learning material, during sleep, this cue can reactivate that piece of knowledge and significantly accelerate its consolidation in the long term memory.

We will not only use the sleeping hours of the user as a guide to when an abstract material should be recommended, but in a later stage of development, we will implement this targeted reactivation of memory.

To this end, the users who opt-in to this procedure, will hear a dedicated beep during acquiring of a concept.

This beep will be replayed for the user during sleep hours, with a subliminal threshold, so as not to disturb the user. This beep however, will play as a cue to retrieve and facilitate the consolidation of the concept associated with it.

An essential aspect of learning is when the learner puts to test their predictions and verifies them based on the upcoming feedback.

It has been shown in several studies that introducing interleaved tests throughout the learning process improves the learning experience significantly compared to when no questions are presented during the span of learning.

Additionally, the quizzes during and after the learning process facilitate the recollection and retention of the learned material.

The researchers have recommended that optimized learning efficiency is achieved when the ratio of lessons to tests is modulated by around 50%, and tests are presented in between the lessons interleavingly.

At this rate, the learners arrive at a maximally optimized rate in refining their predictions over the course of learning.

As a learner progresses in a topic, the difficulty of the challenges will increase, and the tests that are passed to the learner will get more difficult accordingly. However, if the questions get more difficult too fast, the learner will disengage from following the progress as they get anxious, while on the other hand, if the questions remain too easy, the learner gets bored quickly and would similarly lead to disengagement.

Therefore there is a narrow boundary in which the learners retain their curiosity and attention while the learning and engagement rate remains maximized. Depending on age, endurance, and other factors, this boundary can be different for each user.

The best practice is to pinpoint this boundary for each learner and modulate the difficulty of the questions and lessons such that the learner would navigate seamlessly on this boundary.

A pivotal factor for a learner to continue dedicating time to efficiently finishing a course is to experience an elevated level of curiosity throughout the practice.

It has been shown that if the complexity of information presented to the learner is less than their expectations or their cognitive capacities, they feel boredom and on the other hand, if the learner is presented with information that is too complex, it would lead to levels of anxiety.

Hence the complexity of the information presented to each learner has to fall in a narrow range, where complexity is at a moderate level depending on the capacity of the learner; and only in this narrow range, the learning rate would stay maximized throughout the training.

Aside from modulating the complexity of the lessons, there are several other methods to keep the curiosity of the learners elevated throughout the training time.

One such method that the instructors can implement to reassure that their learners stay curious throughout the course is by posing open questions before delivering the lessons and letting them reflect and elaborate on the questions in a timely manner. This would engage the attention of the learners to mentally prepare the context of the upcoming lessons.

Another similar strategy to elevate the curiosity is to start the course by introducing surprises that would be addressed within the lessons.

And finally, it would be advantageous to demonstrate the roadmap to the learners on the highlights of the upcoming lessons and what questions they would be able to respond to by the end of the course.

At EdCortex, we accompany our clients to take steps in implementing these considerations and introduce methods to adjust the complexity of the information adapted to each learner to guarantee a maximal engagement and learning rate.

Over a century of research has shown that newly formed memories logarithmically fade out over time.

To try to diminish this effect, the learner needs to go through repetitions and rehearsals over time to reconsolidate the memory in the nervous system and transform it into a long-term memory.

The research suggests that optimal memory consolidation can only be achieved if the learner goes through repetitions with intervals that increase over time.

For instance, after memorizing a set of new words, the learner should go through the first repetition after a day, 2nd repetition after a week, 3rd repetition after 2-3 weeks, and so on.

In 2019, 300 scientists and experts from 45 countries embarked on a mission to address the status quo of global Education and re-envisioning its future. This initiative was organized by UNESCO (the Mahatma Gandhi inst. of Education) under 'The International Science and Evidence-based Education Assessment (ISEE)'.

Here we reflect on a few remarks that this initiative concluded for the decision-makers:

The present learner assessments focusing on standardized, time-bound, 'one-size-fits-all' summative learner examinations are not optimal for learning and flourishing.

Educational expenditure requires closer scrutiny of the 'what', 'how', 'when', 'where' and 'for whom' these investments are made to maximize returns on education for human flourishing and ensure equitable outcomes for all.

Cognitive, social-emotional and metacognitive functions need to be mainstreamed in curricula and pedagogy and should be grounded in complex local and global issues related to politics, economics, cultural diversity and environmental sustainability.

Fostering a symbiotic relationship between cognition, metacognition and social-emotional learning in education systems is key to activating and achieving the seven pillars of learning- learning to know, learning to think, learning to do, learning to be, learning to become, learning to live together and learning to live with nature.

Many national curricula emphasize knowledge acquisition and not social and emotional learning. The former is focused on literacy and numeracy using standardized curricula as opposed to focusing on localized curricula addressing existential questions faced in students’ day-to-day life.

A formative and dynamic learner assessment encouraging continuous feedback to acknowledge and increase learner potentiality should be designed and implemented.

Despite a lack of scientific evidence, flickering glasses and lamps for dyslexia are being marketed in various countries. Four experiments led by Dr. Marie Lubineau were conducted to assess their efficacy. Two experiments involved a computerized lexical decision task with constant display or low-frequency flickering (10 or 15 Hz). Among 375 regular adult readers, flicker noticeably slowed down word recognition, while slightly biasing the decision towards pseudowords. No significant effect was observed in 20 dyslexic children. In 22 dyslexic children, the impact of the Lexilight lamp and Lexilens glasses, which operate at higher frequencies, on reading fluency, letter identification, and mirror letter processing was evaluated. No detectable impact was observed. These findings starkly contrast with marketing claims that these tools can help 90% of dyslexics and emphasize the role of rigorous scientific research in empowering dyslexic individuals to make informed decisions.

In 2019, 300 scientists and experts from 45 countries embarked on a mission to address the status quo of global Education and re-envisioning its future. This initiative was organized by UNESCO (the Mahatma Gandhi inst. of Education) under 'The International Science and Evidence-based Education Assessment (ISEE)'.

Here we reflect on a few remarks that this initiative concluded for the decision-makers:

The present learner assessments focusing on standardized, time-bound, 'one-size-fits-all' summative learner examinations are not optimal for learning and flourishing.

Educational expenditure requires closer scrutiny of the 'what', 'how', 'when', 'where' and 'for whom' these investments are made to maximize returns on education for human flourishing and ensure equitable outcomes for all.

Cognitive, social-emotional and metacognitive functions need to be mainstreamed in curricula and pedagogy and should be grounded in complex local and global issues related to politics, economics, cultural diversity and environmental sustainability.

Fostering a symbiotic relationship between cognition, metacognition and social-emotional learning in education systems is key to activating and achieving the seven pillars of learning- learning to know, learning to think, learning to do, learning to be, learning to become, learning to live together and learning to live with nature.

Many national curricula emphasize knowledge acquisition and not social and emotional learning. The former is focused on literacy and numeracy using standardized curricula as opposed to focusing on localized curricula addressing existential questions faced in students’ day-to-day life.

A formative and dynamic learner assessment encouraging continuous feedback to acknowledge and increase learner potentiality should be designed and implemented.