tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019828684971971203.post5519840879584404960..comments2024-03-14T02:53:31.171+00:00Comments on Tom Bennett's School Report: Weird Science: superstition, spoon bending and spurious researchTom Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03211959016018081924noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019828684971971203.post-82885472942205948172010-11-02T23:53:15.874+00:002010-11-02T23:53:15.874+00:00I would read the articles on the website before yo...I would read the articles on the website before you write. follow www.memoryoils and read with an open mind and eyes. The Brown University is a well respected education site and has soem fantastic articles on memory and smell.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019828684971971203.post-75823012847249031662010-10-16T19:25:14.208+01:002010-10-16T19:25:14.208+01:00Very interesting comment, Adelady. Aromatherapy, a...Very interesting comment, Adelady. Aromatherapy, a kissing cousin of this kind of quackery is one of my favorite bulls-eyes on one of my favourite dart boards of contempt. Feng-Shui can also take a ticket and get in line for a sore face.<br /><br />Show me the Facebook page called 'Teachers who like their rooms to smell nice, and who have thought about where the chairs and tables should go', and I'll click 'like' so quickly I'll need a new keyboard. Any empirical claims that go beyond that will be saying hello to the heel of my shoe. Sadly, the DfE has bought into a number of these things, so it ceases to be a laughing matter. I personally was sent on a number of residential NLP programs as part of my Fast Track teacher training (a now defunct cash cow recruitment process, although Teach First has the same eyes.)And that was a tax-funded money furnace. Lovely pens though.Tom Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03211959016018081924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019828684971971203.post-13472388402502372812010-10-12T05:50:10.048+01:002010-10-12T05:50:10.048+01:00Harmless? I'm sure if people stick to air fre...Harmless? I'm sure if people stick to air freshener sprays and the like for the nice aroma, harmless is the word.<br /><br />All it takes is for some novice enthusiast to go the whole hog and use an oil 'burner' in a school environment and we're in trouble. Most oils are just scents with some well-known effects, eg lavender for relaxation or sleep.<br /><br />Others are fairly strongly bio-active - note especially that some are used to 'regulate' female metabolism, not recommended for the happily pregnant. And several, rosemary among them IIRC, are contra-indicated for epilepsy.<br /><br />Teacher likes smell, student has a fit. Terrific.<br /><br />So I'm happy if people feel better with nice smells, rather than nasty ones, around them. Anyone who goes further than using simple perfumed products is dicing with danger.adeladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02019930864931919369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019828684971971203.post-21567096596255455742010-10-09T21:16:25.684+01:002010-10-09T21:16:25.684+01:00Compared with all other fads teachers are being pu...Compared with all other fads teachers are being pummelled with perennially this theory seems quite harmless to me. In fact I could easily adapt my style of teaching to this S.O.A.P.Y (Scent Orientated Adaptation of Pupils' Yearnings) by spraying randomly chosen perfumes, which can be obtained at bargain prices in the local outlets, at the beginning of each lesson. It will not impede my experience based routines at all.Joephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16802072139043351882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019828684971971203.post-46757584630419825062010-10-09T18:58:29.521+01:002010-10-09T18:58:29.521+01:00Ha! Exactly. And I'd like to add that I'm ...Ha! Exactly. And I'd like to add that I'm certainly not saying that there's nothing to this idea, because there's a lot of credible research into the field of mnemonics that shows how apparently incredible memory feats are attainable through practise and aide memoirs. But what drives me mad is the brainless assumption that we can easily trace causal relationships between simple factors like this and simple outcomes like examination results, when there are billions of intermediary factors that haven't been isolated and controlled for. Our kids are too precious to play lab rats for well-meaning but unprovable hypotheses.<br /><br />But like I say, I'm all for things smelling nicely.Tom Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03211959016018081924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019828684971971203.post-73382594644081901552010-10-09T17:16:33.224+01:002010-10-09T17:16:33.224+01:00I would think it has to do with the link between s...I would think it has to do with the link between scent and memory. But for that to work, they'd have to learn/study and sit their exams with the same scent.Brynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01331398392683415023noreply@blogger.com