Catherine Meilleur has over 15 years of experience in research and writing. Having worked as a journalist and educational designer, she is interested in everything related to learning: from educational psychology to neuroscience, and the latest innovations that can serve learners, such as virtual and augmented reality. She is also passionate about issues related to the future of education at a time when a real revolution is taking place, propelled by digital technology and artificial intelligence.

5 cognitive phenomena to which AI exposes human intelligence

2024-08-22T15:14:35-04:002024/08/22|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Technology|

As we interact more and more with generative artificial intelligence, it's essential not only to understand the basics of this technology, but also to be aware that it exposes us to certain cognitive phenomena that can influence the way we perceive and use it. Here are five of these phenomena to keep in mind during your next interactions with AI.

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Using Neuroscience to Advance Education

2024-07-03T15:09:29-04:002024/07/03|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Neuroscience|

Since the impressive technological advances in brain imaging in the 1990s, neuroscience has enabled cognitive science to take a giant step forward. By observing the mechanisms of the brain in action, we can now confirm or refute certain hypotheses on which our understanding of learning and teaching has been built. Neuroscience has the power to bring us considerable progress in education without rejecting our entire pedagogical heritage or repressing the contribution of teachers in this great march forward—on the contrary.

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How to stimulate engagement in elearning

2024-06-06T16:17:44-04:002024/06/06|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Neuroscience|

Whatever the learning mode, stimulating and sustaining engagement is essential, but in elearning, this factor needs special attention since learners who find themselves alone in front of their screen are more at risk of feeling left to their own devices and becoming demotivated. Drawing on neuroscientific knowledge, here are a few principles and strategies to help learners stay fully engaged from start to finish.

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Autonomy in Learning: Test Your Knowledge!

2024-05-29T14:20:59-04:002024/05/29|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Test Yourself|

There is growing interest in the importance of autonomy in learning, including among adults. This topic seems more relevant than ever, given the growing importance of online training, which can require learners to be more autonomous than face-to-face approaches. Do you know what self-training is? Can you distinguish between concepts such as metacognition, self-regulated learning and self-efficacy?

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The Crucial Role of Emotions and “Skilled” Intuitions in Learning

2024-05-22T16:21:35-04:002024/05/22|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Neuroscience|

Recent discoveries in neuroscience are prompting us to rethink some of our previous ideas about learning. Such is the case with the role of emotions in cognition and learning and their interrelationship with rational thought. Not only can emotions help or hinder learning, but they are also crucial to the development of "skilled" or "academic" intuitions.

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Metacognition: Test Your Knowledge!

2024-04-11T15:59:59-04:002024/04/11|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Test Yourself|

Do you have any idea what metacognition is? Can you describe what it makes possible? How it develops, and who can develop it? Do you know its importance in learning? Test your knowledge by answering the following five questions.

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4 Benefits of AI for Learners… and Teachers

2024-04-03T14:56:39-04:002024/04/03|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Technology|

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into digital learning. Some people are wary of this combination for fear, among other things, of seeing teachers dispossessed of their mission. However, AI can enable teachers to focus on the most complex and rewarding aspects of their work while improving learning effectiveness. This is because AI makes it possible to integrate the principles necessary for optimal learning, which neuroscience has confirmed in recent years. Here are four of AI's strengths that are a win-win situation for learners and teachers alike!

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Cognitive Bias in Education: Test Your Knowledge!

2024-03-14T15:18:36-04:002024/03/14|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Test Yourself|

Do you know what a cognitive bias is? Do you know which ones can interfere in the teacher-learner relationship and have significant effects on learning? Do you have any idea of how a teacher can avoid them? Test your knowledge by answering the following five questions.

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5 Surprising Facts About Our Cognitive Processes

2024-03-06T15:29:27-05:002024/03/06|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Neuroscience|

Are you familiar with the cognitive processes of attention, working memory, inhibition, and metacognition? If you already have an idea of what they do and how they work, you may not know what neuroscience has discovered about them in recent years. To satisfy your curiosity and enhance your learning, here are five surprising and useful facts about some of our cognitive processes.

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Digital Learning from the Perspective of Affective and Social Neuroscience

2024-02-22T14:35:21-05:002024/02/22|Articles, Catherine Meilleur, Learning, Neuroscience, Online|

You're alone in front of your computer, in the middle of an online learning session, and it doesn't involve any human interaction, either with a teacher or with other learners. Are you likely to interact with your computer as if you were social partners, as you would with your peers in a traditional classroom? In light of the latest findings in social and emotional neuroscience, it seems quite plausible. Not only is this discovery surprising and interesting in terms of what it tells us about human behaviour, but it also offers us a new angle from which to explore and improve the digital learning experience.

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