11/26/2025
Great article in the Chronicle of Higher Education today:
The Edge: Why biology, not technology, holds the key to learning (link below)
Scott Carlson makes a compelling case that we can’t keep demanding “more critical thinking” from students while ignoring how the brain actually develops and highlights three important ideas from brain research: forgetting is part of learning, learning is not linear, and the brain learns in context.
In other words, it’s normal for students to “forget” material when they move into a new class or situation, and it takes years—and lots of guided practice—for true critical thinking to emerge. Even at places like Harvard, students are only just beginning to develop more complex ways of thinking by the end of their undergraduate years.
As an educational consultant, this reinforces what I see with my own freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. My role isn’t just to help them choose courses and build college lists; it’s to walk alongside their intellectual development over several years—asking them not only what they think, but how and why. In the age of AI, those “how” and “why” explanations will matter more than ever.
For families, the takeaway is encouraging: your student doesn’t have to be a fully formed critical thinker at 15 or 16. Our job, together, is to give their brains time, context, and thoughtful guidance so those skills can grow.
Improving education depends on understanding how the brain matures and processes information.
