We must believe that groups produce better results than individuals — why else do we have so many “teams” in the workplace, and so many meetings. But many of us also, of course, hold the opposite belief: that most meetings are a waste of time; that teams might be better for some tasks (and for other people!), but not for all tasks. So what do we know about the circumstances that make groups better value?

I recently reported on a study showing how the gestures people made in describing how they solved a problem (the Tower of Hanoi) changed the way they remembered the game. These findings add to other research demonstrating that gestures make thought concrete and can help us understand and remember abstract concepts better.

I don’t often talk about motor or skill memory — that is, the memory we use when we type or drive a car or play the piano. It’s one of the more mysterious domains of memory. We all know, of course, that this is a particularly durable kind of memory. It’s like riding a bicycle, we say — meaning that it’s something we’re not likely to have forgotten, something that will come back to us very readily, even if it’s been a very long time since we last used the skill.

In the education world, fixed mind-set is usually contrasted with growth mind-set. In this context, fixed mind-set refers to students holding the idea that their cognitive abilities, including their intelligence, are set at birth, and they just have to accept their limitations. With a growth mind-set, however, the student recognizes that, although it might be difficult, they can grow their abilities.

A growth mind-set has been associated with a much better approach to learning and improved academic achievement, but new research suggests that this difference has been over-stated.

This game uses mnemonic images from my book Easy Russian Alphabet to help you associate Russian letters with their English counterparts. The images are chosen to cue you to the sounds of the letters, something that is particularly important for the vowels (of which there are noticeably more in the Russian alphabet).

The task is to drag each Russian letter to its matching image/English letter.

This is the second of two tests.

Test 1

This game uses mnemonic images from my book Easy Russian Alphabet to help you associate Russian letters with their English counterparts. The images are chosen to cue you to the sounds of the letters, something that is particularly important for the vowels (of which there are noticeably more in the Russian alphabet).

The task is to drag each Russian letter to its matching image/English letter.

This is the first of two tests.

Test 2

This game uses mnemonic images from my book Easy Russian Alphabet to help you associate Russian letters with their English counterparts. The images are chosen to cue you to the sounds of the letters, something that is particularly important for the vowels (of which there are noticeably more in the Russian alphabet).

This game uses mnemonic images from my book Easy Russian Alphabet to help you associate Russian letters with their English counterparts. The images are chosen to cue you to the sounds of the letters, something that is particularly important for the vowels (of which there are noticeably more in the Russian alphabet).

Memory & Attention Games

Some games to help you hone your memory and attention skills

These games are variants of the old Concentration card game, where you spread your cards out face down, and then turn over two cards at a time, seeking matching pairs.

Memory Game: Basic

Memory Game: Simple

Memory Game: Advanced

Language learning games

Russian alphabet:

Drag-&-drop training games:

Note that these cards are also available in physical format, which you can purchase at Printer Studio.