Resources

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R3 Newsletter (Research • Resources • Reflection)

Hosted on Substack, the free-to-subscribe R3 Newsletter brings together cognitive science, instructional strategy, and faculty-centered reflection. Issues feature in-depth discussion of recent research publications in the field of learning sciences,  roundups of technology tools and other resources, and reflections on college pedagogy.

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FACTBot: The Faculty Assistant for Critical Thinking

FACTBot is a conversational AI tool I created to support faculty who want to strengthen how they teach critical thinking, within the context of their own disciplines. Built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform, FACTBot draws on cognitive psychology, instructional design, and the approaches in my books Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology and Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World.

It’s designed to help with:

  • Designing assignments and learning activities that foster authentic critical thinking

  • Generating ideas tailored to your field, course goals, and teaching style

  • Creating support materials like rubrics, scaffolding prompts, or reflection questions

  • Answering questions about challenges in teaching thinking

Click to Access FACTBot

Please note: You’ll need to log into OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform to use FACTBot. Don’t input any sensitive or identifying data—OpenAI may use interactions to help train future models.

You’re also welcome to submit anonymous feedback after using FACTBot. It’s optional, but helps me improve the tool and better understand how faculty are using it.

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Advice for Faculty

Helping Students Memorize: Tips from Cognitive Science. (Faculty Forum, 2019)

The Critical Thinking Gap: Why Good Intentions Aren’t Enough (The Teaching Professor, 2025)

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Connect with Michelle

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