Thinking Scientifically in a Changing World, Reducing Student Anxiety and more in this week’s news roundup!

Thinking Scientifically in a Changing World
(APA’s Psychological Science Agenda)
Shifting people’s judgments toward the scientific involves teaching them to purposefully evaluate connections between evidence and alternative explanations.

How Can We Reduce Student Anxiety?
(Retrieval Practice)

How can we flip retrieval practice from a negative to a positive?

Empathy and Resilience, Responsibility and Self-Care: Resources for Social and Emotional Learning
(New York Times)

Do you deliberately devote classroom time to social-emotional learning, or SEL? Does your school address it building-wide? How?

I’m a Researcher. Here’s What Happened When I Traded Activism for Social Science
(Education Week – Subscription Required, Free Trial)
Finding my voice as a public scholar didn’t happen overnight

Curricular Changes Show Success by Fourth Year
(Science Daily)
In a four-year study, a group of science faculty finds that student buy-in to a new curriculum, and therefore satisfaction, increases with each successive undergraduate cohort — and learning gains did not suffer. The researchers say the results of their longitudinal study should help encourage college faculty and administration to create, adapt, and support innovative courses for their students.

Social-Emotional Learning
(Education Week – Subscription Required, Free Trial)
“State Laws Promoting Social, Emotional, and Academic Development Leave Room for Improvement”

7 Ways to Spark Engagement
(Edutopia)
Strengthening students’ sense of connectedness to their learning is a worthwhile goal, and there are some simple ways to do it.

The Butterfly Who Denied Ever Being a Caterpillar: A Modern Day Educational Fable
(3-Star Learning Experiences)
Almost weekly, we encounter (or are asked to comment on) some new, modern, progressive, child friendly, innovative approach to education.

Memes, ‘Fam,’ and Dabbing
(Inside Higher Ed)
Engaging students – to retain them – transcends adopting hip lingo, proving social media savvy.

What Is the Relationship Between Learning Design and Student Well-Being?
(Inside Higher Ed)
A Q&A with four learning and wellness professionals.

Building Teamwork and Perseverance in Early Elementary Students with Breakouts
(KQED – Mind/Shift)
The teacher was concerned that her students didn’t communicate well when they collaborated on projects and that they gave up too easily when an academic task became challenging.

Integration in Emerging Social Networks Explains Academic Failure and Success
(PNAS)
We closely followed the emergence of multiple social networks within a cohort of 226 undergraduate university students. They were strangers to each other on their first day at university, but developed densely knit social networks through time.

Thinking About Classroom Practice: Five Ideas For Ed Reformers
(Fly Paper)

Shifting ed reform’s focus to improving practice is an acknowledgment that underperformance is not a failure of will, but a lack of capacity.

How Blog Psychology Contributes To Discussions In Mental Health
(GetPsyched.org)

Due to the popularity of blogs, there are now many people who are increasingly aware of mental health issues. And those who are struggling with them are now more open to talking about it.

Middle School Movies That Support SEL In The Classroom
(eSchool News)

Help students recognize and understand social and emotional themes in popular films.

Giving Students A Say
(Hechinger Report)

Some schools give students control over their learning, but where should they draw the line?

Seasonal Trends In Ads For Psychology Jobs
(APA’s Monitor on Psychology Data Point)

Kids Prefer Friends Who Talk Like They Do
(American Psychological Association)
Growing up in diversity doesn’t make children more accepting of different accents, study says.

About the Author

Hunter is a communications professional who came of age in the digital revolution, and has witnessed big changes in how we communicate. In his eclectic 20 year career he’s seen vast changes across multiple industries from advertising, B2C, professional services, publishing, and now non-profit. During his time at APA Hunter has watched the growth of the organization’s web presence; a shift from print to digital media; and the pickup of social channels like the PsychLearningCurve. A tech geek at heart, Hunter is naturally drawn to all things shiny and new especially when it comes to communicating – particularly social media and apps. Hunter seeks to understand the world around him -- add in a penchant for creative design and a reporter’s curiosity and you’ve got Hunter. Through this blog he hopes to help translate quality psychological science into practical uses for educators, students, and parents.
Amanda's passion for advancing the conversation around mental health coupled with her background in marketing has made for an exciting career at the American Psychological Association. She received her undergraduate degree in Marketing from Emerson College and her graduate degree in Public Health Communications from the George Washington University's Milken School of Public Health in Washington, DC. In her free time, Amanda loves hiking, pyrography, collecting mid-century modern furniture and spending time with her family and dogs, Mia and Becky.