How Listening to Music ‘Significantly Impairs’ Creativity
(Science Daily)
The popular view that music enhances creativity has been challenged by researchers who say it has the opposite effect. Psychologists investigated the impact of background music on performance by presenting people with verbal insight problems that are believed to tap creativity. They found that background music ‘significantly impaired’ people’s ability to complete tasks testing verbal creativity — but there was no effect for background library noise.
The Key to Effective Classroom Management
(Edutopia)
A three-phase process helps build strong teacher-student bonds, which can reduce disruptive behavior.
Social-Emotional Learning Won’t Happen Without a Culturally Relevant Start
(Education Week)
Culture is an undeniable part of everything we do as humans, and SEL is a major platform for how we knowingly, and unknowingly, share values and norms with students.
The Mental Health of Commuter Students
(Inside Higher Ed)
Colleges must understand their distinct needs and consider creative ways to lend support
Academic Prioritization or Killing the Liberal Arts?
(Inside Higher Ed)
An English professor laments the downsizing of liberal arts and humanities programs and departments by college administrators bent on promoting more “job-oriented” disciplines.
Can We Teach Critical Thinking?
(Learning Scientists)
So what does the research tell us about critical thinking?
Reading, Writing, and Resilience
(Chronicle of Higher Education – Premium Content, Subscription Required)
In the face of a student mental-health crisis, a few colleges are putting wellness into the curriculum
When Does Intelligence Peak?
(Scientific American)
“Not only is there no age at which humans are performing at peak on all cognitive tasks, there may not be an age at which humans perform at peak on most cognitive tasks.”
Science Curriculum Reviews Are Out, and Results Aren’t Great
(Education Week – Subscription Required, Free Trial)
The first independent review to weigh whether new science curriculum series are truly aligned to a set of national standards was issued this morning—and mostly, the materials fell well short of expectations.
STEMming the Parent Flow
(Inside Higher Ed)
Nearly half of new moms — and nearly one-quarter of new dads — leave full-time STEM employment upon having or adopting a child, a new study finds. What can institutions do to change this?
Weekly Teaching Tips
(Retrieval Practice)
Do you ask yourself, “How can I find time for retrieval practice?” If so, you’re asking the wrong question.
Barking up the Wrong Tree
(Filling the Pail)
You can think critically about something you are knowledgeable about but, bar a few moderately useful heuristics, little of this will help you to think critically about are [sic] area you are less familiar with.
How to Be Employable Forever
(Forbes)
“Learning things that matter; learning in context; learning in teams. Envisioning what has never been and doing whatever it takes to make it happen. Do that 20 times and you will be employable forever”
New Stanford-Led Study Identifies Factors That Could Promote Resilience in Children Facing Extreme Adversity
(Stanford University Graduate School of Education)
Preschoolers’ ability to regulate their attention, behavior and emotions has been linked with their capacity to cope with difficult situations and thrive in the classroom. But most research into how children develop these skills—known as “executive functions”—has taken place in high-income countries like the United States.
Debunking 3 Myths about Black Students — Using Data and Logic
(Washington Post – Subscription Required, Free Trial)
Evidence suggests white teachers are more negative with — and have lower expectations for — black students. As a counseling professor who specializes in educating black children, these findings do not surprise me. I often hear education professionals and others use simplistic negative statistics to explain complex challenges facing black students.
Child Anxiety Could Be Factor in School Absences, Research Concludes
(Medical Xpress)
Findings from eight studies suggested a surprising association between truancy and anxiety, as well as the expected link between anxiety and school refusal.
Giving Students Stepping Stones For Participation To Lift Up Their Voices
(KQED – Mind/Shift)
“Everything about activating a child’s cognitive skills begins with activating their social connectedness”
Babies Who Hear Two Languages at Home Develop Advantages in Attention
(Science Daily)
In the study, infants who are exposed to more than one language show better attentional control than infants who are exposed to only one language. This means that exposure to bilingual environments should be considered a significant factor in the early development of attention in infancy, the researchers say, and could set the stage for lifelong cognitive benefits.
Forgetting How to Read
(Education Next)
A neuroscientist examines reading in the age of screens. Review of Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World by Maryanne Wolf.
Paddling Students Is Still Legal in a Third of the Country. Kentucky Legislators Want to Ban It.
(Washington Post – Subscription Required, Free Trial)
Joe Bargione, a licensed psychologist, said the research is clear: There are better ways to discipline children. “In order to correct misbehavior, you must teach a replacement behavior. Corporal punishment teaches them to use physical force to resolve an issue or problem solve,” said Bargione, who served as the lead psychologist in Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools for 25 years.
Dept. of Education Awards Grant for Rural School Mental Health Center in Columbia
(KRCG – CBS Affiliate, Jefferson City, MO)
“Many rural schools are very small and remote, limiting their access to professional development resources, assessments for identifying youth in need of mental health supports and coaching opportunities. This center will create a framework of support for rural educators in need of those tools.”
