A new statistical analysis of data from a long-term study on the teaching of mathematics and science has found that smaller class sizes are not always associated with better pupil performance and achievement. The precise effect of smaller class sizes can vary between countries, academic subjects, years, and different cognitive and non-cognitive skills, with many…

When teachers encounter disruptive or noncompliant students in the classroom, they typically respond by focusing on the negative behavior. «As educators, we often focus on communicating what we don’t want our students to be doing in class, but we have found that just doesn’t work,» said Keith Herman, a professor in the University of Missouri…

School districts across the U.S. are increasingly using student test scores to rate the effectiveness of teachers, but a new study found that the scores have less to do with individual teachers and more to do with their students and the schools. Dara Shifrer, the study’s author and assistant professor of sociology at PSU, said…

Log on to any app store, and parents will find hundreds of options for children that claim to be educational. But new research suggests these apps might not be as beneficial to children as they seem. A new study analyzed some of the most downloaded educational apps for kids using a set of four criteria…

The purpose of going to school is to learn, but students may find certain topics difficult to understand if they don’t have the necessary background knowledge. «Background knowledge plays a key role in students’ reading comprehension — our findings show that if students don’t have sufficient related knowledge, they’ll probably have difficulties understanding text,» says…

Language, empathy, attention — as different as these abilities may be, one brain region is involved in all these processes: The inferior parietal lobe (IPL). Yet until now it was unclear exactly what role it plays in these profoundly human abilities. Scientists have now shown that the IPL comes into play when we need to…

A new study suggests that the likelihood of a child being classified with an educational disability depends on the characteristics of their school and how distinctive they are from their peers. The study, published in the journal Society and Mental Health, found that disability classifications do not occur reliably across schools. The study used annual…

The way a vast amount of schools are setup, with classes grouping children based on their ability, is severely affecting pupil’s self-confidence. This is according to a new substantial study, by experts from the UCL Institute of Education, Queen’s University Belfast and Lancaster University, who looked at more than 9,000 12-to-13-year-old students taking part in…

New research comprehensively examined the brain development of young boys and girls. Their research shows no gender difference in brain function or math ability. Jessica Cantlon at Carnegie Mellon University led a research team that comprehensively examined the brain development of young boys and girls. Their research shows no gender difference in brain function or…

A recent study analyzing the impact of a shorter school week for high schools found that 11th-grade students participating in a four-day week performed worse on standardized math tests than students who remained on five-day schedules. The effect was amplified among students in non-rural schools and was limited to math; no significant gap appeared in…