Whether parents prefer a conformance-oriented or independence-oriented supplemental education program for their children depends on political ideology, according to a study of more than 8,500 American parents. «Conservative parents have a higher need for structure, which drives their preference for conformance-oriented programs,» said study co-author Vikas Mittal, a professor of marketing at Rice’s Jones Graduate…

By mimicking the sound of a smaller vocal tract, adults may be cluing babies in to how the words should sound coming out of their own mouths. The way we instinctively speak to babies — higher pitch, slower speed, exaggerated pronunciation — not only appeals to them, but likely helps them learn to understand what…

A large study has shown that children of mothers who are anxious during pregnancy and in the first few years of the child’s life have twice the risk of having hyperactivity symptoms at age 16. Scientists know that foetal and early life conditions can have long-term effect on subsequent health. Now a long-term study of…

For time-crunched medical students, taking a two-hour introductory class on mindfulness may be just as beneficial for reducing stress and depression as taking an eight-week meditation course, a study finds. The study, conducted by researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is published in the journal Medical Science Educator. The researchers say many medical…

Early childhood researchers have developed a fun rhythm and movement program to support young children’s brains. Associate Professor Kate Williams designed a low-cost preschool program focussing exclusively on rhythm and movement activities linked to pathways in the brain to support attentional and emotional development. «Think heads, shoulders, knees and toes but do the actions backwards…

Recess quality, not just the amount of time spent away from the classroom, plays a major role in whether children experience the full physical, mental and social-emotional benefits of recess, a new study has found. «Not all recess is created equal,» said William Massey, study author and an assistant professor in OSU’s College of Public…

The human brain regions responsible for working memory content are also used to gauge the quality, or uncertainty, of memories, a team of scientists has found. Its study uncovers how these neural responses allow us to act and make decisions based on how sure we are about our memories. «Access to the uncertainty in our…

Medical school curriculums may misuse race and play a role in perpetuating physician bias, a team of researchers found in an analysis of curriculum from the preclinical phase of medical education. «In medical school, 20 years ago, we often learned that higher rates of hypertension in certain racial and ethnic groups, was due to genetic…

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented both challenges and opportunities for medical training. Remote learning technology has become increasingly important in several fields. A new study finds that in a remote environment, an artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring system can outperform expert human instructors. The Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological…

New findings suggest why anti-bullying programs don’t work. A new study demonstrates that teens’ rivals are often their own friends. «To the extent that this is true, we should expect them to target not vulnerable wallflowers, but their own friends, and friends-of-friends, who are more likely to be their rivals for higher rungs on the…