Home Libraries Confer Long-Term Benefits
A large new study finds people who grew up in book-filled homes have higher reading, math, and technological skills.
Learning
How Educational Podcasts Are Making Us Smarter Citizens
Doug Metzger's Literature and History podcast—a comprehensive historical overview of the literature of the Anglophone world—has already garnered 500,000 downloads. Does his podcast provide a blueprint to intellectualizing our populace?
Making Homework Matter: Don't Ban It, Fix It
Administrators, teachers, and parents all seem to have some idea about how to fix homework. Why not ask the students themselves?
Lux et Veritas et Lumosity: How to Strengthen Your Brain Without Really Trying
Fun and folly in the new digital learning economy.
The 30 Top Thinkers Under 30: Adora Svitak, 16, Education
For the month of April we're profiling the individuals who made our inaugural list of the 30 top thinkers under 30, the young men and women we predict will have a serious impact on the social, political, and economic issues we cover every day here at Pacific Standard.
Want to Remember Your Notes? Write Them, Don't Type Them
Dust off your pens and notebooks. A new study finds laptops make note-taking so easy it's actually ineffective.
The 30 Top Thinkers Under 30: Dale J. Stephens, 22, Education
For the month of April we're profiling the individuals who made our inaugural list of the 30 top thinkers under 30, the young men and women we predict will have a serious impact on the social, political, and economic issues we cover every day here at Pacific Standard.
Can You Learn to Judge Creativity?
A new study suggests that, with training, amateurs can judge the level of creativity of artwork much like experts would. But is expert opinion always correct?
Are Picture Books Warping How Kids Understand Animals?
Anthropomorphizing animals is a bad strategy for education, a new study suggests.
Accentuate the Positive—and See Your Kids Learn More
You know what will happen if you keep nagging your kids about all the bad things their poor decisions will cause? Much less than what would happen if you emphasized what good could come from avoiding those actions.
Your Child's Brain on Math
Why do some children benefit more from tutoring than others? And does one small education study have the ability to drastically change our behavior as parents?
Put Down the iPad, Lace Up the Hiking Boots
That sneaking suspicion that you’re a more focused, creative person out in the woods? It’s true.
The One Laptop Per Child Initiative faces another setback
The One Laptop Per Child initiative is still struggling to find cheap computers for the developing world.
Linguistic Myths and Adventures in Etymology
The folk wisdom built up around common English expressions is often wrong, but it can be fun ferreting out the real origins.
Library Parks Foster Community to Colombia
Medellín, Colombia’s “library parks” — built for its poorest residents — are bringing sanity and community to one of the world’s most violent cities.
Learning to Read When a School System Falters
How a determined student, who was once branded ineducable, finds the help of dedicated New York City educators and mounts a path toward literacy at age 18.
No Debate: Kids Can Learn By Arguing
Columbia professor Deanna Kuhn says teachers should foster some debate to help kids learn the lost skill of thinking critically.
For Better Grades, Try Bach in the Background
New research from France finds students learned more when a videotaped lecture was underscored with classical music.
One Laptop Per Child Redux
Declared dead just two years ago, the plan to provide every child in the developing world with a computer shows signs of life.
Another Cognitive Benefit for Musicians, Athletes
New research from Germany finds honing one’s music or sports skills enhances at least one important mental ability.
Despite Bad Marks, For-Profit Colleges Still Passing
While for-profit higher education draws federal ire over student loans and unrealistic promises, the sector still fills an important vocational niche.
Music Training Enhances Children’s Verbal Intelligence
Canadian researchers report the verbal intelligence of 4- to 6-year-olds rises after only one month of musical training.
Lee Baca Wants to Educate L.A.'s Prisoners
In this Miller-McCune Q&A, Los Angeles County's top cop Lee Baca explains why he wants to offer an education to tens of thousands of prisoners.
Clarity Not Always the Best For Learning | Miller-McCune
Impediments to easy understanding — hard-to-read fonts, hard-to-follow lectures and lessons that are all too soon forgotten — may be the key to really learning something.