Most Recently in the Education Forum

Previous Articles in the Series

25 July 2008:
DIVERSITY: Gender Similarities Characterize Math Performance 

Janet S. Hyde, Sara M. Lindberg, Marcia C. Linn, Amy B. Ellis, and Caroline C. Williams
Standardized tests in the U.S. indicate that girls now score just as well as boys in math.

27 June 2008:
THE EARLY YEARS: Preschool Programs Can Boost School Readiness 

William T. Gormley Jr., Deborah Phillips, and Ted Gayer
Preschool programs in Oklahoma help children to succeed in school.

30 May 2008:
DIVERSITY: Culture, Gender, and Math 

Luigi Guiso, Ferdinando Monte, Paola Sapienza, and Luigi Zingales
Analysis of PISA results suggests that the gender gap in math scores disappears in countries with a more gender-equal culture.

25 April 2008:
LEARNING THEORY: The Advantage of Abstract Examples in Learning Math 

Jennifer A. Kaminski Vladimir M. Sloutsky, Andrew F. Heckler
Undergraduate students may benefit more from learning mathematics through a single abstract, symbolic representation than from learning multiple concrete examples.

21 March 2008:
THE PIPELINE: Igniting Girls' Interest in Science 

Sheryl A. Tucker Deborah L. Hanuscin Constance J. Bearnes
A partnership between university and Girl Scouts engaged young girls' interests in chemistry.

29 February 2008:
INQUIRY LEARNING: Integrating Content Detail and Critical Reasoning by Peer Review 

Ravi Iyengar, Maria A. Diverse-Pierluissi, Sherry L. Jenkins, Andrew M. Chan, Lakshmi A. Devi, Eric A. Sobie, Adrian T. Ting, Daniel C. Weinstein
Classroom lectures by experts in combination with journal clubs and Web-based discussion forums help graduate students develop critical reasoning skills.

25 January 2008:
ASSESSMENT: Application of Bloom's Taxonomy Debunks the MCAT Myth 

Alex Y. Zheng, Janessa K. Lawhorn, Thomas Lumley, and Scott Freeman
Analyses of questions that evaluate critical thinking, from college placement and medical school admission examinations, suggest improvements to college teaching methods.

30 November 2007:
THE EARLY YEARS: Preschool Program Improves Cognitive Control 

Adele Diamond, W. Steven Barnett, Jessica Thomas, and Sarah Munro
Cognitive control skills important for success in school and life are amenable to improvement in at-risk preschoolers without costly interventions.

21 December 2007:
MENTORING: Linking Student Interests to Science Curricula 

Lauren A. Denofrio, Brandy Russell, David Lopatto, Yi Lu
Explicit networking helps undergraduates get the most out of the diverse curriculum available at a large university.

26 October 2007:
EPIDEMIOLOGY: Outbreak Investigation and Response Training 

Andres G. Lescano, Gabriela Salmon-Mulanovich, Elena Pedroni, David L. Blazes
Short courses that build skills for investigating and responding to disease outbreaks may enhance response to potential epidemics in resource-limited settings.

28 September 2007:
RELEVANCE: Pharmacology in the High-School Classroom 

Nicole C. Kwiek, Myra J. Halpin, Jerome P. Reiter, Leanne A. Hoeffler, Rochelle D. Schwartz-Bloom
Making learning relevant improves students' knowledge of biology and chemistry.

31 August 2007:
RETENTION: Engineering Education Research Aids Instruction 

Norman L. Fortenberry, Jacquelyn F. Sullivan, Peter N. Jordan, and Daniel W. Knight
Fewer students leave engineering studies when education programs link concepts to real-world practice.

27 July 2007:
TRANSITIONS: The Two High-School Pillars Supporting College Science 

Philip M. Sadler and Robert H. Tai
Out-of-discipline high-school science courses are not associated with better performance in introductory college biology, chemistry, or physics courses, but high-school math counts.

29 June 2007:
COLLABORATIONS: Empowering Green Chemists in Ethiopia 

Nigist Asfaw, Peter Licence, Temechegn Engida, and Martyn Poliakoff
Collaborations between scientists in economically developed countries and their African colleagues can be inspiring and productive.

25 May 2007:
MATHEMATICS: Cognitive Supports for Analogies in the Mathematics Classroom 

Lindsey E. Richland, Osnat Zur, Keith J. Holyoak
Variations in the effective use of analogies in math instruction across countries may contribute to performance differences in the TIMSS studies.

27 April 2007:
THE PIPELINE: Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences 

Susan H. Russell, Mary P. Hancock, James McCullough
Surveys indicate that undergraduate research opportunities help clarify students' interest in research and encourage students who hadn't anticipated graduate studies to alter direction toward a Ph.D.

30 March 2007:
TEACHING: Opportunities to Learn in America's Elementary Classrooms 

Robert C. Pianta, Jay Belsky, Renate Houts, Fred Morrison, The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Child Care Research Network
Analysis of elementary school classrooms in the United States returns a discouraging report on the quality of students' experiences.

23 February 2007:
ASSESSMENT: Standardized Tests Predict Graduate Students' Success 

Nathan R. Kuncel and Sarah A. Hezlett
Standardized admissions tests are valid predictors of many aspects of student success across academic and applied fields.

26 January 2007:
THE EARLY YEARS: Algorithm-Guided Individualized Reading Instruction 

Carol McDonald Connor, Frederick J. Morrison, Barry J. Fishman, Christopher Schatschneider, Phyllis Underwood
First grade students achieved stronger learning outcomes in reading when teachers fine-tuned instruction to individual students under the guidance of A2i software.

22 December 2006:
INQUIRY LEARNING: Teaching Scientific Inquiry 

David I. Hanauer, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, Marisa L. Pedulla, Steven G. Cresawn, Roger W. Hendrix, Graham F. Hatfull
Working in research laboratories to generate new scientific information can give high school students a taste of real scientific investigation.

24 November 2006:
MENTORING: Volunteers Bring Passion to Science Outreach 

Moriah R. Beck, Elizabeth A. Morgan, Stephanie S. Strand, and Thomas A. Woolsey
Partnerships between graduate students and high school students in St. Louis benefit both groups, and bring real laboratory experiences to the high school students.

27 October 2006:
DIVERSITY: Gender Similarities in Mathematics and Science 

Janet Shibley Hyde and Marcia C. Linn
Boys and girls have similar psychological traits and cognitive abilities; thus, a focus on factors other than gender is needed to help girls persist in mathematical and scientific career tracks.

29 September 2006:
THE EARLY YEARS: Evaluating Montessori Education 

Angeline Lillard and Nicole Else-Quest
An analysis of students' academic and social scores compares a Montessori school with other elementary school education programs.

25 August 2006:
INQUIRY LEARNING: Teaching and Assessing Knowledge Integration in Science 

Marcia C. Linn, Hee-Sun Lee, Robert Tinker, Freda Husic, Jennifer L. Chiu
Interactive visualizations combined with online inquiry and embedded assessments can deepen student understanding of complex ideas in science.

28 July 2006:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Who Is Responsible for Preparing Science Teachers? 

V. Otero, N. Finkelstein, R. McCray, S. Pollock
At the University of Colorado at Boulder, students who work with faculty to make traditional science courses interactive are more likely to choose K-12 teaching as a career.

30 June 2006:
COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS: Collaborative Ecological Restoration 

Warren Gold, Kern Ewing, John Banks, Martha Groom, Tom Hinckley, David Secord, Daniela Shebitz
Faculty and students at the University of Washington forge interdisciplinary partnerships with the regional community to restore damaged habitats

26 May 2006:
CAREER CHOICE: Planning Early for Careers in Science 

Robert H. Tai, Christine Qi Liu, Adam V. Maltese, Xitao Fan
Young adolescents who expected to have a career in science were more likely to graduate from college with a science degree, emphasizing the importance of early encouragement.

28 April 2006:
COMPUTER SIMULATIONS: Technological Advances in Inquiry Learning 

Ton de Jong
Computer simulations enhance inquiry-based learning -- in which students actively discover information -- by allowing scientific discovery within a realistic setting.

31 March 2006:
DIVERSITY: Preparing Minority Scientists and Engineers 

Michael F. Summers and Freeman A. Hrabowski III
An undergraduate program involving mentorship, summer and other workshops, and targeting high-achieving high school students improves participation of underrepresented minorities in science.

24 February 2006:
COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS: Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) 

A. Malcolm Campbell, Todd T. Eckdahl, Edison Fowlks, Laurie J. Heyer, Laura L. Mays Hoopes, Mary Lee Ledbetter, Anne G. Rosenwald
A supportive network of scientists and faculty brings sophisticated microarray experiments to the undergraduate lab and classroom.

27 January 2006:
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS: The Merits of Training Mentors 

Christine Pfund, Christine Maidl Pribbenow, Janet Branchaw, Sarah Miller Lauffer, Jo Handelsman
Good mentoring can be learned.