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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: learning

learning stories: 14 news summaries

 Sunny Days Help You Think 

Cloudiness reduces cognitive agility in depressed people, researchers found

Aug 5, 09 4:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Does a cloudy day leave you groggy and unable to focus? If so, a study suggests you’re not alone: Cloudy days, regardless of season, can have an effect on cognitive function, MSNBC reports. Researchers cross-referencing the results of cognitive tests from 16,800 Americans with data on daily sunshine... More »

MORE ABOUT:
weather • memory • depression • learning • brain • sun • sunlight • mild cognitive impairment

(Newser) - An SMU dean has a message for his fellow college professors: Ditch the PowerPoint. Jose A. Bowen isn't anti-technology, explains the Chronicle of Higher Education, he just thinks too many instructors rely on it as a crutch. He's challenging others to "teach naked," without computers in the classroom,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • higher education • learning • college • professor • classroom • PowerPoint • Jose A. Bowen

If Monkeys
Could Talk ...

Tamarins possess
skills fundamental
to human language: researchers

Jul 9, 09 3:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Monkeys can recognize “incorrect” syllable pattern in words, revealing that species other than human possess the underlying skills necessary for anguage, the BBC reports. Researchers played recordings of made-up words that shared either a common prefix or suffix for two groups of cotton-top tamarin monkey. Tamarins familiarized with either... More »

MORE ABOUT:
memory • learning • monkey • language • primates • pattern recognition

Real 'Thinking Cap' May Not
Be So Far Off

Magnetic pulse boosts learning, study shows; headgear next?

Jul 7, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - A magnetic pulse directed at a certain area of the brain may enhance learning and memory, the Telegraph reports. Canadian researchers subjected volunteers to a test that required they track a dot moving on a computer screen with a joystick, and volunteers who received stimulation fared much better. More »

MORE ABOUT:
memory • learning • brain • neuroscience • cognitive science • magnetic field • cognitive enhancement • thinking cap



 Ditch 'i Before e 
 Except After c' 
 Rule: Brits 

Ditty 'not worth teaching,' government says

Jun 20, 09 6:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - Generations of frustrated schoolchildren have grumbled that “i before e except after c” isn’t worth learning because of numerous exceptions. Now the British government agrees, the BBC reports. In a document sent to 13,000 primary schools, officials say the ditty “is not worth teaching” because it’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Kingdom • learning • teaching • spelling • teachers • rule • schoolchildren

Glossies

 Clint Calls Us 
 'Generation Pussy' 

Toughness and learning the 'secret to life'

Dec 16, 08 2:09 PM CST
(Newser) - "We live in more of a pussy generation now," Clint Eastwood tells Esquire upon the release of his new film Gran Torino. "Everybody's become used to saying, 'Well, how do we handle it psychologically?' " Eastwood, who grew up having to duke it out with bullies, looks... More »

MORE ABOUT:
depression • Clint Eastwood • learning • Pearl Harbor • 9/11 attacks • meaning of life

Colleges Make iGadgets Part
of Course Load

Schools give students iPhones, iPods as learning tools

Aug 21, 08 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Some US universities have started handing out free iPhones and Internet-enabled iPods to students, the New York Times reports. The institutions view the gadgets as tools for online research, student polling, and as-yet undeveloped educational applications, while Apple gets an in with a new generation with consumers. Professors with easily... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • iPhone • Apple • iPod • learning • universities • colleges and universities

A Good Night's Sleep
Shores Up Memory

8 hours of shut-eye helps brain function the next day, study suggests

Jul 14, 08 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nothing improves memory like a little shut-eye, a new study suggests. Researchers taught new information and skills to two groups of patients, and allowed one to sleep normally while giving the other none or only a nap. The sleepers tested better the next day–and scans revealed enhanced brain activity... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sleep • memory • learning • research • sleep deprivation • health study

Focus, Not IQ, Might be Best School Skill

Kids trained to flex 'executive function' muscles learn better

Jun 5, 08 3:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - EF is the new IQ, and if educators accept that new acronym mantra, more preschoolers will be playing games, Newsweek reports. Executive function—the ability to repress distracting thoughts and focus on a task—could be a better indicator of scholarly success than intelligence alone; psychologist Adele Diamond implemented an... More »

MORE ABOUT:
intelligence • learning • psychology • cognitive development • public schools • preschool • executive function

Two Trains Leave a Station Going 30mph...

Stop! Story problems wrong way to teach math, study says

Apr 25, 08 12:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - All those sacks of different-colored marbles and word problems about pizza slices may not actually teach kids effectively, Reuters reports. Though meant to offer a real-world grounding, story problems just add extra distractions, a new study says, suggesting that students might be better off learning abstract concepts than figuring out... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • children • learning • teaching • mathematics

What's Baby Got That Chimps Don't?

Study pits toddlers against primates to see how human brains are different

Sep 7, 07 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - What makes humans smarter than their primate relatives? Into the ongoing debate comes a new study that concludes it's not just size, it's the particular kind of computing power. A study matching human toddlers with chimps and orangutans compared their performance on a battery of different kinds of tasks. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • intelligence • children • learning • baby • chimpanzees • apes

So, You Need to Learn Swahili?

Learning languages is labor-intensive. Here's how to get you up to speed.

Aug 26, 07 5:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Get ready for your business trip or vacation with these programs recommended by Porfolio.
  • Pimsleur Approach: 10-day courses offered in 40 languages.
  • Rosetta Stone: Promises competence in 2 weeks in 30 languages.
  • Teach Yourself: CDs and books offer 200 languages at varying speeds.
More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • list • learning • language • Pimsleur Approach • Rosetta Stone • Swahili

Toddlers Learn Language Slowly and Quickly

Kids stockpile simple words in buildup to vocab explosion

Aug 3, 07 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Toddlers learn to speak by simply using small, familiar words to acquire harder ones, new research says, throwing a curveball at scientists who assumed a more complex cognitive system. Youngsters can rapidly go from spouting babble to intelligible chatter as long as their words have varying levels of difficulty, Scientific ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
children • learning • language • Bob McMurray • University of Iowa • cognitive science • vocabulary • toddler

Day Care Kids Learn to Act Up

Study finds preschoolers in day care

Mar 26, 07 10:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Day care centers enlarge kids' vocabularies--and teach them how to act up, too, says a study that’s followed 1,300 children from birth through 6th grade. Although parental guidance and genes were the strongest predictor of behavior, who attended day care as preschoolers were slightly more likely to be... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • child care • children • behavior • school • learning • daycare

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