neurosciencestuff:

Abuse during childhood is different.

A study of adult civilians with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) has shown that individuals with a history of childhood abuse have distinct, profound changes in gene activity patterns, compared to adults with PTSD but without a history of child…

Click on and read this entire article- there is a fundamental change that occurs in those who are abused. We need to know and understand it but we also need to prevent it. In particular, the rise in human trafficking is so urgent. We don’t need research to tell us that, but when you read this, it just underscores the trauma.

(Source: news.emory.edu)

Great article by Larry Cuban on the Washington Post that you should forward to principals. 

“Yet studies of principal behavior in schools makes clear that spending time in classrooms to observe, monitor, and evaluate classroom lessons do not necessarily lead to better teaching or higher student achievement on standardized tests. Where there is a correlation between principals’ influence on teachers and student performance, it occurs when principals create and sustain an academic ethos in the school, organize instruction across the school, and align school lessons to district standards and standardized test items. There is hardly any positive association between principals walking in and out of classrooms a half-dozen times a day and conferring briefly with teaches about those five-minute visits.The reality of daily principal actions conflicts with the theory.”

If you want to know why math and excel are important, read this article. A major study which had influenced countries to slash debt in order to grow has been found to have serious flaws. A grad student found the math error and finally convinced his professors after a month of back and forth that he was right. Economics profs everywhere are discussing this one. As I share with my students the importance of math and spreadsheets, this is one of those I’ll be discussing. And yes, high schools CAN understand this. I think this also begs to ask why all research studies should include their data sets and spreadsheets to be transparent and verifiable.

The Internet Archive has ended over 450,000 journal articles from the JSTOR early Journal content or pre-1923 materials. It you work in arts, humanities, economics, politics, math and other sciences you may be interested in perusing this catalog.

neurosciencestuff:

We’ve all been there: You’re at work deeply immersed in a project when suddenly you start thinking about your weekend plans. It happens because behind the scenes, parts of your brain are battling for control.

Now, University of Florida researchers and their colleagues are using a new…

Fascinating research on the mind…
“The Granger causality technique may help researchers learn more about how neurological disorders work. Researchers have found that the default mode network remains unchanged in people with autism whether they are performing a task or interacting with the environment, which could explain symptoms such as difficulty reading social cues or being easily overwhelmed by sensory stimulation. Scientists have made similar findings with depression and mild cognitive impairment. However, until now no one has been able to address what areas of the brain might be regulating the default mode network and which might be interfering with that regulation.
“Now we are able to address these questions,” Ding said.

(Source: news.ufl.edu)

In a recent PEW study, National Writing Project (NWP) and Advanced Placement (AP) teachers said that “a top priority in today’s classrooms should be teaching students how to ‘judge the quality of online information.’”  Furthermore, teachers are concerned that students don’t get past Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube into deeper (and more accurate) ways of collecting information. If you want to discuss research sources, social bookmarking is the best way to do this. We should see more classrooms using Diigo (the most superior bookmarking service, in my opinion) or Delicious as they discuss and share the documents they will use in their research papers.  I’ve found when topics need deeper research or when the sources of research are in dispute, that social bookmarking is the best way to facilitate those discussions. It is a powerful form of pre-writing for students. If they can begin the conversations around research articles and sources, then more accurate information will emerge in their final document. Often students don’t verify the sources of information and should learn to view all online information with skepticism and a critical eye as they converse over what makes a good source. Social bookmarking is a key source of discussion, data collection, and citation in the modern classroom.

Take time to read this PEW research about teachers and how they are using technology in their classrooms. It is shocking that 73% say they or their students use cell phones to complete assignments. I wish they had separated out this number to know exactly how many let their STUDENTS use their cell phones. To me, this number shows the tide has turned. 

Some of the highlights of the research:

“Mobile technology has become central to the learning process, with 73% of AP and NWP teachers saying that they and/or their students use their cell phones in the classroom or to complete assignments

More than four in ten teachers report the use of e-readers (45%) and tablet computers (43%) in their classrooms or to complete assignments

62% say their school does a “good job” supporting teachers’ efforts to bring digital tools into the learning process, and 68% say their school provides formal training in this area

Teachers of low income students, however, are much less likely than teachers of the highest income students to use tablet computers (37% v. 56%) or e-readers (41% v. 55%) in their classrooms and assignments

Similarly, just over half (52%) of teachers of upper and upper-middle income students say their students use cell phones to look up information in class, compared with 35% of teachers of the lowest income students”

New research suggests conscientious students are more likely to have higher grade point averages.

And all of the personality tests found the other four personality traits [agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism and openness to experience] were not linked to grade point average.

“But because college admissions generally does not select directly or heavily on personality traits, admitted students who score higher on measures of conscientiousness will tend to excel in academic pursuits above and beyond what their high-school grade point averages or achievement test scores would suggest by themselves.”

Conscientiousness is correlated to GPa more than any other trait. Let me ask this, then. Is teaching kids that they never deserve a zero the right thing? Some advocate this stance. While I rarely have to give zeroes, I question a lack of accountability some advocate. I am sharing this with my students tomorrow.

(via gjmueller)