Author: Pedro

Again: silver bullets are seldom the case in education. E.g. no single solution helps all students complete MOOCs

Yesterday I received this very interesting Freakonomics podcast on the issue of the scalability of interventions. Often we see – also in education – that something works in an experiment or in a field trial, but when everybody starts adopting the new method or the new insight… it fails. There can be several reasons why,… Read More Again: silver bullets are seldom the case in education. E.g. no single solution helps all students complete MOOCs

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Interesting: Reducing achievement gaps in undergraduate general chemistry could lift underrepresented students into a ‘hyperpersistent zone’

The word of the day for me is ‘hyperpersistent’. I read this concept in a recent study on STEM education and students from a minority background. From the press release: Scientists report that undergraduate students from underrepresented groups who score below a C- in general chemistry are less likely to persist in STEM classes than… Read More Interesting: Reducing achievement gaps in undergraduate general chemistry could lift underrepresented students into a ‘hyperpersistent zone’

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Great new handy tool for students and researchers: connected papers

Yesterday I discovered this great new tool that I’m sure I will be using a lot myself and will advise my students to try when working on their papers: connected papers. An important element of scientific work is to build upon earlier insights or to nuance or contradict earlier findings in science. That’s why scientific… Read More Great new handy tool for students and researchers: connected papers

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Are game-enhanced educational programs effective?

Originally posted on Best Evidence in Brief Index:
By Qiyang Zhang, Johns Hopkins University Technology-assisted educational programs are gaining popularity due to their flexibility, scalability, and cost effectiveness. A recent research paper measured the effectiveness of a Brazilian mobile-based educational program called Escribo Play, which aims at enhancing preschoolers’ phonological awareness, word reading, and writing…

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