This is the kind of study that can give people some itchy feelings. We’ve known that early behavior can predict later success, remember the famous Marshmallow experiment, but those studies often had limitations. Was it caused by innate intelligence? Was it caused by the family background? This new study claims to have bypassed these limitations… Read More What kindergarten can tell you about your future… (or not)
We now that reading books to your children has a big influence, but now researchers have found that adults with higher reading-related knowledge are likelier to provide positive feedback when children read, which helps the learning process. I do like the format of added information to this paper: What is already known about this topic… Read More How language-savvy parents improve their children’s reading development (study)
Some of these insights are maybe not new but worth repeating: experiences such as poverty, residential instability, or parental divorce or substance abuse, can affect executive function and lead to changes in a child’s brain chemistry, muting the effects of stress hormones. From the press release: Adversity early in life tends to affect a child’s… Read More Again: possible effects of early-life challenges
This may seem a bit ‘no shit, Sherlock’ and probably it is, but in times when parents often bring their kids to school by car, it’s worth repeating. Do note the study shows a correlation, not a causal relation. From the press release: Children who regularly walk or cycle to school are less likely to… Read More No shit, Sherlock: Children who walk or cycle to school less likely to be overweight or obese
It can be the subject of some heated debates, but what is the causal direction between reading ability and reading pleasure? A 2018 study Wouter Duyck shared on Twitter sheds some light on this and it seems that the better you’re able to read, the bigger chance that you will be enjoying reading. The study… Read More What comes first: reading ability or reading pleasure?
This is a kind of follow up on the infamous 30 million word gap, and a sad one to be frank, as this has identified a link between kids who hear high quantities of adult speech and better nonverbal abilities such as reasoning, numeracy and shape awareness.. With a novel way to make sure the… Read More A link between hearing large amounts of adult speech as toddler and better cognitive skills.
There is a new Best Evidence in Brief with some interesting studies, such as this one: A new study by Steven Sheldon and Sol Bee Jung from our own Johns Hopkins School of Education examines Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV), a strategy for engaging educators and families as a team to support student achievement. The PTHV… Read More Home visits show effect on absenteeism and performance (Best Evidence in Brief)
