Tag Archives: STEM

Evaluating the Best Classroom Practices for Teaching Math

Analyzing TIMSS data, researchers draw tentative conclusions about math teaching: memorizing formulas & hearing lectures vs. applying math to “real life.” Continue reading →



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Can Meaningful Gestures Help STEM Students Learn Better?

The right kind of gesture helps students understand physical space better. And students who can think well about space do better in STEM classes. Continue reading →



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Meet the Speakers: Dr. Sapna Cheryan

This article is the first in an occasional series where I’ll introduce people who will be speaking at an upcoming Learning and the Brain conference.   Dr. Sapna Cheryan, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, has been



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The Potential Benefits of High School Music Classes

Should 9th graders start music classes–even if they’ve never played an instrument before? Are there academic benefits to studying music? Is 9th grade too late a start to get those benefits? Should my school’s STEM program become a STEAM program? A



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Classroom Data to Enhance STEM Teaching

Regular readers of this blog remember Scott MacClintic’s post about “data informed instruction”; quoting W. Edwards Deming, Scott notes that “without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” Of course, gathering the right kind of data can be very



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Promoting STEM for Women by Requiring More High School Math. Or, not.

How can we encourage young women to pursue STEM fields? In the German state of Baden-Württemberg, school leaders tried a substantial reform: they increased the math requirement during the final two years of high school. Instead of taking math three days



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