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educational research

The Latest Research on Teaching and Learning: Happiness

by Lori Gracey January 18, 2023

written by Lori Gracey

This month’s roundup of new research of interest to educators is a little bit different in that we won’t be examining new teaching strategies or the latest findings about learning. Instead, we’ll look at happiness and how we can be happy – a topic of relevance for both students and adults.

What Does Being Happy Really Mean?

Happiness does not mean that you are in a positive emotional state all the time. It doesn’t mean you feel joyful and cheerful every hour of the day or run around with a smile on your face all the time. We simply aren’t designed that way. Instead, being happy means accepting negative experiences, having the skills to manage and cope with them, and using them to make better decisions later. So, it’s not just about the highs but also about how we cope with the lows.

Can You Change How Happy You Are?

According to the research, it is possible, and even fairly easy, to increase how happy you are on a regular basis. Here are four exercises that clinical studies have shown improve your feelings of happiness and well-being.

1. Grow your social connections. Social connection is the biggest factor affecting happiness, multiple studies have found. Forming close relationships with spouses, family members, friends, and community members results in being happier and both physically and mentally healthier. It’s not about how many connections you have. Instead, focus on deepening the relationship you have with even just a few individuals by giving them more of your time and attention.

2. Engage in random acts of kindness. Deliberately performing random acts of kindness can make you feel happier and less depressed and anxious, according to a series of studies from Sonja Lyubomirsky at UC Riverside. Varying those acts you do for others has a longer-term effect on your own happiness. So don’t just do the same thing each day. Give someone a compliment, make your spouse coffee, talk with a colleague that you don’t normally spend much time with. All of these actions will activate your brain’s reward system, making you feel good because you made another person feel good.

3. Express gratitude. Writing down three things you’re grateful for at the end of each day leads to long-term increases in happiness and decreases in depressive symptoms. Research shows you don’t have to spend a lot of time writing them down. Something like “I finished the report that I had been putting off” or “I went for a walk today and saw some beautiful flowers” are all that is needed. The goal is to train your brain to focus on the parts of your life that are good instead of always thinking about what’s wrong.

write three things each day you're grateful for

4. Practice self-compassion. This may be the hardest activity for many of us. We have to work to develop a warm, supportive inner voice rather than a hostile, critical one and understand that setbacks are a part of life. Being too hard on ourselves keeps us unhappy. We are worthwhile!

There are two free courses available that explore how to be happy in greater depth. The Science of Happiness online course is hosted on the edX platform. To sign up, you need to create an edX account and then register for the course there. Once you do, you’ll receive weekly emails every Tuesday as new content is posted. Yale also offers a free course on the Coursera platform called The Science of Well-Being.

What will you do to increase your happiness in 2023? How can you help your students or those you work with to be more satisfied with their lives?

Previous Articles in Research on Teaching and Learning Series

The Latest Research on Teaching and Learning: Happiness | December 2022

January 18, 2023 0 comment

Three Strategies to Align Teaching and Technology

by Miguel Guhlin January 4, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

Strategies that work. We all want and need strategies that align with research. Often as educators, we lose sight of how important that alignment is, and we may adopt practices and technologies that appear to help but, instead, distract. This diminishes the return on investment in expensive technologies that are unaligned to research.

Why Do Strategies That Work Matter?

Think about your work in the classroom as a teacher, a coach, and/or a school administrator. Go back to a time when you reflected on what worked and what didn’t. Did you brush off the disappointment of a failed digital tool or chalk it up to “It’s new?”

When implementing evidence-based instructional strategies and technology, what steps do you take? What illuminated path with marked trails and guideposts do you follow? Let’s take a look at three strategies to align instruction and technology to promote positive outcomes.

Guidepost #1: Connect with Students

Research has shown us that buzz words and phrases are sometimes grounded in what works. One such case is social-emotional learning (SEL). SEL works because it allows teachers to build relationships with students. That connection is all important. We now know that student brains will filter out the irrelevant. The catch is they decide what’s irrelevant, not you as the adult.

“When students feel as if they do not belong in a school setting, the cognitive energy that should be used on social engagement and learning is being used to scan for group barriers, discrimination and stereotypes”
Source: Myra Laldin, a researcher at the Research Schools International at Harvard Graduate School of Education via Learning Scientists Blog

SEL activities, such as temperature checks, games, and stories, connect us to students. They deepen relationships with students. When choosing and implementing a digital tool or activity, is it facilitating connection?

Did You Know?

Miguel will be facilitating Coaching: Strategies That Work, a TCEA 2023 session that focuses on coaching approaches. New to coaching? An old-hand? You’ll find something to love in this interactive session and walk away with a free app.

Guidepost #2: Track Student Progress

Empowering students to track their own progress toward learning objectives is key. You can support students’ efforts through the use of simple, tech-based formative assessment tools. These tools can both enable you to gauge students’ movement toward goals. They can also enable students to build their own self-assessments. Combine those assessments with self-reported grade tracking sheets.

Did You Know?

Looking for a round up of Formative Assessment Tools and Strategies for the Digital Classroom? Then be sure to check out Miguel’s TCEA 2023 session. You will leave with some fresh ideas, strategies, and digital tools.

When students are learning via an evidence-based instructional strategy, how do you know that students really are? Combine formative assessment digital tools into strategies and activities. For example, you can choose to Jigsaw Your Problem-Based Learning activities, while gauging student progress. Often, this can be done through tracking paper activities, classroom discussion, and products. You can even have students self-track what they are trying to accomplish. That’s true whether it’s an academic topic, or a blend of the two, such as Jigsawing Your Way Through Micro:Bits or virtual world building.

And, with those two important guideposts checked off your list, a third and final one is this:

Guidepost #3: Match Strategies and Tools

You may encounter a bevy of digital tools at the TCEA 2023 Convention and Exposition. Before you adopt them for your own use, take some time to explore. How do these tools fit into what you’re trying to do in the classroom? How can you implement evidence-based strategies with this tool? Do these tools support your efforts at encouraging student note-taking or outlining? How does a tool like, say Microsoft OneNote or LumaNotes, work for students?

An Example: Cave Art for Educators

In my TCEA 2023 session, Cognitive Cave Art, I ask a simple question: How do I engage students in cognitive task analysis? One way might be to create infographics for knowledge representation. There are ample tools to get the job done, so it’s important to know. In this session, like others that I lead, I will show off digital tools and their connection to a proven strategy.

Want to have authentic conversations, make connections, and find new ed tech tools? I hope you’ll join me at TCEA 2023 for my Ride the Mastodon session, an introduction to a new-to-many social media space.

You see, you know what works already. You have access to a wealth of proven strategies through the work of researchers. Those researchers include people like John Hattie, Mike Bell, Dr. Nancy Frey, Dr. Douglas Fisher, and Zaretta Hammond. When you think of infographics, you know the following:

Greater than fifty percent of learners are non-linguistic. This involves students generating a representation of new information. But that representation need NOT rely on language. “The average effect [of using non-linguistic representation] can impact student achievement,” says Marzano. Robert Marzano goes on to say, “It includes a seventeen percentile point gain.” That’s quite a bit when considering student achievement.” This happens because students are creating a model of their thinking.

Potential creations include concept maps, idea webs, and other types of nonlinguistic representation.

When you consider Guidepost #3 in this regard, you are asking yourself a powerful question:

“What digital tool makes thinking model creation possible for students?”

The rest is simply fun. Learning new tools and aligning them to what we know works as education professionals.

Question Others to Teach Ourselves

I hope you will join me at TCEA 2023 Convention and Exposition to explore these guideposts. It’s a space to ask questions of yourself and of others to enable you to teach yourself. Who knows, you may create a new model of thinking that transforms your teaching. Wouldn’t that be something?

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January 4, 2023 11 comments

Educational Research Educational Trends Good Teaching

The Latest Research on Teaching and Learning

by Lori Gracey December 30, 2022

written by Lori Gracey

Staying up to date on the vast number of validated research studies being conducted on kids, learning, the brain, teaching, and educational technology can be challenging. But you don’t have to worry about it; TCEA has you covered. We regularly focus on the latest information and best practices through our blogs (like this one), our free-to-member Lunch and Learn webinars, our Community discussions, and presentations at all of our various events (like the annual Convention & Exposition coming up January 30-February 2, 2023). Here’s the latest research that we believe will be important to educators.

When Students Acquire Cell Phones Does Not Affect Them Negatively

Many parents struggle with when to give their children a cell phone. For many years, the perception has been that if a young child is given a phone, it can have negative consequences on their sleep, study habits, and more. But a “rigorous new study from Stanford Medicine did not find a meaningful association between the age at which kids received their first phones and their well-being, as measured by grades, sleep habits and depression symptoms.” The study followed 250 children for more than five years during the time that they acquired their first cell phone. “Instead of comparing phone-using kids with those who don’t have phones at a single point in time, the scientists tracked the participants’ well-being as they transitioned to phone ownership.”

Reading Can Reduce Stress Levels

A 2009 study found that reading reduced stress levels by 68 percent, making it a more effective means of relaxation than taking a walk (42% reduction), drinking a cup of tea or coffee (54% reduction), or listening to music (61% reduction). Researchers believe that the concentration required to read a good book helps distract the brain from anxious and stressful thinking, which reduces heart rate and muscle tension caused by stress. How long does it take for the benefits to happen? As little as six minutes. Dr. David Lewis, a cognitive neuropsychologist who conducted the study said, “It really doesn’t matter what book you read. By losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book, you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination.”

Feelings of Awe Also Reduce Stress

Taking time to be amazed by the world in which we live can reduce the stress that we are feeling in our daily lives. A 2021 study reported that feeling more awe is correlated with reporting feeling lowered levels of daily stress. In addition, “Emerging research shows that experiencing awe may make us more curious, creative, and compassionate people. ” Having students briefly pause each day to look at an awe-inspiring photo can reduce their stress levels and help them feel more connected with each other.

The Best Way to Group Students

How students are grouped for projects or teacher-led, small-group learning does make a difference, according to a recent study. Researchers used mathematics to determine whether a “like-skill tiered grouping strategy where individuals of similar aptitude are grouped together” or a “cross-sectional grouping strategy where equal groups are formed, composed of individuals of varied aptitudes” is better. The results showed that, when the goal is to maximize learning for all individuals, the like-skilled grouping strategy works best. That may not surprise elementary teachers who have used like-skilled grouping for many years in classroom reading groups. But it can now be known conclusively that all educators (and even those of us who provide professional learning to adults) should group our students based on their skill level.

I hope you found these research studies valuable. Look for another roundup next month!

December 30, 2022 0 comment

CTO/CIO Educational Research Educational Trends Leadership

Speak Up Research on Ed Tech From Project Tomorrow

by Dr. Julie A. Evans November 15, 2022

written by Dr. Julie A. Evans

It is well-known that in response to the pandemic many aspects of our social, economic, and professional lives changed overnight. From working remotely from home to buying groceries online and having our pharmacy prescriptions delivered, we adopted new ways of doing everyday activities. And it appears that many of these new behaviors are here to stay. The reason? People like the convenience, flexibility, and effectiveness of these innovations.

How Did the Pandemic Change Schools?

The same is true for our schools. The pandemic resulted in a seismic shock to the traditional school paradigm. To support continuity of learning, school districts provisioned unprecedented numbers of personally assigned tablets, laptops, and Chromebooks for students to use to log into virtual classes, access online learning materials, and facilitate communications with teachers and classmates.

Though far from perfect, this great national experiment in virtual learning yielded new insights into our current education systems and produced some “ah-hah” moments for educators interested in using technology more effectively within learning. As reported in the Speak Up® Research findings from Project Tomorrow®, school districts now have a greater focus on the home Internet connectivity challenges in their community, and thus, are now doubling down on mobile hotspots, wifi in school parking lots, and partnering with local businesses and libraries to provide Internet access points for students.

Teachers developed new skills using technology during that time, not just to engage students in learning but as a learning platform, and that has changed their perspective on the potential of technology within learning. Parents acquired a more in-depth awareness of their child’s education and school-based learning life from that kitchen table view of school.

What Does the Research Say?

Despite these important lessons learned, there was initially a nostalgic pull by some to revert to the way schools traditionally looked and functioned in February 2020. But that goal is not realistic or even possible today. Just as the banks, grocery stores, and medical providers are leaning into the new behaviors of their consumers, so must our schools.

Educators are increasingly coming to that same resolution as we start to put the pandemic in the rear-view window. According to 89% of district administrators on the Speak Up Research surveys from the 2021-22 school year, the pandemic and the resulting disruptions to traditional education have significantly and sustainably changed K-12 education. The steps undertaken to support continuity of learning have left an indelible mark on the ways teachers teach, parents engage, administrators lead, and students learn.

This long tail of the pandemic and the resulting shifts to more technology-based instruction have forever changed our schools. Many educators are already capitalizing on this “moment in time” to implement new innovations to address the vexing challenges of student engagement, empowerment, and equity in learning experiences. This opportunity to lean into technology to support improvements in education is supported by the Speak Up 2021-22 Research findings and was front and center at our recent annual Congressional Briefing.

What Do Students Think?

In addition to sharing key national research findings at the virtual briefing, I also facilitated a panel discussion with students from across the country to learn about their perceptions of school today and their aspirations for more efficient and effective learning experiences.

We were pleased to have on this year’s student panel an engaging 8^th grader, Sabino, from one of our Texas Speak Up partnering districts, the Ferris Independent School District. Sabino shared the many ways that he uses technology to support his learning in school, recognizing that his school’s commitment to innovative technology usage is helping him develop stronger creativity skills through projects and hands-on learning activities.

As part of the conversation, I asked our student panelists to dream big about what a future school could look like, and to provide their vision for the role of technology in that ultimate learning environment. For Sabino, it was all about gamification of the learning process. He sees great potential in bringing more game-based experiences into the classroom to engage students in learning and provide a way for students to drive their own learning process.

Listening to Students About Learning

Like his peers on the panel and nationwide, this focus on student ownership of the learning process is reflective of students’ personal, out-of-school experiences with technology. For example, Sabino has taken online courses on his own to learn more about computer science as a future career field. This reality is important for educators to recognize. For today’s students, armed with intrinsic motivation and enhanced technology access, learning is a 24/7 enterprise that is not bound by the school day clock or the resources in their community.

New conversations about the future of school must look beyond the classroom to more fully appreciate how students are using technology for self-directed interest-driven learning at home and the implications of those experiences on their aspirations for more effective and engaging school-based learning. As is always the case with our student panels, the authentic, first-hand perspectives of our students help illuminate new ways for school and district leaders to think about the future of school.

Let’s capitalize on this moment in time by listening to the ideas of our students about how to improve learning. Watch the recording or listen to the podcast of the Speak Up Congressional Briefing.

Screenshot of the Speak Up 2022 Congressional Briefing

Speak Up Data and Research

Project Tomorrow facilitates the annual Speak Up Research Project to help K-12 education leaders effectively collect and leverage the views of your stakeholders as a planning and decision-making asset. Every K-12 school and district is eligible to use our normed suite of online surveys for K-12 students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Project Tomorrow manages the data collection and reporting process for all participating schools and districts as a pro bono service so that cost is never a barrier to listening to the views and voices of your stakeholders. We are very grateful to our friends at TCEA for their long-standing support of Speak Up. Learn more about how your school and district can utilize the Speak Up survey and reporting assets here. Take the survey here.

November 15, 2022 0 comment

Educational Research

Learning and the Brain 101

by Lori Gracey April 22, 2022

written by Lori Gracey

I consider myself a well-educated person, someone who has a lot of knowledge about a lot of different things. But I must confess that it wasn’t until a few years ago that I really became familiar with one of the most necessary items in my life (and one that my husband often says I’ve lost!), and that’s my brain. Perhaps it has to do with getting older or with my growing interest in what happens in our brains when we “learn” something. Whatever the reason, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and studying on the brain, and I’ve discovered a few tidbits that I think every educator needs to know.

The Brain Basics

The first thing to know is that our brains are extremely complex. They are made up of 100 billion cells, 86 billion neurons (the cells that do all of the work in the brain), and one quadrillion (that’s 1,000 trillion) connections between neurons. (The more you know, the more connections are formed. So young children won’t have as many connections in their brains as older students will.

brain

And the brain is capable of storing a lot of information, 2.5 gigabytes of data, in fact. Now, you may be thinking that 2.5 GB isn’t that much. But because the neurons combine so that each one helps with many memories at a time, they exponentially increase the brain’s memory storage capacity to something closer to around 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes). How much is that? “For comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, 2.5 petabytes would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the TV running continuously for more than 300 years to use up all that storage” (source).

Amazing, right? The brain is unbelievably complex and has massive data storage capabilities. However, there is a catch. While the brain can hold VAST amounts of data, it processes that data VERY slowly. Its fastest speed is just 60 bits per second. To put that into context, the old dial-up modems had a processing speed of 56 BPS. And the more complex the information being processed, the slower the brain can take it in. (Interestingly enough, the brain can process images much faster than text or the spoken word.)

The Brain’s Processing Speed

The fact that the brain processes things much more slowly than we originally thought should make every educator pause. While a lot of our day-to-day activities are handled below the threshold of our awareness, for something to become encoded as part of our experience (i.e., learned), we need to pay conscious attention to it. (There’s also a need to transfer that information from temporary storage into permanent memory and to form connections with related data, but all of that can be discussed at another time.) What we have to remember is that we must provide time for the brain to take in the information and process it. This means that if you are presenting new information to students, they need time to take the content in and think about it before being asked to do anything with it.

Facts: The Brain and Learning (source)

We take in information faster and better when it is visual, not text or auditory. (50% of the brain is used for visual processing.)
We store (remember) big picture ideas better than details.
Sleep deprivation significantly reduces the ability to learn new information. It can cut the brain’s ability to learn by up to 40%.
We learn new information best when it is interwoven and connected to something we already know.
We learn new content best when we teach it to others if we are told before learning the information that we will have to teach it.

Now that you know more about how our brains learn, what might you need to do differently with your students or adult learners?

April 22, 2022 2 comments