Learning
Gender Gaps in Test Scores and Grades: Women Fare as Well or Better Than Male Counterparts In Smaller Classes
Gender gaps in test scores and grades have been documented across a range of educational settings — in science, collegiate outcomes, and law and business schools. Research shows that Socratic and adversarial teaching styles — common to traditional law school instruction — may pose disadvantages for female students, who tend to participate less frequently than males in larger classes. more »
Calm The Dog! Lightning Expected to Increase by 50 Percent With Global Warming
More lightning strikes mean more human injuries; estimates of people struck each year range from the hundreds to nearly a thousand, with scores of deaths. But another significant impact of increased lightning strikes would be more wildfires, since half of all fires — and often the hardest to fight — are ignited by lightning. more »
States Backtrack on Student Tracking Technology That Can Read Small Portions of A Student's Fingerprint
Students are issued badges or tags with embedded chips that either broadcast a radio signal, (battery-powered active systems) or are read when they are near a radio-frequency reader (passive systems).RFID badges are read at school doors, on buses or at school events so educators know who’s where. The technology also allows school doors to be locked and allow entry to only those with RFID badges. "And once you collect the information, there is no rolling back." more »
Promotion of Brain-Training Products Reassures and Entices a Worried Public
"Do scientists have specific recommendations for effective ways to boost cognition in healthy, older adults? Are there merits to the claimed benefits of the brain games and if so, do older adults benefit from brain-game learning in the same ways younger people do? How large are the gains associated with computer-based cognitive exercises? Are the gains restricted to specific skills or does general cognitive aptitude improve? How does playing games compare with other proposed means of mitigating age-related declines, such as physical activity and exercise, meditation, or social engagement?"
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