Education

In 10th-grade students, those from low-income families were less likely to have a growth mindset (belief that intelligence is not fixed, and can be developed) than students from high-income families. However, having a growth mindset reduced the negative effects of being poor on school achievement.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Young children (4-7 years old) who took music lessons improved their ability to solve puzzles. Younger students also had more improvement in their math scores.

London Review of Education

When college science instructors use humor, students pay more attention to course content and have a greater sense of belonging. Instructors' jokes about science, college, and television are the most popular among students.

PLOS ONE

Encouraging children (aged 8-11) to gesture while problem solving or explaining ideas promoted more creative thinking.

Having many team members share leadership roles increases teamwork in university student workgroups. This also increases team members' enjoyment, focus, and engagement.

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

The ability to master a second language declines significantly in late adolescence and those who are exposed to their second language by the age of 12 are more likely to attain native proficiency.

Education

Piano lessons and reading lessons each improved the ability to recognize sounds and differentiate words in Chinese kindergarten students.

After visiting zoos and aquariums, people have a better understanding of biodiversity and knowledge of actions that they can take to protect it.

Compared to a neutral position, advocating for a controversial position made people see a scientist as more or less credible, depending on the issue. Advocating for a non-controversial position either made the scientist seem more credible than a neutral position or did not affect credibility.

PLOS ONE

Students who took notes by hand outperformed laptop note takers on understanding of concepts, possibly because laptops increased the tendency for students to record information word for word.