-
How to Motivate Students to Work Harder
The Atlantic: Over the past five years, more than $200 million has gone toward launching the new Common Core standards, with the goal of closing achievement gaps in public schools. But for all their meticulous detail about math and language curricula, the standards fail to address one important factor: the psychological barriers that stand between many students and deeper learning. Unless students are motivated to take on the new standards, and persuaded that they’re up to the challenge, the Common Core could have the unintended effect of leaving many students even further behind.
-
Why Flunking Exams Is Actually a Good Thing
The New York Times: Imagine that on Day 1 of a difficult course, before you studied a single thing, you got hold of the final exam. The motherlode itself, full text, right there in your email inbox — attached mistakenly by the teacher, perhaps, or poached by a campus hacker. No answer key, no notes or guidelines. Just the questions. Would that help you study more effectively? Of course it would. You would read the questions carefully. You would know exactly what to focus on in your notes. Your ears would perk up anytime the teacher mentioned something relevant to a specific question. You would search the textbook for its discussion of each question.
-
Our Use Of Little Words Can, Uh, Reveal Hidden Interests
NPR: One Friday night, 30 men and 30 women gathered at a hotel restaurant in Washington, D.C. Their goal was love, or maybe sex, or maybe some combination of the two. They were there for speed dating. The women sat at separate numbered tables while the men moved down the line, and for two solid hours they did a rotation, making small talk with people they did not know, one after another, in three-minute increments. I had gone to record the night, which was put on by a company called Professionals in the City, and what struck me was the noise in the room. The sound of words, of people talking over people talking over people talking. It was a roar. What were these people saying?
-
Facial Piercings Can Still Hurt Your Chances of Getting Hired
Although piercings and tattoos are more common than ever in America, research suggests that they may still hurt your prospects of getting a job. Despite the mainstream popularity of body art, many people still see facial piercings as unprofessional and unwelcome in the workplace. In a recent study, behavioral scientists James C. McElroy, James K. Summers, and Kelly Moore of Iowa State University found that even among college students, facial piercings still carry stigma that can affect whether or not someone gets hired. In hiring, managers may see people with facial piercings as a poor fit for a job because facial piercings may be associated with negative personality traits.
-
STUDY: MILLENNIALS LESS TRUSTING THAN GEN X WAS
Associated Press: They're often pegged as the civic-minded, do-gooding generation. But while they're still optimistic about their own personal prospects, a new study finds that today's youth are often more skeptical of the country's institutions than the young generations that preceded them. The Millennials also are as mistrusting of other people as the gloomy "slackers" of Generation X were 20 years ago — or even more so.
-
Is It Irrational For Carmelo Anthony To Take So Many Three Pointers?
Forbes: A jab to the right, then Carmelo steps back behind the three-point line and launches a shot. It clanks off the back of the rim. How likely is he to be the next person on his team to attempt a shot? And what are the odds that his follow-up shot will come from behind the arc? NBA players are paid enormous sums of money to make good decisions on the basketball court. To thrive in the league, they learn to pick their spots. Some players know they should avoid three-pointers at all costs, some only take such shots when they are wide open and can set their feet, and others (Steph Curry being a great example) have a green light to toss up three-pointers just about whenever they desire.
