Mohamed_hassan / Pixabay

I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature.

You can see all my “Best” lists related to education research here.

Here are some new useful studies (and related resources):

This excerpt comes from Edutopia’s “Research is In” email.  Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to just link to it (even though I suggested they allow their email to be read in a browser).  I’m adding this info to The Best Ideas For Helping Students Connect Lessons To Their Interests & The World and to Best Posts On “Motivating” Students:

Scientific fields like astronomy and zoology inspire wonder and draw inquisitive young dreamers to these disciplines.

But when many of these aspiring scientists enter college, they lose their nerve and choose a different path—not because classes are too difficult, but because “the material can feel disconnected from the goals that brought them there in the first place,” a new study reveals.

Building on previous studies, researchers set out to see if simple writing exercises could keep college students interested in STEM degrees. Roughly 2,500 students taking an introductory chemistry course—notorious for driving students out of science—were split into 2 groups. One wrote short essays linking course material to personal goals and societal benefits, while the other simply summarized previous lessons.

Years later, students who connected class material to purpose were 4 percentage points more likely to graduate with a STEM degree than their peers. For Black, Latino, and some other underrepresented students, that number jumped by 14 points, to 69%. 

Students often gravitate toward science because they want “intellectually stimulating jobs” that address big problems like climate change, the researchers explain. Simple activities that infuse purpose into academic work—talking to mentors or writing out goals, for example—have a long track record of keeping students focused and engaged.

Does screen use lead to socioemotional problems in children, or do socioemotional problems prompt children to engage in more screen time? Both, concludes a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, and both effects are small (open) psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202…

[image or embed]

— Dan Willingham (@dtwuva.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 11:49 AM

Believe it or not, some people, particularly those who opposed teachers getting tenure, claimed that after the first few years teachers stopped improving. Ridiculous, I know! Research debunked that dumb idea a few years ago, and now a new study debunks it further.

Research Bite #28: Teaching to the test: Unraveling the consequences for student motivation is from Tips For Teachers.