education

Practice may not always make perfect, but a novel study of Midwestern middle school science students suggests it just might. New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that students who received three quizzes on content questions before a unit test performed at the “A” level on those test questions, compared with a “C” level on questions that were not quizzed beforehand but still on the test.

By the time they reach school age, one in 20 children have hearing loss in one ear. That can raise significant hurdles for these children, say the results of a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, because loss of hearing in one ear hurts their ability to comprehend and use language. 

Michael M. Awad, MD, Joan Rosenbaum, MD, and Gladys Tse, MD, have been chosen for the 2010-12 Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellowships at the School of Medicine.

A flurry of recent research has documented that talking on a cell phone poses a dangerous distraction for drivers and others whose attention should be focused elsewhere. Now, a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology finds that just the ring of a cell phone may be equally distracting, especially when it comes in a classroom setting or includes a familiar song as a ringtone.

Steven C. Hause, Ph.D., senior scholar in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the Innovative Entrepreneurship Education Course Award from the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship for his course, “Economic History and Entrepreneurialism in Modern Western Civilization.”

Photo by Joe AngelesHarry and Susan Seigle Hall.Seigle Hall’s dedication marks a significant milestone in ongoing efforts to encourage and facilitate interdisciplinary work between the social sciences and Washington University School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Physics has a reputation for being the toughest of the high school science courses. But visual models of motion, acceleration, waves, projectiles and other principles help students of all ages build an understanding of physical science concepts. For Jack Wiegers, biology instructor, and Patrick Gibbons, Ph.D., professor of physics, these ideas are a key part of science for students from kindergarten through grade 12. The pair instructs four Science Outreach graduate courses in physical science designed for K-8 teachers. They’ve also worked with high school teachers in short workshops and in year-long professional learning communities.

Learning something once — like the fact that berg means mountain in German — and studying it over and over again may do little to help you remember it in the future. The key to future recall, suggests a new WUSTL study, is how often over time you actively practice retrieving that information from memory.

The Missouri Senate approved a bill Feb. 26 that would make it easier for people to switch jobs to become teachers. But if enacted, would the bill increase teacher quality in the state? Probably not, says an expert in science and mathematics education at Washington University in St. Louis.

Learning something once — like the fact that berg means mountain in German — and studying it over and over again may do little to help you remember it in the future. The key to future recall, suggests a new study from Washington University, is how often over time you actively practice retrieving that information from memory.