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Research -- StepUp to Learn

New Experiences Enhance Learning by Resetting Key Brain Circuit

New Experiences Enhance Learning by Resetting Key Brain Circuit

A study of spatial learning in mice shows that exposure to new experiences dampens established representations in the brain’s hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, allowing the mice to learn new navigation strategies.

Posted in Engagement, Learning & Memory, Memory, Motivation, Neuroscience

Blink! The Link Between Aerobic Fitness and Cognition

Blink! The Link Between Aerobic Fitness and Cognition

Researchers have found evidence that spontaneous eye blink activity, which reflects activity in the dopaminergic system, explains the connection between fitness and cognitive function.

Posted in Education, Engagement, Language, Learning & Memory, Mathematics, Memory, Motivation, Movement & Exercise, Neuroscience

We Hear What We Want to Hear

We Hear What We Want to Hear

New findings on the importance of anticipation in brain organization, specifically in auditory processing.
Posted in Attention, Language, Learning & Memory, Motivation, Neuroscience

Children With Dyslexia Show Stronger Emotional Responses

Children With Dyslexia Show Stronger Emotional Responses

Dyslexia is much more complex than just a weakness in reading skills.
Posted in Education, Motivation, Neuroscience, Reading Skills, Social Development

How Our Brains Know When Something's Different

How Our Brains Know When Something's Different

Scientists discovered how a set of high frequency brain waves may help us unconsciously know when something's different by comparing memories of the past with present experiences.
Posted in Attention, Engagement, Learning & Memory, Memory, Motivation, Neuroscience

Worth it? How the Brain Decides to Make an Effort

Worth it? How the Brain Decides to Make an Effort

A new understanding of motivation: How your brain weighs the costs versus the benefits of making a physical effort.
Posted in Engagement, Motivation, Movement & Exercise, Neuroscience, Technology

Playfulness Can Be Trained - Here's Why You Should Do It

Playfulness Can Be Trained - Here's Why You Should Do It

Playfulness is a personality trait that is expressed differently in people. "Particularly playful people have a hard time dealing with boredom....
Posted in Engagement, Health & Wellness, Motivation, Social Development, Social Skills

Young Children Would Rather Explore Than Get Rewards

Young Children Would Rather Explore Than Get Rewards

Young children will pass up rewards they know they can collect to explore other options, a new study suggests. Researchers found that when adults and 4- to 5-year-old children played a game where certain choices earned them rewards, both adults and children quickly learned what choices would give them the biggest returns. But while adults then used that knowledge to maximize their prizes, children continued exploring the other options.
Posted in Attention, Engagement, Motivation, Social Skills

Academic Achievement Is Influenced by How Pupils 'Do' Gender at School

Academic Achievement Is Influenced by How Pupils 'Do' Gender at School

Pupils' achievements at school are often shaped by the way that they 'act out' specific gender roles, according to a new study which warns against over-generalizing the gender gap in education.
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Motivation, Social Development

Achievement Gaps May Explain Racial Overrepresentation in Special Education

Achievement Gaps May Explain Racial Overrepresentation in Special Education

School districts may be flagged as over-identifying students of color as having disabilities when other factors, such as achievement gaps, may explain these disparities.
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Mathematics, Motivation, Reading Skills, School Readiness

Rethinking Role of Technology in the Classroom

Rethinking Role of Technology in the Classroom

Study finds added access can lead to decrease in students' academic motivation. Engagement "is more than a matter of providing children with access to the latest electronic devices."
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Motivation, Social Skills, Technology

Elementary school student support leads to lower high school dropout

Elementary school student support leads to lower high school dropout

Elementary-school students who participated in a comprehensive support intervention in the Boston public school district had about half the odds of dropping out of high school as students not in the intervention.
Posted in Education, Engagement, Health & Wellness, Motivation, School Readiness, Social Development