It was once a rite of passage for American teenagers: Spend the summer slinging burgers, watching over the frolicking kids at the local pools, hawking apparel at the mall, or babysitting for the neighbor in order to earn a few bucks. But it turns out that fewer teens are taking part in the tradition of obtaining a summer job, despite an apparent plethora of opportunities to do so. [More]
studying
Learn Better By Studying Less And Taking More Tests
By 1.21.11
If you really want to learn something, stop cracking those books as much and take more tests. That’s the upshot of new research published in the journal Science. In it they had students read a chunk of text and then take a test which required them to recall what they read. A week later, they showed a 50% higher retention rate on the information from the passage than students using other techniques. So if you’re paying for your kids to get tutored, make sure they’re having your child do a healthy mix of practice tests and not just studying. [More]
Study: Many Students Learn Little In College
By 1.20.11
A significant chunk of students who seek higher education are just spending a bunch of money to spin their wheels, according to new research that finds many are hardly learning anything. [More]
Study Better By Changing Up Where You Do It
By 9.7.10
For all you going back to school, here’s a good way to get more value out of your education. The classic advice about studying says to find a calm quiet space with a clear work table and always go there to do your work. Create a work zone so when you’re in it, you know you’re supposed to work. But it turns out having some disruption actually improves retention. In one study, students who memorized the same list of words in two different spaces did far better than students who memorized the same list in the same space twice. [More]
