Social media and the isolation of the pandemic have altered every aspect of reading for the general public. No matter where you look—Youtube, Instagram, TikTok and even X—all have thriving communities of readers who recommend each other books, discuss the newest flashy fiction release, and build their personal libraries. Videos with trope-based recommendations, massive book hauls, and gargantuan reading goals are the norm. [...]
Why the boom? Homeschooling has only been around (legally) for about 30 years or so in the states and has steadily increased in use—though after 2020 and a pandemic that forced traditional schools to close their doors, a boom occurred.[1] The percentage of homeschooled students nearly doubled, from being only about 2.5%-3% of school-age children to almost 6%.[2] But what has spurred such rapid [...]
General Overview So, what exactly do studies surrounding the idea of listening to music while reading cover? Well, many studies examine how and if there are benefits, and also observe the negative effects that it may have on an individual. In some cases, music has shown to have helped mitigate anxiety, making it useful when reading in an environment containing potential stressors.[1] On [...]
What is Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Why is it Important? The use of Social Emotional Learning in classroom settings aims to provide both teachers and students with the necessary foundational skills, such as emotional competency and compassion, in order to excel within these environments. Within the Journal of Psychologists and Counselors in Schools, it claims that the success of SEL programs heavily [...]
What Factors Influence This Decline? Schools are seeing a continuous decrease in positive mental health attributes in their K-12 students, an issue that affects their well-being in the classroom and negatively impacts their personal and academic growth. As detailed within the American Psychological Association digital magazine - Monitor on Psychology, author Zara Abrams explains the various difficulties faced by students currently that contribute [...]
What is Microlearning? Technology has evolved rather rapidly in the last five years or so, and with these advancements, new helpful tools have emerged for education. One such “tool” is microlearning. Microlearning is a teaching and studying method that encompasses a variety of effective short-form mediums used at the learner's convenience that takes into account short attention spans.[1] These bursts of information tend to [...]
Introduction As the world grows increasingly interconnected and interdependent, many educators are calling to strengthen the global citizenship education of K-12 students. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines global citizenship education, or GCED, as “a framing paradigm which encapsulates how education can develop the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes learners need for securing a world which is more just, [...]
Introduction Extended reality, commonly abbreviated as XR, is an umbrella term that refers to three main technologies that combine the physical world with created digital worlds: virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). While all three technologies fall under the XR term, they differ in the extent to which they immerse their user; VR is a completely immersive experience, typically [...]
Introduction “Learning styles” is a pedagogical term that encompasses the many theories of how learners take in information, especially in the classroom. A foundational concept for learning styles theories is that individuals have different, and preferred, ways of learning. Many theories go further and posit that an individual’s learning can be optimized by customizing their education to fit their preferred style[1]. Specifically, we [...]
Introduction Over the past decade or so, Artificial Intelligence a.k.a. AI has taken the world by storm—some people are fully in support of AI’s many capabilities, while others argue that it does more harm than good. AI refers to machines' capability to learn through artificial neural networks that resemble humans’ [1]. However, AI is still in its infancy, and it’s difficult to tell [...]