by Laura Maniglia | May 11, 2022 | attention & focus, cognitive skills, instruction, language
The United States is becoming increasingly bilingual. As of 2021 approximately 20% of Americans spoke more than one language. Studies show that being bilingual has cognitive advantages.Data from 63 studies indicated that bilingualism is associated with...
by Laura Maniglia | May 3, 2022 | academic standing, active learning, attention & focus, cognitive skills, creativity, learning, mindset, non-cognitive skills, parents
Providing music training to children has positive associations with brain development. An important distinction exists, however, between simply listening to music and engaging in music practice. In 1993, a study called “The Mozart Effect,” asserted that simply...
by Laura Maniglia | Apr 27, 2022 | academic standing, Admissions, students, testing
More than 1300 colleges and universities have instituted test-optional policies since 2020. Most of these institutions accept about 64% of the applicants. Prior to the pandemic, MIT’s admission acceptance rate was 7%, making it the most selective college in the...
by Laura Maniglia | Apr 18, 2022 | active learning, attention & focus, cognitive skills, instruction, language, learning, student engagement, teachers
Cognitive skills are crucial for success in life. “Comprehending and producing language are among the most complex of human cognitive skills.” Being able to produce effective, clear writing requires the writer to understand the language rules. This...
by Laura Maniglia | Apr 5, 2022 | academic standing, active learning, cognitive skills, instruction, language, metacognition, public schools, Vocabulary
Critical thinking involves actively analyzing and evaluating information: thinking about a topic in an objective way. These skills are important for success in school and in life. Learning critical thinking can help students to expand their...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 29, 2022 | academic standing, cognitive skills, language, learning, metacognition, testing, writing
The College Board recently announced that the SAT will discontinue the optional essay. Their reason for the change: adapting to the “ new realities and changes to the college admissions process . . . and to reduce demands on students.” Curiously, a 2006 College...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 19, 2022 | academic standing, active learning, attention & focus, classroom management, cognitive skills, instruction, learning, metacognition, retrieval practice, study skills
In order for teachers to evaluate their students’ learning, they usually schedule assessments. However, not all assessments are equally valuable for learning. High stakes testing such as midterms, end-terms, and standardized tests do little to aid either teaching or...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 10, 2022 | attention & focus, Child development, cognitive skills, learning, parents, teachers
Keep those digital devices out of the hands of young children! Exposing children as young as 2 to media including television, tablets, and smartphones can have significant consequences on brain development. The National Institute of Health and the American...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 6, 2022 | academic standing, active learning, attention & focus, cognitive skills, instruction, learning, note-taking, teachers
Previous blogs centered on strategies that enhance learning, which include interleaving, spacing, and retrieval. These are examples of “desirable difficulties,” the concept that students need tasks that challenge them to the right degree in order to learn best. They...
by Laura Maniglia | Feb 26, 2022 | cognitive skills, creativity, interpersonal relations, learning, non-cognitive skills, reading, SEL, student engagement
People generally read non-fiction to acquire information. Non-fiction encourages questioning and critical thinking and builds vocabulary. Starting children reading non-fiction will prepare them for the type of reading they will do as adults. Non-fiction texts make up...
