For Students

Given the harmful effects of excessive smartphone use, researchers have investigated the effects of reducing smartphone use. A recent study by Brailovskaia and colleagues (2022) examined the effects of smartphone use reduction and abstinence on well-being (3). A total of 619 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Abstinence, Reduction, or Control. The…

By Megan SumerackiThis week, March 21-27, 2022, is Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Siena Castellon founded Neurodiversity Celebration in 2018. In Siena’s words, the week was founded because “I wanted to change the way learning differences are perceived. As a teenager who is autistic and has ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, my experience has been that people often…

References(1) Kruger, J., Wirtz, D., & Miller, D. T. (2005). Counterfactual thinking and the first instinct fallacy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(5), 725.(2) Merry, J. W., Elenchin, M. K., & Surma, R. N. (2021). Should students change their answers on multiple choice questions?. Advances in Physiology Education, 45(1), 182-190.(3) Couchman, J. J., Miller,…

Dr. James Culhane earned his B.A. in Chemistry from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. Following the completion of his doctoral degree, he accepted a faculty appointment in the Department of Pharmaceutical…

By Carolina Kuepper-TetzelIn education many students and staff report experiencing mental health and wellbeing challenges at some point in their studies or their work - often for prolonged periods. The pandemic has contributed to the burden on mental health many students and teachers were already facing – and they often must wait for a long…

By Carolina Kuepper-TetzelOur entire website is dedicated to improving study skills in students and supporting their learning. In today’s digest, we would like to present five resources for exam preparation. Exams are coming up in most educational settings and they come in a variety of formats: Multiple-choice questions, essay questions, closed-book format, open-books format, and…

The methods used by the researchers were reasonably straightforward. Over a series of nine experiments, they introduced participants to affect stimuli (pictures and videos chosen to elicit emotions that were either negative, neutral, or positive). Each set of experiments randomly put participants into one of two groups. The first experienced cognitive tasks referred to as…

Researchers had all participants watch a video lecture on Zoom and then take a quiz. The participants were split into three conditions. Group 1 had all screens off (no one in the class could see themselves or anyone else). Group 2 had only their own screen off (they could see the rest of the class).…

By Megan SumerackiI have been learning a lot about neurodiversity and the way we think about divergence vs. disorders. I have appreciated learning about these areas so much, and have appreciated the opportunities to hear experts and those who have experience with neurodiversity (many different types of experiences!) discuss these issues. For example, our most…

By Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel and Chiara HorlinFor today’s digest I teamed up with Dr Chiara Horlin who is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Psychology at the University of Glasgow and an expert in neurodiversity and what role it plays in education. She has co-founded The Neurodiversity Network (see below) as a resource to support and represent…