https://phys.org/science-news/education/ en-us Phys.org provides latest news on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education Learning a second language is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, with millions of people turning to digital tools and mobile applications to pick up a new language at their own pace. But what makes some more popular or effective than others? https://phys.org/news/2026-04-memory-language.html Education Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:20:01 EDT news695463422 A new study finds teachers tend to provide assistance to similar subsets of students when using AI-powered educational tools, rather than touching base regularly with everyone in their classes. The findings could be used to develop tools that help teachers track their classroom interactions to ensure they are giving each student the attention they need. The paper is published on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-teachers-tend-kids-ai-powered.html Education Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:10:01 EDT news694788175 Findings from the Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE) program—a collaborative effort involving 865 researchers—have been published in Nature as a collection of three papers alongside a release of five additional preprints. The SCORE program offers new empirical evidence on the reproducibility, robustness, and replicability of research across the social and behavioral sciences, and the predictability of replicability. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-replicate.html Social Sciences Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:00:16 EDT news694187761 Students across education levels have a blind spot for identifying situations that might bring their academic integrity into questionable territory, a study finds. When navigating questions on citation, collaboration, and data collection, students in higher education struggle to identify the gray zones in academic practice. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-college-students-struggle-problematic-gray.html Education Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:40:04 EDT news694179662 To date, the main role of AI in scientific research has been to assist with narrow tasks such as discovering chemical structures, analyzing data or predicting protein shapes. But now, the technology has broken new ground with a fully AI-generated paper passing peer review at a major machine-learning conference workshop. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ai-paper-peer.html Other Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:40:06 EDT news694094745 A new study published in Nature Communications finds that worldwide, people with higher levels of education are more culturally similar to those in Canada, the U.S., U.K., and other Anglo, industrialized countries and countries in Western Europe. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-student-samples-higher-shift-values.html Social Sciences Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:40:05 EDT news693819422 Analysis of two decades of student data at a large U.S. university suggests that grade inflation exists in graduate education. Researcher Vivien Lee and colleagues at the University of Minnesota, U.S., present these findings in the journal PLOS One. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-significant-grade-inflation-decades-worth.html Education Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:00:03 EDT news693587581 When holidays or pandemics shut down schools, gender differences in children's reading habits widen; boys stop reading, while girls continue, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. The researchers say their findings suggest that boys are more dependent on school routines and expectations than girls. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-boys-ditch-schools-girls.html Social Sciences Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:00:01 EDT news693570698 When we learn something new, that information does not exist in isolation. It integrates into the complex landscape of our knowledge, forging connections with existing ideas and opening up possibilities for new learning. In a study in Nature Communications, Dartmouth researchers report a mathematical technique for mapping the unique landscape of a student's conceptual knowledge from their performance on short multiple-choice quizzes. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-mathematical-framework-landscape-student-knowledge.html Mathematics Tue, 24 Mar 2026 06:00:02 EDT news693488653 To engage audiences and help keep their attention, many public speakers sprinkle their speeches with a little humor. It's a useful tool, but something that scientists rarely use, according to a report into humor at science conferences published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. And when jokes are told, they often fall flat, with most attempts earning only polite chuckles. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-scientists-humor-conferences.html Social Sciences Mon, 23 Mar 2026 10:20:03 EDT news693479327 Research by Cardiff University has found that playing with Barbie dolls can help reach key milestones in developing empathy and social understanding during childhood. Doll play was found to be beneficial for both boys and girls, and is particularly valuable for those experiencing problems with their peers. The work appears in PLOS One. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dolls-tablets-social-week.html Social Sciences Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:50:01 EDT news693071881 Employment can be a powerful gateway to independence, dignity, and belonging. Yet for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), that gateway remains limited. Although work supports better health, social connection, and a sense of purpose, only about 15% of individuals with IDD are employed in competitive, integrated work settings. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-augmented-reality-job-boosts-people.html Economics & Business Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:40:01 EDT news692444443 David Cutler is in the spotlight for his work on a tasty-sounding mathematics problem. In January, the New York Times featured a research paper authored by Cutler and Neil Sloane, the founder of The On-line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. Titled "Cutting a Pancake with an Exotic Knife," the paper explores the "lazy caterer problem," or how to cut a pancake or other circular object into the most pieces with the fewest cuts. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-student-fresh-solutions-pancake-problem.html Mathematics Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:20:01 EDT news692362537 A new study from researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finds that middle and high school students spend nearly one-third of the school day on their smartphones, checking them dozens of times, often for social media and entertainment, with frequent checking linked to weaker attention and impulse control. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-teens-school-day-smartphones-frequent.html Education Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:00:05 EDT news692017561 When scientists employ generative AI tools like ChatGPT to help with tasks such as editing and translation for their academic writing, many journals now ask them to disclose this assistance. The rules are intended to maintain transparency in scientific publishing. But many researchers are failing to acknowledge their reliance on these programs, according to a new report published in the journal PNAS. Yongyuan He and Yi Bu at the Department of Information Management, Peking University, analyzed more than 5.2 million papers published in 5,114 journals between 2021 and 2025. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-scientists-ai-disclose.html Other Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:01 EST news692010988 After years of research, teaching, and service, a faculty member's tenure and future in academia hinge on the evaluations of their peers—senior faculty who serve on promotion and tenure committees. These evaluations can make or break a career—deciding whether a faculty member continues to grow in their field or faces an abrupt halt in their career. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-decision-nudges-racial-equity-tenure.html Social Sciences Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:40:02 EST news691159141 A new AI coach for scientists has been shown to significantly improve the quality of peer reviews, making them clearer and more helpful for authors. Peer review is essential to ensuring the integrity of scientific publications, but many researchers are dissatisfied with the quality of the feedback they receive. Common complaints include vague, short, and unhelpful reviews. For example, in a survey of 11,800 researchers, only 55.4% of respondents reported being satisfied with the quality of the feedback. The problem is exacerbated by the sheer volume of papers, which has left reviewers feeling overwhelmed. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ai-quality-peer.html Education Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:20:02 EST news691157291 Rapid technological and scientific advances have fueled a huge wave of innovation over the past decades. The speed of global innovation is known to be dependent on the exchange of knowledge and skills between different nations worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-language-barriers-international-diffusion-knowledge.html Social Sciences Sun, 22 Feb 2026 14:10:01 EST news690803397 How well we pay attention while learning is influenced not only by external distractions like background noise but also by internal factors such as how interesting we find the material, according to a study recently published by researchers at Bar-Ilan University. The research recorded brain activity (EEG) and physiological arousal (skin conductance) from 32 participants as they watched a 35-minute educational video lecture. Segments were presented either in quiet or with background construction sounds, either continuous drilling or intermittent air-hammers. Participants repeatedly rated how interesting they found the content and answered comprehension questions to assess their understanding. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-noisy-classroom-engagement-background-noise.html Education Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:00:07 EST news690124108 Scientific findings are in the news. They're cited on food packages and beverage labels. They are discussed in podcasts and argued over by politicians and pundits. And each finding sits within a specific frame. If researchers discover an intervention that affects how people spend discretionary income, for example, they could describe it as a method that increases savings or decreases spending. A medication could be said to increase attention spans or, conversely, decrease attention lapses. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-results-bigger-important.html Social Sciences Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:03:15 EST news689961781 If you are a woman working in biomedical and life sciences, you may have longer to wait for your academic paper to appear in print than a comparable paper authored by a man. According to research published in the journal PLOS Biology, female-authored biomedical and life science articles spend around 7.4% to 14.6% longer under review than male-authored articles. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-female-scientists-longer-papers-published.html Social Sciences Tue, 10 Feb 2026 11:40:07 EST news689942193 Technological advances over the past four decades have turned mobile devices and computers into the world's largest library, where information is just a tap away. Phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches—they're a part of everyday life, simplifying access to entertainment, information, and each other. Ongoing advancements in generative artificial intelligence are giving these technologies even more of an edge. Whether someone asks their device where dinosaurs lived or how accelerated their pulse is, AI can get the information quicker than technology has ever been able to do. Accuracy, on the other hand, is still in question. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-neanderthals-gap-generative-ai-scholarly.html Archaeology Fri, 06 Feb 2026 15:40:01 EST news689608386 Parents often tell their children to sound out the words as they are learning to read. It makes sense: Since they already know how to speak, the sound of a word might serve as a clue to its meaning. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-numbing-mouth-silent.html Education Thu, 05 Feb 2026 13:40:07 EST news689518480 Keeping up with the latest research is vital for scientists, but given that millions of scientific papers are published every year, that can prove difficult. Artificial intelligence systems show promise for quickly synthesizing seas of information, but they still tend to make things up, or "hallucinate." https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ai-openscholar-scientific-cites-sources.html Other Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:00:13 EST news689420235 Math anxiety is a significant challenge for students worldwide. While personalized support is widely recognized as the most effective way to address it, many teachers struggle to deliver this level of support at scale within busy classrooms. New research from Adelaide University shows how artificial intelligence (AI) could help address challenges such as math anxiety by using a student's inputs and identifying signs of anxiety or disengagement during learning. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ai-math-anxiety-student-feedback.html Mathematics Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:40:04 EST news689355145 The advisor-advisee relationship is central to most doctoral education models. Yet not all students trust their advisors. Danfei Hu, Jonathan E. Cook and colleagues sought to examine the importance of this relationship to success and well-being in graduate school. The authors focused on the first year of graduate school, a time in which Ph.D. students adapt to their role as scholars and in which large numbers of students drop out. The study is published in PNAS Nexus. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-phd-advisor-good-grad-school.html Education Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:48:18 EST news688740481 An analysis of data from 200,000 students using a computer-assisted math program supports an optimistic view of skill-focused, mastery-based learning, even with limited use. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-qa-small-amounts-online-math.html Mathematics Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:45:25 EST news688653809 Young children are more inclined to believe incorrect math information from men than accurate information from women, according to a Rutgers University–New Brunswick study published in the journal Developmental Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-gender-bias-math.html Mathematics Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:30:05 EST news687695169 Artificial intelligence promises to accelerate scientific discovery and open new frontiers of inquiry. But new research from James Evans (Faculty Co-Director of Novel Intelligence; Max Palevsky Professor of Sociology & Data Science; and Director of the Knowledge Lab) and colleagues reveals how AI tools are expanding individual scientists' capabilities but narrowing the collective scope of science. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ai-tools-individual-capabilities-scientific.html Social Sciences Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:00:01 EST news687522125 Researchers propose a new citation index that balances productivity and impact in academic publishing. The h-index of citations was introduced in 2005 by physicist Jorge E. Hirsch. This index is defined simply as the maximum number h of an author's published papers with at least h citations each. For example, h = 3 means that there are three papers with 3 or more citations, but if a fourth paper exists, it has fewer than four citations. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-nu-citation-index-bridge-gap.html Mathematics Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:09:44 EST news687521350