https://phys.org/science-news/education/ en-us Phys.org provides latest news on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education Students who open a personal social media account earlier in adolescence appear to perform worse on later standardized tests, according to a study in Nature Human Behaviour based on 5,227 Italian students. The authors speculate that these differences may be attributable to excessive social media engagement and disruptions to students' attention. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-kids-social-media-earlier-worse.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:40:06 EDT news704980981 How do students actually use AI learning assistants? A new research paper by IU International University of Applied Sciences provides the first robust answers to this question. For the study "Using AI-based Learning Assistants in Higher Education: A Large-Scale Descriptive Analysis," the research team led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kristina Schaaff, Dr. Valerie Hekkel and Quintus Stierstorfer analyzed anonymized usage data from approximately 77,000 IU online students who were using the Learning Companion Syntea at the time of the study. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-mirrors-student-online-learners.html Education Sun, 02 Aug 2026 10:20:01 EDT news704721316 A scientific paper reads as a clean progression from question to result. And yet, research almost never happens that way. Experiments fail, conversations redirect projects, and none of it survives into print. When the founders of a field retire, their tacit knowledge goes with them, and nothing records that it existed. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-inverting-seminar-recover-scientific-papers.html Education Fri, 31 Jul 2026 05:00:01 EDT news704619901 Currently popular biographies of famous scientists may demotivate—rather than inspire—children's desire to study or pursue careers in science, according to researchers who studied the messages in 422 bestselling children's books. Study leader Jessica Gladstone, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said that while parents and educators often use these books to try to spark children's interest in science through exposure to role models, their narratives tend not to support this goal. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-biographies-demotivate-children-science.html Social Sciences Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:20:07 EDT news704474581 A puzzle that can tell players how fast they think on their feet has been developed by a University of Leeds researcher. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-psychologist-puzzle-fast.html Social Sciences Tue, 28 Jul 2026 07:40:02 EDT news704442961 School cellphone bans might seem like a good way to improve learning for elementary school children, but new research published in Behavioral Sciences shows that simply owning a cellphone correlates with worse reading comprehension. Whether a child brings the phone to school made no difference in reading comprehension, the team of UCLA psychologists and researchers found. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-kids-cellphones-poorer-comprehension-scores.html Social Sciences Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:50:01 EDT news704390462 A learner stands in a room with a bottle, a cup and a book. The task is to figure out, step by step, where each object belongs in the room. Under the table? Or perhaps on the chair? A humanoid robot gives the instructions—but in Swahili, a language the learner does not know. To solve the puzzle, the learner must gradually decipher what the robot is saying. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-robot.html Social Sciences Fri, 24 Jul 2026 16:00:02 EDT news704120005 Early-career funding has a bigger impact on women than men when it comes to their careers in science, according to a new study from City St George's, University of London. While the study found that successful applicants in both groups secure more future research funding than unsuccessful applicants, it also found that successful female applicants receive more citations and are cited more often in their field than female applicants who did not receive funding. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-early-career-funding-scientific-citations.html Economics & Business Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:20:01 EDT news703781521 The worry of becoming stupid isn't new; it dates back to the time of the Greek philosopher Socrates, who insisted that writing would destroy memory and weaken the mind. Then came calculators, GPS and computers, all of which again raised concerns that we might forget basic mental skills and lose the battle against cognitive offloading. Cognitive offloading is the act of reducing mental effort by using external tools or aids to handle tasks that have historically relied solely on memory or internal processing. A similar sentiment is being observed with the advent of AI. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-stupid-weaken-skills-built.html Mathematics Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:10:01 EDT news703760650 Studies published in prestigious academic journals receive more attention from scholars and media outlets, shaping public discourse and potentially accelerating academic careers. While the path to publication is often murky, a new analysis of more than 110,000 papers submitted to Science and Science Advances—two leading journals published by the world's largest general science association—reveals that Western scientists, larger teams, top-ranked universities and select regions have slight advantages in acceptance rates. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-reveals-editorial-trends-science-journals.html Education Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:30 EDT news703325741 Scientists from prestigious universities and large research groups are significantly more likely to have their research published in general-interest, top-tier scientific journals. Meanwhile, authors based in China and those studying politics, economics, gender or other social issues face a significant disadvantage. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-analysis-prestige-topic-published.html Social Sciences Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news703318133 Imagine opening a difficult book in a quiet room. The first page is dense. You read one paragraph, then reread it. Nothing "clicks" yet. Your brain is doing what learning often requires: spending effort before the reward arrives. Then your phone lights up. One thumb movement, and the situation changes completely. A joke, a message, a clip, a tiny social reward: all available instantly, all requiring almost no effort. The book has not become harder and, definitely, your intelligence has not disappeared. But the book now feels more expensive, because another activity nearby offers a much better bargain: reward now, effort almost zero. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-instant-digital-rewards-hard-worthwhile.html Social Sciences Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:40:01 EDT news702221821 Reading difficulties, like dyslexia, are common and often affect achievement and outcomes during school and later in life. A new study, published in Current Biology, reports that current methods used to test for reading disabilities in young children may be missing a certain subgroup of children whose reading issues stem from visual-processing difficulties. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-language-based-screeners-kids-struggle.html Education Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:00:01 EDT news701522868 In the minds of many people, math lives in the classroom—on blackboards, in textbooks, and in tests. New research from Amber Simpson, associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership at Binghamton University's College of Community and Public Affairs, shows how math is happening all around us, especially at home, and that families don't even realize the role they play in how children experience mathematics. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-math-lesson-children-kitchen-table.html Education Wed, 17 Jun 2026 21:20:02 EDT news700931562 Can your behavior in third grade predict outcomes in high school and beyond? A new study, published in Developmental Psychology, says yes. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-grade-impulses-linked-academic-adulthood.html Education Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT news700414921 A dribble and a jump shot, followed by a fractions task. That is what physical education classes looked like for a group of pupils, and the pupils not only found the lessons more engaging than usual—they also became better at mathematics with a basketball in their hands, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-basketball-mathematics-children-boost-math.html Mathematics Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:40:04 EDT news700308601 A major new study led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London has revealed that noncognitive skills—such as motivation, curiosity, academic interest and self-belief—play a key role in translating children's genetic dispositions into academic achievement. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-children-attitudes-play-key-role.html Education Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:40:05 EDT news700233370 Recent technological advances and the introduction of new digital media platforms have dramatically changed how people learn and source information about topics that interest them. Some recent studies have found that while browsing online or scrolling down social media platforms, users tend to spend under one minute on average on individual videos. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-short-videos-hinder-fragmenting-attention.html Education Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:40:04 EDT news699715452 States with restrictive abortion policies saw slower growth in the proportion of female medical school applicants following the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to a new study published in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Amrit Kirpalani of Western University, Canada, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-abortion-restrictions-female-medical-school.html Social Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:08 EDT news699694141 A new study by researchers at the University of Tokyo explores whether reading manga on paper or on a tablet changes how the brain understands and remembers stories. Participants first read the opening half of a two-part manga story either on paper or on a tablet. Later, while inside an MRI scanner, they read the second half through LCD goggles and answered questions about the story. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-manga-brain-storytelling-advantage.html Education Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:01 EDT news699706839 Italians are famous for speaking with their hands. But a new international study suggests that when it comes to teaching children, adults everywhere instinctively become more expressive with their gestures—even in cultures known for gesturing less. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-italians-dutch-gestural-instinct-reveals.html Social Sciences Thu, 28 May 2026 17:40:01 EDT news699194041 The citations at the end of a research paper should represent a solid foundation of existing knowledge about a particular field, a pool of peer-reviewed sources built over years of research and study. However, with the increasing use of AI and large language models in writing research papers, there's a growing chance that the citation someone clicks on may not even exist, and that the study, the source, or even the researchers themselves could be entirely fake. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-generated-fake-citations-scientific.html Education Mon, 18 May 2026 12:40:06 EDT news698316483 As more people—including researchers—use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in their writing, it's becoming increasingly important to define what plagiarism looks like and how to police it. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-policing-plagiarism-ideas-generative-ai.html Education Mon, 18 May 2026 09:58:38 EDT news698317071 For decades, researchers have documented an achievement gap between children from higher- and lower-income families. On average, children with more resources perform better in school and on cognitive tests. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-child-environment-brain-problems.html Social Sciences Thu, 14 May 2026 12:14:38 EDT news697979641 The sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, currently in theaters, is capturing the attention of both audiences and the scientific community for its science-based content. It manages to engage viewers with complex, cutting-edge topics—from astrophysics to language—without sacrificing entertainment. Yet not all films strike this balance. Many have promoted inaccurate or even misleading scientific ideas, and, thanks to their wide reach, have contributed to shaping distorted public perceptions of science. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-cinema-effect-gateway-science.html Education Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:01 EDT news697727761 A new Columbia University School of Nursing AI-assisted audit reveals nearly 3,000 peer-reviewed medical papers have fake citations that do not exist in scientific databases. The results highlight an alarming trend in academic publishing as the use of AI grows. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-peer-medical-papers-fake-citations.html Education Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:03 EDT news697447922 For decades, the common explanation for why children struggle to read has stayed remarkably consistent. Smart kids read well. Kids who don't simply aren't smart enough. And when children strain over a page, the assumption has often been that something about how they see the text is getting in the way. By this logic, reading comes down to intelligence and visual processing. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-years-struggles-obvious-massive-analysis.html Education Thu, 07 May 2026 19:00:08 EDT news697377932 You probably know that Einstein changed the face of physics with his theory of relativity in his twenties. What you may not know is that he spent his later career on a crusade against quantum mechanics, the model that would go on to drive the next century of advances in the field. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nostalgia-effect-scientists-disruptive-age.html Education Thu, 07 May 2026 17:50:02 EDT news697391521 Millions of students worldwide have long relied on self-paced learning through pre-recorded video lectures, a model that forms the backbone of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and large-scale online education. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, dependence on video-based online learning has increased significantly, with learner participation rising sharply. However, this expansion has also been accompanied by a widespread decline in student engagement, undermining overall learning outcomes. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-human-teachers-pre-chat.html Education Wed, 06 May 2026 13:00:04 EDT news697285561 Artificial intelligence can undoubtedly help scientists with their academic papers by summarizing research and helping to improve writing. However, one downside is that it has led to a wave of poorly written submissions and reviews, according to a new study published in Organization Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-journal-ai-academic-publishing-quality.html Other Fri, 01 May 2026 14:40:06 EDT news696849537