Any college student can tell you that iPods took over most college campuses soon after they were introduced. Walking across campus, if students aren’t on their cell phone, they are probably listening to music on some variety of Apple’s iPod. But recently, colleges have started embracing the trend and attempting to use it for academic purposes.

“When they aren’t dancing, those familiar iPod silhouettes are probably hunkered down in the classroom, where the devices have become a common learning tool.

More than 70 million iPods have been sold since they were introduced by Apple more than five years ago. Now, with the MP3 player’s foothold in academia, universities and companies are quickly expanding the amount of study materials students can use with them. (more…)

The following article written by Richard Morin and published in the Washington Post explores a study that identifies a psychological “stereotype threat” as the real culprit behind the gender gap in certain school subjects.

Strange but true: Women score much lower on math tests if they are first asked unrelated questions about gender issues. The phenomenon is called “stereotype threat” — a kind of performance anxiety discovered in 1995 when psychologists found that black students at Stanford University did significantly worse on intelligence tests if they were first asked to identify their race on the test form.

Since then, dozens of other experiments have confirmed that subtly cuing women or minorities to think subconsciously about their sex or race causes them do poorly in areas where the stereotype suggests they are weak. (more…)

For years, educators have been debating the one-size-fits all method to public education. But with limited resources and full-to-capacity classrooms, teaching to the most common learning styles often prevails at the expense of a few students.

While teachers might not be able to cator to each learning style, parents — the initial and primary teacher — can both identify and play to the learning styles of each child.

“Determining your child’s learning style is no more complicated than figuring out what kind of books he likes or the types of games he likes to play. There are three main ways people learn: by listening, looking, or doing. Your child might lean heavily on one of these modes, or he might use a combination. Here’s how to figure it out.”

A recent article by Parenting contributing editor Jeannie Ralston that ran on CNN.com addresses the need and benefits of identifying each child’s learning styles, and teaching to those styles. (more…)

The following story about transitioning from high school to college was provided by Brian Quick.

The reason most students attend college is to get a degree. Beyond that, they want to expand their knowledge, they want to learn, and they want to belong. To that end, there are 10 things college students should do to get the most out of their college experiences.

10. Try not to take on too much responsibility. Now, this doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for your own success, it just means take advantage of study groups with your peers and extra study periods set aside by professors. You need to work hard, but help is out there for people who want it.

9. Don’t wait too long to pick a major. You don’t need to know what you want to do with your life during your freshman year, but you should at least be thinking about it. By sophomore year you should have it narrowed down, and by junior year you should have your major decided and be taking classes heading in that direction. Don’t panic if you really can’t decide – you can always change it later. Just don’t take random classes while aimlessly going through school. (more…)

There has been a lot of talk lately about the growing crisis of education for male students. According to a University of Michigan study, the number of boys who said they didn’t like school rose 71 percent between 1980 and 2001. This discontent with education has spilled onto college campuses where male students are only 44 percent of the college population, down from 58 percent thirty years ago.

Newsweek ran a story highlighting the problem in its Jan. 30, 2006 issue. While the story introduced some to the challenges of educating boys, it only reiterated what many high school counselors, administrators and teachers already know to be true. And it has caused many to take action.

“Helping underperforming boys has become our core mission,” said Gates Foundation Education Director, Jim Shelton.
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An educational trend gaining momentum in America is to return to single-gender classrooms. For many years, schools in Chicago and New York have operated pilot programs for elementary and middle schools. But do single-gender schools better serve students? And if so, should high schools adopt the practice?

Newsweek weighed in on the matter in an article that appeared in the September 19, 2005 issue.

Three years ago, Jeff Gray, the principal at Foust Elementary School in Owensboro, Ky., realized that his school needed help - and fast. Test scores at Foust were the worst in the county and the students, particularly the boys, were falling far behind. So Gray took a controversial course for educators on brain development, then revamped the first- and second-grade curriculum. The biggest change: he divided the classes by gender.
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With the beginning of school comes homework. And, in many cases, more of it than in the past. High school students are signing up for advanced placement, IB and college-credit courses through dual enrollment at record numbers. Knowing where to go to get homework help is a necessity.

Many online services provide homework helping in everything from math and physics to health and English. While the majority of these services are free, some do charge for answers. Others offer free help, but none of them will do the homework assignment for you. Instead, they point you in the right direction to find the answer, or help explain assignments so that you grasp the concepts.
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According to an Indiana University report, the average student only studies for about 20 minutes a day. Increasing study time alone is not the answer to improving grades. Learning how to study to both learn and retain information is just as important. In fact, students who develop good study skills, spend less time studying. That is the premise behind the book Seven Secrets of How to Study, written by Dr. Stephen Jones, Director of the Metropolitan Career Center Computer Technology Institute in Philadelphia.

Dr. Jones recommends that a student should approach each class with an optimistic attitude and outstanding preparation. Each student must have a plan to get organized after the first day of school, which is critical to a student’s success. A student should prepare for classes they will have next semester by reading text books a semester before enrolling in a class. This student is positioning him/herself to break down some of the barriers they may have experienced on the first day of class.

For more information, visit his website at www.sevensecrets-books.com