Welcome to this new ISN article series focusing on research news for the international education community
Do we have an instinct for mathematics? And can you move your teaching inside a video game? In our first ISN Research Roundup article, we have gathered some news pieces from the world of education research that we think will provide food for thought or generate interesting discussions among the community.
Minecraft, Multilingualism and Maths
1. How intuitive is maths? A study found that even children who could not recognise the division symbol or solve simple divisions, were able to successfully perform approximate division tasks.
Read more here.
2. Students sometimes daydream of being somewhere else instead of school – and so do teachers (let’s be honest!) But what if you could teach inside a videogame? Researchers at Concordia University argue you can teach almost any subject inside Minecraft…
Read more here.
3. Being multilingual is certainly akin to having a superpower, but does it help at school? Research conducted in England found that pupils who self-identified as multilingual performed better on their exams.
Read more here.
4. Can we learn by accident? Research studies found that people can learn simply by being exposed to the target material or objects. But is it enough? A study found that incidental exposure (with no intention of learning) preps the brain for learning – but explicit teaching still has a key role to play.
Read more here.
5. How do you cultivate your students’ interest in foreign languages? Language teachers won’t be surprised to hear that a study conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge found that parents, and their attitude towards languages, are key to students’ motivation – far more than teachers and friends.
Read more here.
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