A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
One day last summer, around noon, I called Athena, a 13-year-old who lives in Houston, Texas. She answered her phone—she’s had an iPhone since she was 11—sounding as if she’d just woken up. We chatted about her favorite songs and TV shows, and I asked her what she likes to do with her friends. “We go [...]
Baby Clementine was burning with fever, coughing and sleeping almost around the clock. Her parents, Emily Ritchie and Lachlan Barnes, had no idea their 15-month-old had fallen ill with the flu. Like more than two-thirds of Australian parents, they hadn't immunised their daughter against the potentially deadly virus. The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne has seen an alarming [...]
Higher intelligence (IQ) in childhood is associated with a lower lifetime risk of major causes of death, including heart disease, stroke, smoking related cancers, respiratory disease and dementia, finds a new study. It is the largest study to date reporting causes of death in men and women across the life course, and the findings suggest [...]
A Growing Brain vs. a Static Brain A body of research that began in 2011 suggests that this aversion to mistakes can be a cause of poor learning habits. The research suggested that those of us who have a “growth mindset”—believing that intelligence is malleable—pay more attention to mistakes and treat them as a wake-up [...]
Teaching children according to their individual “learning style” does not achieve better results and should be ditched by schools in favour of evidence-based practice, according to leading scientists. Thirty eminent academics from the worlds of neuroscience, education and psychology have signed a letter to the Guardian voicing their concern about the popularity of the learning [...]
To its critics, it is dangerous pseudoscience. To its supporters, it offers unique insights. What is the future of this controversial psychological test? Victor Norris had reached the final round in his application for a job working with young children, but he still had to undergo a psychological evaluation. Over two long November afternoons, he [...]
If you’ve ever been befuddled by a dream, take heart: You’re following a 4,000-year tradition of confusion. Over that time, humanity — in the form of religion, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience — has actually come to somewhat understand what exactly the mind is doing in its slumbering states. To that end, here are five of the [...]
It is no surprise that many teachers have an interest in neuroscience and psychology since areas such as memory, motivation, curiosity, intelligence and determination are highly important in education. But neuroscience and psychology are complex, nuanced subjects that come with many caveats. Although progress is being made towards understanding what helps and hinders students, there [...]
Pixabay Images The types of books we read may affect how we relate to others How important is reading fiction in socialising school children? Researchers at The New School in New York City have found evidence that literary fiction improves a reader’s capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling. Emanuele [...]
Pixabay Images While brain training games and apps may not live up to their hype, it is well established that certain other activities and lifestyle choices can have neurological benefits that promote overall brain health and may help to keep the mind sharp as we get older. One of these is musical training. [...]
