Literature Affecting Learning

We have hosted a collection of scientific literature that highlights the importance of formally recognizing the impact of various learning attributes and the science behind them. This section provides insights into how various factors influence learning. While not an exhaustive review, it serves as a guiding light, helping you appreciate the cognitive science associated with learning.

Explore the research summaries and references below to deepen your understanding.

Click on the topic to expand.

Retrieval practice

Spaced retrieval practice is an impactful technique for retention of information.

Hopkins, R. F., Hieb, J. L., Ralston, P. A. S., & Lyle, K. B. (2015). Spaced Retrieval Practice Increases College Students’ Short- and Long-Term Retention of Mathematics Knowledge. Educational Psychology Review, 28(4), 853–873. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9349-8

Active retrieval is a powerful, yet underused, strategy that transforms memory and deepens understanding, promoting lasting learning through repeated practice.

Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-Based Learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412443552

Spaced repetition

Spaced repetition optimizes learning by enhancing memory, problem solving, and knowledge transfer efficiently to boost overall educational outcomes.

Kang, S. H. K. (2016). Spaced Repetition Promotes Efficient and Effective Learning: Policy Implications for Instruction. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(1), 12-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732215624708

Studying in spaced sessions, rather than cramming, helps your brain recall information more effectively and creates stronger, longer-lasting memories.

Feng, K., Liu, J., Cai, Y., Zhao, X., Xue, G., Ye, Z., & Chen, C. (2019). Spaced Learning Enhances Episodic Memory by Increasing Neural Pattern Similarity Across Repetitions. The Journal of Neuroscience, 39(27), 5351–5360. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.2741-18.2019

Deliberate practice

Informal, self‐regulated deliberate practice boosts entrepreneurial success in dynamic settings, suggesting that adaptive, effortful learning can enhance performance in rapidly changing work environments.

Keith, N., Frese, M., Unger, J. M., & Rauch, A. (2015). Informal Learning and Entrepreneurial Success: A Longitudinal Study of Deliberate Practice among Small Business Owners. Applied Psychology, 65(3), 515–540. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12054

Expert performance develops through tailored deliberate practice that builds integrated systems for planning, monitoring, and execution. Individualized training is recommended to facilitate effective performance improvements.

Anders Ericsson, K. (2008), Deliberate Practice and Acquisition of Expert Performance: A General Overview. Academic Emergency Medicine, 15: 988-994. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2008.00227.x

Interleaving

Interleaving examples in teaching boosts memory and transfer by clarifying subtle differences, enhancing learning across subjects, especially for visual materials.

Firth, J., Rivers, I. and Boyle, J. (2021), A systematic review of interleaving as a concept learning strategy. Rev Educ, 9: 642-684. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3266

Interleaving, mixing examples from different categories, helps learners spot important differences and boosts the ability to apply what they've learned, even if it feels less effective than blocked study.

Birnbaum, M.S., Kornell, N., Bjork, E.L. et al. Why interleaving enhances inductive learning: The roles of discrimination and retrieval. Mem Cogn 41, 392–402 (2013). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-012-0272-7

Interleaving similar concepts forces students to notice subtle differences, reducing confusion and enhancing long-term learning, even if it feels more challenging than studying one topic at a time. Interleaving is an affordable, curriculum-friendly method that rearranges practice to boost mastery, students doubt its effectiveness.

Rohrer, D. Interleaving Helps Students Distinguish among Similar Concepts. Educ Psychol Rev 24, 355–367 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-012-9201-3

Interleaving math problems—even when spacing is controlled—forces learners to match each problem with the correct strategy, leading to much higher test scores despite lower immediate performance.

Taylor, K. and Rohrer, D. (2010), The effects of interleaved practice. Appl. Cognit. Psychol., 24: 837-848. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1598

Testing

Self-testing enhances long-term memory for everyone, urging educators to adopt retrieval practice for improved learning outcomes.

Jonsson, B., Andersson, M., Nyberg, L., Wiklund-Hörnqvist, C., & Stenlund, T. (2021). A learning method for all: The testing effect is independent of cognitive ability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(5), 972–985. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000627

Classroom testing, when well-designed, boosts long-term learning and academic performance, underscoring its transformative potential for enhancing teaching practices and educational outcomes.

Jonsson, B., Wiklund-Hörnqvist, C., Stenlund, T., Andersson, M., & Nyberg, L. (2021). A learning method for all: The testing effect is independent of cognitive ability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(5), 972–985. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000627

Testing not only improves retention but also promotes transfer of learning, empowering learners to apply knowledge in new contexts and enhance metacognitive skills.

Carpenter, S. K. (2012). Testing Enhances the Transfer of Learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(5), 279-283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412452728

Desirable difficulties

Learners often mistake the ease of re-reading for true understanding. Instead, challenging practices like self-testing and varied study conditions promote deeper, longer-lasting, and more flexible learning.

Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. Psychology and the real world: Essays illustrating fundamental contributions to society, 2(59-68).

Introducing learning challenges can boost memory and skill development. Applying these desirable difficulties in real-world setting is the responsibility of both educator and learner.

Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2020). Desirable difficulties in theory and practice. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9(4), 475–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2020.09.003

Encoding

Encoding process is improved by resetting through intermittent retrieval during multiple-list learning, making later lists as effectively encoded as earlier ones and boosting recall of both previous and future lists.

Pastötter, B., Schicker, S., Niedernhuber, J., & Bäuml, K. H. T. (2011). Retrieval during learning facilitates subsequent memory encoding. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37(2), 287.

Encoding is an integral part of our overall cognitive process, where perceiving and understanding naturally create neural representations, while the later, unconscious consolidation phase solidifies these memories.

Craik, F. I. (2007). Encoding: A cognitive perspective. Science of memory: Concepts, 129-135.

Encoding and retrieval of spatial memories in hippocampus is enhanced by attention via selectively stabilizing task-relevant representations, partly meditated by dopamine and gamma band synchrony. Attention is a multifaceted mechanism distributed across the brain rather than a single, unitary process.

Muzzio, I.A., Kentros, C. and Kandel, E. (2009), What is remembered? Role of attention on the encoding and retrieval of hippocampal representations. The Journal of Physiology, 587: 2837-2854. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2009.172445

Inquiry

Students' questions enhance learning by helping students monitor their understanding, scaffold their ideas, and engage in deeper scientific. Explicitly teaching questioning skills and creating a classroom environment that rewards inquiry can foster improved performance and critical thinking.

Chin, C., & Osborne, J. (2008). Students’ questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science. Studies in Science Education, 44(1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260701828101

Inquiry-based activities require students to address a research question by analyzing data rather than merely following prescribed steps or simply gathering information. The model of inquiry can increase in student ownership and complexity, enabling educators to tailor activities to students’ readiness and foster deeper, independent scientific thinking.

Bell, R. L., Smetana, L., & Binns, I. (2005). Simplifying inquiry instruction. The science teacher, 72(7), 30-33.

Elaborate

Knowledge elaboration relies on using learners’ long-term memory structures to guide processing, and when these structures are incomplete, external instructional guidance can substitute to reduce extraneous cognitive load.

Kalyuga, S. (2009). Knowledge elaboration: A cognitive load perspective. Learning and Instruction, 19(5), 402-410.

Sleep

Sleep doesn’t just rest the brain, it replays and strengthens learning, making memories more stable. By reorganizing neural activity, sleep helps us remember better long term.

Walker, M. P., & Stickgold, R. (2004). Sleep-dependent learning and memory consolidation. Neuron, 44(1), 121-133.

Sleeping soon after learning strengthens memory, while sleep deprivation harms consolidation. Prioritizing sleep is essential for effective learning.

Gais, S., Lucas, B., & Born, J. (2006). Sleep after learning aids memory recall. Learning & memory, 13(3), 259-262.

Sleep actively adjusts specific brain areas to consolidate memory and enhance function. Learning triggers local increases in slow-wave sleep that boost performance.

Huber, R., Felice Ghilardi, M., Massimini, M. et al. Local sleep and learning. Nature 430, 78–81 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02663

Sleep loss undermines academic performance by impairing both declarative and procedural learning, highlighting the essential role of REM and NREM sleep in consolidating memory and maintaining cognitive function.

Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep medicine reviews, 10(5), 323-337.

Sleep issues in children and adolescents are modestly linked to poorer school performance. Higher sleepiness, along with lower sleep quality and shorter sleep duration, negatively affect academic outcomes. These effects are stronger in younger students.

Dewald, J. F., Meijer, A. M., Oort, F. J., Kerkhof, G. A., & Bögels, S. M. (2010). The influence of sleep quality, sleep duration and sleepiness on school performance in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Sleep medicine reviews, 14(3), 179-189.

Exercise

Exercise boosts brain plasticity and memory by elevating BDNF levels. Its cognitive benefits continue evolving post-exercise, with improvements for learning speed and memory retention.

Berchtold, N. C., Castello, N., & Cotman, C. W. (2010). Exercise and time-dependent benefits to learning and memory. Neuroscience, 167(3), 588-597.

A single session of moderate aerobic exercise boosts learning in both visual and motor tasks, with benefits that last at least 30 minutes after exercise, likely by enhancing brain plasticity through strengthened neural connections.

Perini, R., Bortoletto, M., Capogrosso, M., Fertonani, A., & Miniussi, C. (2016). Acute effects of aerobic exercise promote learning. Scientific reports, 6(1), 25440.

Physical exercise boosts brain function by enhancing neuroplasticity, which in turn improves spatial learning, memory, and overall cognitive performance. Exercise is a promising, non-drug strategy for maintaining brain health and addressing neurodegenerative conditions.

Cassilhas, R. C., Tufik, S., & De Mello, M. T. (2016). Physical exercise, neuroplasticity, spatial learning and memory. Cellular and molecular life sciences, 73, 975-983.

Breathing

A 30-minute session of paced deep, alternate-nostril breathing after learning a new motor skill significantly improves retention, with benefits observed immediately and maintained at 24 hours. This breathing practice characterized by a 1:1:2 ratio of inhalation, hold, and exhalation, reduces motor errors during a tracing task.

Yadav, G., Mutha, P. Deep Breathing Practice Facilitates Retention of Newly Learned Motor Skills. Sci Rep 6, 37069 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep37069

Taking deep breaths before a test significantly reduced state anxiety and improved math performance among primary students, with benefits particularly evident in boys and those with higher physical responses like faster heartbeat under stress. Mediation analyses indicate that deep breathing enhances performance by promoting a better state-of-mind through improved regulation of thoughts during test situations.

Kiat Hui Khng (2017) A better state-of-mind: deep breathing reduces state anxiety and enhances test performance through regulating test cognitions in children, Cognition and Emotion, 31:7, 1502-1510, DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2016.1233095

Practicing 90-minute deep breathing session once a week showed significant improvements in mood and reduced stress among university students, as reflected by lower heart rates and cortisol levels, suggesting that regular deep breathing can help students manage stress during their studies.

Perciavalle, V., Blandini, M., Fecarotta, P., Buscemi, A., Di Corrado, D., Bertolo, L., ... & Coco, M. (2017). The role of deep breathing on stress. Neurological Sciences, 38(3), 451-458.

Flashcards

Flashcard based study strategies boost learning by encouraging deeper processing of material, which improves retention, comprehension, and the ability to apply concepts. Students who use these methods tend to achieve higher exam scores compared to those relying on traditional study techniques.

Senzaki, S., Hackathorn, J., Appleby, D. C., & Gurung, R. A. R. (2017). Reinventing Flashcards to Increase Student Learning. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 16(3), 353-368. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725717719771

Flashcards that incorporate repetitive testing, rather than restudying, can significantly boost short-term retention of factual information. While this strategy does not extend its benefits to long-term retention, it offers a practical advantage for immediate learning outcomes.

Schmidmaier, R., Ebersbach, R., Schiller, M., Hege, I., Holzer, M. and Fischer, M.R. (2011), Using electronic flashcards to promote learning in medical students: retesting versus restudying. Medical Education, 45: 1101-1110. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2011.04043.x

Mind maps

Mind mapping in the language classroom by promoting active learning. It works as an accessible tool to enhance learning outcomes achievement.

Buran, A., & Filyukov, A. (2015). Mind mapping technique in language learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 206, 215-218.

Mind mapping is a multi-sensory note taking strategy that helps medical students organize and integrate information, potentially enhancing their critical thinking skills.

D'Antoni, A.V., Zipp, G.P., Olson, V.G. et al. Does the mind map learning strategy facilitate information retrieval and critical thinking in medical students?. BMC Med Educ 10, 61 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-10-61

Schemas

Linking new information to existing knowledge boosts memory. Schema related encoding shifts processing to the medial prefrontal cortex, reducing medial temporal involvement predicting improved academic performance.

Van Kesteren, M. T., Rijpkema, M., Ruiter, D. J., Morris, R. G., & Fernández, G. (2014). Building on prior knowledge: schema-dependent encoding processes relate to academic performance. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26(10), 2250-2261.

Linking new information to what we already know shifts memory processing from hippocampus in novices to cortical networks in experts, suggesting that spaced learning, rather than cramming, best builds lasting knowledge.

Alonso A, van der Meij J, Tse D, Genzel L. Naïve to expert: Considering the role of previous knowledge in memory. Brain and Neuroscience Advances. 2020;4. doi:10.1177/2398212820948686

Cognitive load theory

Cognitive load theory utilizes our understanding of cognitive structures that can help us generate effective instructional designs to improve learning outcomes by optimizing cognitive load.

Sweller, J. (2004). Instructional design consequences of an analogy between evolution by natural selection and human cognitive architecture. Instructional science, 32(1), 9-31.

Effective teaching reduces unnecessary mental effort by building strong mental frameworks (schemas) that help students handle complex material. With practice, new skills become automatic, allowing more mental resources to tackle complex tasks. Designing instructions that accounts for cognitive load can improve both learning and true understanding.

Sweller, J. (1994). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and instruction, 4(4), 295-312.

Techniques like worked examples, multimedia design principles, and adaptive strategies can improve learning efficiency across different contexts and learner groups. Cognitive load theory helps identify when external representations and computer-supported collaborative environments can be optimized to enhance understanding and performance.

Kirschner, P. A. (2002). Cognitive load theory: Implications of cognitive load theory on the design of learning. Learning and instruction, 12(1), 1-10.

Cognitive load theory guides the design of complex, real-life learning tasks by considering both intrinsic load and the learner’s motivation and expertise. It helps tailor teaching to individual needs, allowing learners to use their limited working memory more efficiently and achieve deeper understanding.

Van Merrienboer, J. J., & Sweller, J. (2005). Cognitive load theory and complex learning: Recent developments and future directions. Educational psychology review, 17, 147-177.

Higher order learning

Retrieval practices that involve both fact-based knowledge and higher order thinking, which directly engage students with complex questioning, yield significantly better higher order learning than fact-based retrieval practice alone. These findings suggest that to achieve the highest levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, educators should emphasize retrieval practices that promote critical thinking and transfer rather than just fact memorization.

Agarwal, P. K. (2019). Retrieval practice & Bloom’s taxonomy: Do students need fact knowledge before higher order learning?. Journal of educational psychology, 111(2), 189.

Intensive interventions that promote higher order thinking in science and technology education significantly improve reasoning skills and content understanding for both high and low achieving students, though teachers often inadvertently provide more challenging tasks to higher achievers. With more equitable application of complex thinking activities, all students can enhance their scientific literacy and better prepare for the demands of an increasingly sophisticated world.

Zohar, A., & Dori, Y. J. (2003). Higher order thinking skills and low-achieving students: Are they mutually exclusive?. The journal of the learning sciences, 12(2), 145-181.

Write to reduce anxiety

Expressive writing, having students write about their thoughts and feelings before a test, helps reduce intrusive thoughts, freeing up mental resources and boosting math performance among highly math-anxious students. This intervention doesn't harm performance for students without high anxiety, offering a simple and effective strategy for educators and parents to help all students demonstrate their true math abilities.

Park, D., Ramirez, G., & Beilock, S. L. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20(2), 103.

Anxiety reduction was experienced the greatest in participants involved in expressive writing, who used more self-focused language (i.e., first-person singular pronouns) and lesser affect words (i.e., love, hurt, angry etc.), supporting the idea that addressing core, personal stressors can enhance emotional adjustment.

Sarah M. C. Robertson , Stephen D. Short , Leslie Sawyer & Scott Sweazy (2020): Randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of expressive writing in reducing anxiety in first-year college students: the role of linguistic features, Psychology & Health, DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2020.1827146

Negative effects on math achievement are particularly strong among those with high working memory capacity. High working memory children, who typically use memory-intensive strategies to solve math problems, perform worse on challenging tasks when anxious, suggesting that early math anxiety can disrupt their cognitive resources and impede learning, highlighting the need for early interventions tailored to reduce math anxiety. High working memory students tend to rely on memory-intensive strategies to solve math problems, so when math anxiety strikes, their worries consume the working memory resources they depend on. This interference leaves them with less capacity to manage complex tasks, leading to poorer performance. Alternative strategies include using heuristics or simpler, more automated strategies that don’t overload working memory (use shortcuts, chunk information into smaller units, using written notes, visual aids etc.).

Ramirez, G., Gunderson, E. A., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2013). Math anxiety, working memory, and math achievement in early elementary school. Journal of cognition and development, 14(2), 187-202.

Reducing math anxiety and improving math performance without directly training math skills can occur through interventions like expressive writing (writing down your feelings about math related stress) or cognitive reappraisal (changing the way you interpret a situation in order to alter its emotional impact, fast heartbeat may not be viewed as a threat, rather a positive challenge).

Maloney, E. A., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). Math anxiety: Who has it, why it develops, and how to guard against it. Trends in cognitive sciences, 16(8), 404-406.

Transfer appropriate processing

Learning transfer is the ability to apply what you've learned in one context to new and different situations. It is a complex, multi-dimensional process that depends on many factors, including how instruction is designed, the support provided, and the learner’s active engagement. Effective transfer is fostered through authentic learning experiences that incorporate coaching, scaffolding, and reflection, whereas failure in transfer signals that multiple aspects of the learning system may be misaligned and need re-examination.

Hajian, S. (2019). Transfer of learning and teaching: A review of transfer theories and effective instructional practices. IAFOR Journal of education, 7(1), 93-111.

Transfer of generic skills depends on deep, contextualized learning rather than rote memorization. Teaching general principles alongside metacognitive strategies and varied, authentic examples helps learners apply skills across different contexts. In short, supporting learners to actively connect, reflect on, and generalize knowledge is crucial for effective transfer of generic skills.

Billing, D. (2007). Teaching for transfer of core/key skills in higher education: Cognitive skills. Higher education, 53(4), 483-516.

Actively testing yourself while learning improves memory and understanding more than just rereading material (testing effect). Testing not only helps with recalling facts but also enhances the ability to apply transfer of learning to new situations. The benefits of testing are stronger, not weaker, when learners face more challenging, unfamiliar questions. Self-quizzing, practice tests, and active recall strategies are powerful tools for learning and enabling transfer.

Rohrer, D., Taylor, K., & Sholar, B. (2010). Tests enhance the transfer of learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36(1), 233.

Growth mindset

Believing intelligence can grow, not that it’s fixed, can boost students’ motivation and achievement. True growth mindsets come from genuine effort to learn new strategies and overcome challenges, rather than simply praising effort without learning.

Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2020). What can be learned from growth mindset controversies? American Psychologist, 75(9), 1269–1284. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000794

Psychological factors, like mindset, mediate the impact of structural inequalities on achievement, highlighting the importance of fostering growth mindsets while also addressing broader economic disparities.

S. Claro, D. Paunesku, & C.S. Dweck, Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 113 (31) 8664-8668, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1608207113 (2016).

Stress is enhancing mindset

A stress-enhancing mindset reinterprets stress as a challenge and opportunity for growth. This approach boosts learning by increasing motivation, cognitive flexibility, and focus, while promoting the release of beneficial hormones like DHEAS that support resilience. By training individuals to reframe stress, they become better equipped to manage pressure, adapt to new information, and improve performance.

Crum, A. J., Akinola, M., Martin, A., & Fath, S. (2017). The role of stress mindset in shaping cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses to challenging and threatening stress. Anxiety, stress, & coping, 30(4), 379-395.

Students’ stress mindsets significantly affect health outcomes. Viewing stress as enhancing promotes adaptive coping and reduces distress, leading to better mental and physical health, particularly when stressors are controllable. However, while positive stress appraisals buffer negative health impacts, their link to academic performance is weak. These findings suggest that interventions targeting stress perceptions can improve student well-being, though their direct impact on learning outcomes remains limited.

Jenkins, A., Weeks, M. S., & Hard, B. M. (2021). General and specific stress mindsets: Links with college student health and academic performance. PloS one, 16(9), e0256351.

Learning spaces and contexts

Physical learning environment actively influences how much mental effort students experience. In simple terms, factors like noise, lighting, and room layout can either help or hinder learning by affecting our attention, emotions, and even physiological responses; designing optimal learning spaces can therefore reduce unnecessary mental strain and boost learning efficiency.

Choi, HH., van Merriënboer, J.J.G. & Paas, F. Effects of the Physical Environment on Cognitive Load and Learning: Towards a New Model of Cognitive Load. Educ Psychol Rev 26, 225–244 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-014-9262-6

Exposure to environmental stressors such as noise, crowding, traffic, and pollution, can lead to learned helplessness, reducing motivation and contributing to psychological distress.

Evans, G. W., & Stecker, R. (2004). Motivational consequences of environmental stress. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(2), 143-165.

A location’s indoor lighting can affect how people feel and perform on mental tasks, and these effects differ by age and sometimes gender. For example, younger adults tend to maintain a more stable (less negative) mood in warm, reddish lighting, while older adults do better in cool, bluish lighting; younger females, in particular, preserve their mood better than younger males.

Knez, I., & Kers, C. (2000). Effects of indoor lighting, gender, and age on mood and cognitive performance. Environment and Behavior, 32(6), 817-831.

Our natural learning systems, evolved for everyday tasks like language and facial recognition, often fall short for academic subjects like math and reading. Schools help overcome these limitations by providing structured guidance that taps into our higher-level thinking skills, such as working memory and controlled problem solving. Understanding these evolutionary influences can lead to teaching methods that better match how our minds naturally learn, ultimately enhancing student performance.

Geary, D. C. (2008). An evolutionarily informed education science. Educational psychologist, 43(4), 179-195.

School start time

Delaying school start time by 30 minutes made a difference for students. Students got 45 extra minutes of sleep on average, felt more rested, and were in a better mood. More than half of them got the recommended 8+ hours of sleep, compared to just 16% before. They were more motivated, less sleepy in class, and visited the school nurse less for fatigue. The results suggest that a later start time can help students feel better, focus more, and improve their overall well-being

Owens, J. A., Belon, K., & Moss, P. (2010). Impact of delaying school start time on adolescent sleep, mood, and behavior. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 164(7), 608-614.

Improvement in academic achievement was observed when school start time was delayed. Starting classes 50 minutes later led to better performance, equivalent to increasing teacher quality by one standard deviation. Early start times cause sleep deprivation, leading to worse grades throughout the day, not just in the first period. Students assigned to earlier classes performed significantly worse, supporting policies that push back school start times to enhance learning outcomes

Carrell, S. E., Maghakian, T., & West, J. E. (2011). A's from Zzzz's? The causal effect of school start time on the academic achievement of adolescents. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 3(3), 62-81.

Delaying school start times improves adolescent sleep, mood, and daytime functioning. A 25-minute delay increased school-night sleep by 29 minutes, with the percentage of students getting at least 8 hours doubling from 18% to 44%. It reduced daytime sleepiness, caffeine use, and depressive symptoms. The benefits were more pronounced for younger students and those with lower baseline sleep. When the earlier start time was reinstated, sleep duration reverted to previous levels. These findings support aligning school schedules with adolescents' biological sleep needs to enhance health and academic performance.

Boergers, J., Gable, C. J., & Owens, J. A. (2014). Later school start time is associated with improved sleep and daytime functioning in adolescents. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 35(1), 11-17.

History in mathematics

Integrating the history of mathematics into teacher preparation programs deepens prospective teachers’ understanding. This historical perspective not only motivates students by connecting abstract concepts to real-world developments but also addresses the limitations of traditional, algorithmic instruction, ultimately enhancing both teaching and learning.

Clark, K.M. History of mathematics: illuminating understanding of school mathematics concepts for prospective mathematics teachers. Educ Stud Math 81, 67–84 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9361-y

Incorporating the history of mathematics in the curriculum enriches students’ understanding of mathematical thinking, and improves their attitudes toward the subject.

Liu, P. H. (2003). Connecting research to teaching: Do teachers need to incorporate the history of mathematics in their teaching?. Mathematics Teacher, 96(6), 416-421.