LEGO improves math and spatial ability in the classroom

 The full paper is available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mbe.70006

A simple classroom activity involving a classic childhood staple, LEGO, could improve children’s maths and spatial ability, leading researchers to demand for policymakers to shake up the school curricula and teachers’ professional development. 

A new study, led by the University of Surrey, tested incorporating LEGO building into the daily teaching curriculum, leading to tangible improvements and boosting abilities for students aged six to seven.  

The study, which involved 409 children from schools in Surrey and Portsmouth, demonstrated that the six-week Spatial Cognition to Enhance mathematical learning (SPACE) programme - where teachers led LEGO-based activities - resulted in marked improvements in children's mental rotation skills (the ability to visualise and manipulate objects in their minds) and mathematics performance. 

Professor Emily Farran, Professor in Cognitive Development at the University of Surrey and lead author of the study, said: 

"We've known for some time that spatial reasoning and maths are closely linked, however, most spatial training has been conducted in laboratory settings. Our study shows that spatial training delivered by teachers in the classroom is effective, with positive outcomes for their students." 

The SPACE programme involved training teachers on the importance of spatial reasoning and, via a booklet with visual instructions, how to guide their students through structured LEGO building exercises. Teachers were encouraged to prompt students to think spatially, for example, to visualise and mentally manipulate the blocks, fostering their spatial skills. 

Professor Camilla Gilmore, Professor of Mathematical Cognition at Loughborough University and co-author of the study commented: 

"Addressing underachievement and reducing disadvantage gaps in mathematics is an ongoing challenge for educators and policy makers. The results of this study were clear - children who participated in the SPACE programme showed significant improvements in their spatial and maths abilities compared to those who received standard instruction. This suggests that simple, hands-on spatial activities can have a powerful impact on learning and are an important avenue to improve children’s achievement and enjoyment of mathematics.  

Professor Farran added: 

"This research highlights the importance of spatial reasoning in mathematics education. By incorporating spatial activities into the curriculum, we will equip the next generation to meet the heightened demands for critical thinking, problem solving and data-use brought about by technological and AI-enabled change." 

Spatial interventions such as SPACE have also been shown to support inclusion, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). In fact, children from disadvantaged backgrounds often show larger gains in mathematics competence compared with their peers, suggesting that opportunities to think and work spatially could contribute to closing attainment gaps. 

Disconnected from math, students call for real-world relevanc

 New national data show widespread disengagement in math, highlighting a need for more relatable instruction and higher-quality curriculum

According to the first-ever survey fielded to RAND’s new American Youth Panel (AYP), 49% of students in middle and high school grades reported losing interest in math about half or more of the time, and 75% of youths reported losing interest for at least some class time.

 

Loss of interest in math is consistent across genders and racial and ethnic groups.

 

In the fall of 2024, RAND asked youths in grades 5 through 12 about their math class experiences with plans to measure these math attitudes annually to track trends over time. This nationally representative report was fielded to a group of almost 2,000 youth ages 12-21 who regularly complete surveys via email and text message about their attitudes, behaviors, school experiences, and other issues affecting their lives.

 

Thirty percent of middle and high school students said that they have never considered themselves a “math person.” Those who did identify as math people developed this view during elementary school, suggesting that elementary school math teachers have a large role in cultivating positive math attitudes.

 

“Student feedback offers one of many likely reasons for the slow post-pandemic recovery: students are frequently bored with math,” said Heather L. Schwartz, vice president and director of RAND Education and Labor. “Although boredom is not unique to math, routine boredom is a problem. These findings emphasize the importance of boosting student engagement to improve academic outcomes.”

 

The RAND survey also found that students who lose interest in math often want fewer online activities and more real-world applications in their math classes.

 

“It may sound surprising in today’s high-tech environment, but online math activities might be less motivating than face-to-face instruction,” said Robert Bozick, senior research scientist at RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. “This emphasizes the need for high-quality math instruction, and we suggest a mix of engaging math activities combining face-to-face teacher-student interactions with a mix of offline and online activities and the use of more real-world applications in the classroom.”

 

Learning Styles, Preferences, or Strategies?

 The persistence of learning styles as a concept in educational discourse and research is paradoxical, given the overwhelming evidence discrediting the matching hypothesis, the notion that aligning teaching methods with students’ preferred learning styles enhances achievement. This paper examines the resurgence of learning styles across meta-analyses and proposes an explanation for their enduring appeal. 

Drawing on 17 meta-analyses, the authors distinguish between studies testing the matching hypothesis (effect size d = .04) and correlational studies (average correlation r = .24), revealing that the latter often conflates learning styles with learning strategies. Much of the research is flawed, and the argument is that there needs to be a shift away from matching learning styles toward teaching students adaptable and effective learning strategies that align more closely with task complexity and learning goals.

Complete paper

The Intervention Effects on Teacher Well-being

 This meta-analytical review aims to investigate the overall effect of comprehensive interventions on teacher well-being and the factors that moderate the effect by synthesizing empirical evidence. A total number of 176 effect sizes from 44 studies were included in this study. 

The results reported the mean effect size of intervention on teacher well-being was significant (g = 0.35). The study quality (F = 5.38, p < .01), intervention type (F = 3.03, p < .05), and intervention duration (F = 2.80, p < .05) were identified as the statistically significant moderators for the overall effect. The further multiple moderator model reported a significant outcome (F = 2.91, p < .01). 

This study is the first attempt to synthesize the impact of the intervention on teacher well-being using a three-level model. Conceptual, methodological, and practical implications were provided and particular guidelines for professionals and education policy makers to better promote teacher wellness were also presented. 

What Impacts Should We Expect from Tutoring at Scale?

U.S. public schools are engaged in an unprecedented effort to expand tutoring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Broad-based support for scaling tutoring emerged, in part, because of the large effects on student achievement found in prior meta-analyses. 

Analyses reveal a stark pattern of declining effects of tutoring programs when taken to scale. The more students involved, the less dramatic the results. The best results are from literacy tutoring programs in elementary grades/

Complete paper

 

Gender Bias in Evidence from Student Evaluations of College Teaching

 How should gender discrimination and systemic disadvantage be addressed when more discriminatory and less generous students systematically sort into certain fields, courses, and instructors’ sections? This paper estimates measures of gender bias and evaluation generosity at the student level by examining the gap between how a student rates male and female instructors, controlling for professor fixed effects. 

Accounting for measurement error, the study finds significant variation in gender bias and generosity across students. Furthermore, the study finds that bias varies systematically by gender and field of study and that patterns of sorting are sufficiently large to place female faculty at a substantive disadvantage in some fields and male faculty at a disadvantage in others. 

Finally, the study documents that sexist attitudes are predictive of gender-based sorting and propose Empirical Bayes inspired measures of student-level bias to correct for instructor-specific advantages and disadvantages caused by sorting.

Intensive advising significantly increases bachelor’s degree attainment among lower-income students

 A college degree offers a pathway to economic mobility for low-income students. Using a multi-site randomized controlled trial combined with administrative and survey data, this study demonstrates that intensive advising during high school and college significantly increases bachelor’s degree attainment among lower-income students. 

Thw study uses unique data on pre-advising college preferences and causal forest methods to show that these gains are primarily driven by improvements in initial enrollment quality. 

The results suggest that strategies targeting college choice may be a more effective and efficient means of increasing degree attainment than those focused solely on affordability.