New Teaching Math to Young Children for Early Numeracy

 

The new Teaching Math to Young Children Toolkit (REL 2026–009) is now available for early childhood teachers and school and systems leaders. Developed by REL Appalachia in collaboration with educators, this toolkit supports preschool, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten teachers in implementing the recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide Teaching Math to Young Children, with a focus on early numeracy. The toolkit provides a comprehensive and flexible professional learning experience that helps teachers bring to life four evidence-based practice guide recommendations: Teach number and operations using a developmental progression. Dedicate time each day to teaching math and integrate math instruction throughout the school day. Use progress monitoring to ensure that math instruction builds on what each child knows. Teach children to view and describe their world mathematically.   The interactive professional learning modules include videos that explain math concepts and model effective instruction in authentic early childhood settings, as well as classroom activities aligned directly to each module to support immediate application of new learning. The toolkit also includes resources for school and district leaders to help institutionalize support for professional learning and sustain implementation of evidence-based instructional practices.   Together, the resources constitute a practical, research-based toolkit to strengthen early numeracy instruction and support young children’s long-term academic success.   To access the toolkit, please visit: https://ies.ed.gov/regional-educational-laboratories-toolkits.

Cycles in U.S. suicide rates and a long-term crisis among youth

 

Key Points:

• Researchers analyzed 122 years of U.S. mortality data to create the most comprehensive long-term picture of national suicide trends ever assembled.
• U.S. suicide rates exhibit a cyclical pattern, rising and falling approximately every 10 to 25 years, with peaks occurring during periods of major social upheaval.
• Suicide risk among young people has been rising steadily for more than half a century, affecting each new generation earlier in life.

IMPACT: The findings support the idea that suicide cannot be understood solely as a matter of individual psychology or biology, but that social context matters – a viewpoint that may spark a fresh approach to prevention efforts. 

Suicide rates in the United States follow striking, decades-long cycles likely shaped by broad social forces, according to a major new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). But beneath that long-term rise-and-fall pattern, researchers uncovered a deeply concerning and persistent trend: suicide risk among young people has been rising steadily for more than half a century, affecting each new generation earlier in life.

This study by the REDUCE (Reduce Early Death by Uncovering Causal Explanations) workgroup led by Nina de Lacy, MD, of Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah, draws on an unprecedented 122 years of U.S. mortality data, from 1900 to 2021. By combining historically fragmented federal records into the new STACK (Suicide Trends and Archival Comparative Knowledgebase) dataset —the research team, which includes scientists from the University of California at San Diego, Indiana University, and several other units across the University of Utah, offers the most comprehensive long-term picture of U.S. suicide trends ever assembled.

“This is one of the first times we’ve been able to step back and see suicide clearly in a long-term historical context," de Lacy says. "What we found challenges the idea that today’s suicide crisis is purely recent or driven only by individual mental health factors. Suicide appears to be powerfully shaped by what’s happening in society — economically, socially, and culturally — and those forces operate over decades.”

Suicide moves in cycles, unlike most other causes of death

The researchers found that overall U.S. suicide rates exhibit a rare cyclical pattern, rising and falling approximately every 10 to 25 years. Peaks occurred during periods of major social upheaval, including growing industrialization in the early 1910s, the Great Depression in the 1930s, and the women’s rights movement of the 1970s.

“Very few causes of death behave like this,” de Lacy says. “Heart disease, cancer, and motor vehicle deaths generally decline when effective interventions are introduced. Suicide doesn’t follow that pattern. It fluctuates, reverses direction, and resists long-term reduction.”

Despite these cycles and a recent uptick beginning in the early 2000s, the study shows that U.S. suicide rates are not currently at their highest historical levels, countering frequently made claims based on data covering shorter time frames. However, the researchers estimate that, if the nation had consistently maintained its lowest observed age-specific suicide rates, 372,365 deaths could have been prevented between 1969 and 2021.

A youth crisis that began decades earlier than previously thought

The most troubling finding, the researchers note, is the long-term rise in suicide among young people. While public attention often focuses on recent increases among adolescents and young adults, the study found that this trend began in the mid-to-late 1950s — far earlier than previously recognized.

“What we’re seeing is not a short-term spike but a generational shift,” de Lacy said. “Each successive generation has faced higher suicide risk at a younger age than the one before it. That pattern has now persisted for more than 60 years.”

Historically, suicide risk was highest among older adults. Over time, that age divide has narrowed as rates declined among older Americans but climbed among those under 35, including children and adolescents. Today, suicide is among the leading causes of death for people ages 10 to 34.

Surprising shifts in geography and method

The analysis also revealed several unexpected changes in suicide risk patterns:

• Living in large metropolitan areas has emerged as a protective factor, with consistently lower suicide rates than in rural and smaller urban areas since the early 1980s.
• While suicide rates remain higher in rural areas overall, recent increases have been especially pronounced among women in rural and smaller urban communities.
• Suicide by hanging has risen sharply since the 1980s among both males and females, forming what the researchers describe as a “hidden epidemic” that has received less attention than firearm-related deaths, which continue to account for the majority of suicide deaths.

Rethinking suicide as a social phenomenon

The findings reinforce the idea that suicide cannot be understood solely as a matter of individual psychology or biology. Social context matters, often in ways that unfold slowly over generations.

“We can observe them, but we have been mystified by suicide trends over decades,” said Bernice Pescosolido, PhD, a study co-author and director of the Irsay Institute for Sociomedical Research at Indiana University. “But this study and this new dataset are opening up new ideas that we really need to think about.”

De Lacy agrees, emphasizing the implications for prevention efforts.

“If suicide risk rises and falls with broader social conditions, then prevention has to go beyond the clinic,” she said. “We need tailored strategies that address connectedness, community, economic stability, and the lived experience of entire generations, not just interventions targeted at individuals after they’re already in crisis.”

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day in the U.S. by calling or texting 988.

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Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.251995112 

Middle school math teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of computational thinking

Math achievement of middle school students has been declining in many large cities in the Midwest. One approach that educators have taken to support student math learning has been to incorporate computational thinking (CT) practices into math instruction. CT is a set of practices that help students break down problems, look for patterns, and design step-by-step solutions. Research has shown that students’ CT knowledge is highly correlated with math achievement. Although interventions are available to support teachers in learning to integrate CT into their instruction, there are few brief and reliable measures that directly assess middle school teachers’ knowledge of how to integrate CT into math instruction. Such measures can alert local and state education agencies if there is a need to strengthen this ability in teachers in their schools. These measures are also critical for evaluating the effectiveness of CT integration into professional learning interventions. In response to this need, and as part of the ENgagement and Achievement through Computational Thinking (ENACT) partnership, REL Midwest developed and tested the Computational Thinking–Pedagogical Content Knowledge (CT–PCK) Survey for middle school math teachers. Key findings from the CT–PCK Survey include the following: Evidence from a sample of in-service math teachers at two urban middle schools supports the use of the survey as a valid and reliable tool to measure teachers’ overall knowledge of how to integrate CT into math instruction. On average, teachers answered about 10 of the 16 survey items correctly (61% correct). About a quarter of teachers answered 7 or fewer items correctly (44% correct), and about a quarter answered 13 or more items correctly (81% correct). These findings suggest that the survey is well suited for use by teachers with varied ability to integrate CT into math instruction. Teachers who have traditional teaching certifications and teachers with five or more years of teaching experience scored significantly higher on the survey, suggesting that knowledge of how to integrate CT into math instruction is related to teacher training and expertise. Access the report on the Institute of Education Sciences website.

Physics can be hard. Mindfulness may help

 

The high stakes and intimidating reputation of physics classes can lead to plenty of stress for students new to the discipline. In fact, may students say it feels psychologically threatening, leading to worry and self-doubt.

"For some, these doubts can contribute to disengagement–providing short-term relief at the expense of longer-term success," wrote the authors of a new research study from Pitt's Learning Research & Development Center. 

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found a way to help students build resilience in the face of these emotions: mindfulness. After five days of training, students reported feeling less threatened and more engaged in their coursework.

This research also suggests mindfulness can support learning and persistence across STEM courses by helping students build resilience in how they interpret and respond to stress. 

For more information, contact Professor Brian Galla, gallabri@pitt.edu

Early Childcare Attendance and Cognitive skills in Adolescence

 This paper examines the impact of early childcare on academic achievement for children in grade 5 and grade 9, based on a 2003 policy expansion that created quasi-random variation in slot availability for children aged 1–2. 

Starting childcare one year earlier increases math scores by 9.7% of a standard deviation (SD) in grade 9. Children whose mothers do not hold a high school diploma benefit by a significant 28% of a SD at grade 9, reducing the math achievement gap from children of higher-educated mothers by about one third. 

The paper also presents evidence of strong improvements for children of immigrants.

Kids don’t use augmented reality like adults, raising concerns for classrooms

Complete article

Key takeaways:

• Children interact with augmented reality in more physical, exploratory and creative ways than adults, revealing a mismatch with current adult-focused design.
• Adult users tend to rely on “legacy bias,” while children approach AR with fewer assumptions — often discovering new interaction possibilities.
• Designing AR specifically for children — rather than adapting adult systems — could significantly improve usability and learning outcomes.

As more advanced augmented reality tools move into classrooms and museums, new research from the University of South Florida suggests a fundamental problem: most of these technologies are designed for adults, not children.

While technology in schools once meant desktop computers and basic digital instruction, more immersive tools are beginning to reach children, changing how they interact with information and their surroundings.

“Even though more children are using technology in different contexts, these tools are still designed with adults in mind,” said Julia Woodward, an assistant professor in USF’s Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing. “Developers aren’t thinking about how children will engage with these products, which results in a frustrating experience for children.”

Woodward saw the disconnect firsthand through her research, and her latest published study highlights clear differences in how children ages 9 to 12 engage with AR compared with adults.

The limits of adult-focused AR design

AR headsets are typically designed for users ages 13 and up. Yet younger children are already engaging with the tools, primarily in educational settings such as schools and museums.

“Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality allows for interactive experiences while keeping users grounded in the real world, reducing symptoms like cyber fatigue and motion sickness,” Woodward said. “It also has the potential to enhance STEM learning, especially for concepts that can be difficult to grasp through traditional textbooks.”

However, how children attempt to use AR headsets reveals a different set of expectations than those built into adult-focused design.

This behavior highlights a mismatch between adult-designed systems, which rely on rigid gestures or command-based inputs, and the more exploratory, intuitive ways children engage with new technology.

Targeting child engagement in augmented reality

Woodward and her team conducted a foundational study with children ages 9 to 12 to better understand how they engage with AR headsets. Each child spent an hour in the lab, using an AR headset in 12-minute intervals while completing a series of tasks involving a virtual 3D cube.

“We wanted to see how they would perform 17 different actions, such as moving, shrinking or making the cube disappear,” Woodward said. “Children came up with many creative responses, including imagining the use of a hydraulic press to shrink the cube or using external objects like a stick to move it.”

After explaining and physically demonstrating an initial interaction, children were then asked to provide a second way to achieve the same result. This approach allowed researchers to observe both instinctive choices and flexibility in how children approached the same task. Children also gave simple usability ratings for each interaction, scoring how well it fit the task and how easy it was to perform.

Why children experience AR differently

By comparing first and second responses, the team examined whether children maintained the same interaction style or adjusted their approach. Researchers later compared those findings with results from previous studies examining adult interaction with the same technology.

“Compared with adults, we saw children use a much more physical approach,” Woodward said. “They relied heavily on gestures and thought creatively about using external objects to perform actions. Adults, on the other hand, often relied on familiar hand gestures first and switched to speech as a second option.”

Rather than lacking creativity, adults often apply interaction patterns they are already familiar with from other technologies.

“Children don’t really have that same legacy bias, which makes them more open to exploring technology in new ways,” Woodward said. “It’s why children often discover features or interaction styles adults didn’t realize were possible with everyday technologies such as computers or smartphones.”

A more thoughtful application

As immersive technologies continue to evolve, the research underscores a key point: children interact with AR differently than adults, and systems should be designed with this distinction in mind. Creating AR tools for educational use requires more than adapting technologies originally built for adults.

While the study served as a baseline, Woodward and her team are already building on the findings. They are applying insights from the cube‑based experiment to a new educational project focused on teaching fractions through an interactive AR experience with virtual pizzas. 
 
By moving beyond simple virtual objects and into practical educational applications, the research team hopes to bring child-centered AR design one step closer to real-world classroom use.

High social media use = increased odds of alcohol use among adolescents

 High social media use is significantly associated with increased odds of alcohol use among adolescents, according to a new study. Findings from the study will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2026 Meeting, taking place April 24-27 in Boston.

 

“Researchers at Northwell Health conducted a study to better understand how today’s rapidly evolving social media landscape may be associated with substance use behaviors among adolescents,” said Neel Sharma, research intern at Northwell Health and lead author of the study. “Using nationally representative data, we found that adolescents with the highest levels of social media use had more than triple the odds of recent alcohol use compared to non-users. These findings suggest that social media environments may play a role in exposure to alcohol-related content and behaviors highlighting the need for efforts focused on digital literacy and helping adolescents navigate online spaces more safely.”

 

As social media becomes a bigger part of adolescents’ lives, they may be exposed to content promoting underage drinking. Although prior studies have examined associations between social media use and alcohol use, many were conducted before the rise of platforms like TikTok or used small sample sizes. To better understand this relationship, more current, large-scale, national data is needed. Researchers examined the association between social media use and alcohol use among U.S. high school students, and whether this relationship varied by grade, sex, race/ethnicity or sexuality.

 

Chi square analysis showed 28.0% of students with high social media use reported alcohol use, vs. 19.7% (moderate use), 13.2% (low use), and 9.2% (no use) (p < .001). In the adjusted regression, high social media use was associated with 3.15 times higher odds of alcohol use compared to no use (p < .001). Moderate use was associated with 1.72 times higher odds of alcohol use (p=.003), while low use was not significantly associated (p=.336). Interaction models showed the association between social media use and alcohol use did not significantly differ by grade, sex or race/ethnicity. However, students who identified as gay/lesbian had greater odds of alcohol use at both moderate (p=.006) and high (p < .001) social media levels.

 

These findings emphasize the need for further research into how digital depictions of alcohol shape youth health outcomes.

 

Additional information is included in the below research abstract. The PAS Meeting connects thousands of leading pediatric researchers, clinicians and educators worldwide. View the full schedule in the PAS 2026 program guide. For more information about the PAS Meeting, please visit www.pas-meeting.org.

 

 

Abstract: Social Media Use and Alcohol Consumption Among U.S. High School Students: Insights from the 2023 YRBSS

 

Presenting Author

Neel Sharma, Research Intern, Northwell Health

 

Organization

Northwell Health

 

Topic

Adolescent Medicine: Substance Use

 

Background

As social media becomes a bigger part of adolescents’ lives, they may be exposed to content promoting underage drinking. Although prior studies have examined associations between social media use and alcohol use, many were conducted before the rise of platforms like TikTok or used small sample sizes. To better understand this relationship, more current, large-scale, national data is needed.

 

Objective

To examine the association between social media use and alcohol use among U.S. high school students, and whether this relationship varies by grade, sex, race/ethnicity, or sexuality.

 

Design/Methods

Data from the 2023 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS), a school-based, cross-sectional survey was analyzed. Alcohol use was defined as any use in the past 30 days (Q46; yes=1, no=0). Social media use (Q90) was categorized as No Use, Low Use (a few times/month-a few times/week), Moderate Use (once/day-several times/day), and High Use (1+ times/hour). The full sample had 20,103 students, with 14,682 having complete data for Q46 and Q90 for the chi-square analysis. A binary logistic regression tested the association between social media and alcohol use, controlling for sex, grade, race/ethnicity, and sexuality. The adjusted model had 13,251 complete responses for all variables: alcohol use, social media use, sex (Q2), grade (Q3), race/ethnicity (Q4, Q5), and sexuality (Q15). To test subgroup differences, interaction terms between social media use and each demographic variable were also tested.

 

Results

Chi square analysis showed 28.0% of students with high social media use reported alcohol use, vs. 19.7% (moderate use), 13.2% (low use), and 9.2% (no use) (p < .001). In the adjusted regression, high social media use was associated with 3.15 times higher odds of alcohol use compared to no use (p < .001) [Figure 1]. Moderate use was associated with 1.72 times higher odds of alcohol use (p=.003), while low use was not significantly associated (p=.336) [Figure 2]. Interaction models showed the association between social media use and alcohol use did not significantly differ by grade, sex, or race/ethnicity. However, students who identified as gay/lesbian had greater odds of alcohol use at both moderate (p=.006) and high (p < .001) social media levels.

 

Conclusion(s)

High social media use was significantly associated with increased odds of alcohol use among adolescents. This relationship was more pronounced for gay and lesbian youth. These findings emphasize the need for further research into how digital depictions of alcohol shape youth health outcomes.

 

Co-Authors

Caroline Howard, Visiting Scholar, Northwell Health

Lillian M. Ravikoff, Visiting Scholar, Northwell Health

Joseph Mekhail, Visiting Scholar, Northwell Health

Ruth Milanaik, DO, Associate Professor, Northwell Health

 

Tables and Images

Figure 1. Alcohol use Increases with Greater Social Media Use

Figure 1.

 

Figure 2. Adjusted Odds Ratios for Alcohol use by Social Media Use Group

Figure 2.