Combining literacy promotion with community assistance improves developmental outcomes

Literacy promotion programs, combined with community-based support programs, can affect literacy development in Latino children from birth to 18 months of age, Rutgers researchers have found.

“Our study is one of the first of its kind to test a cross-sector approach,” said Manuel E. Jimenez, associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and lead author of the study. “We found that aligning these supports for families resulted in more responsive parent-child interactions and better social-emotional health for children compared with standard literacy promotion alone.”

Less than a third of U.S. fourth graders read at a proficient level or above, according to the Nation’s Report Card. A 2025 study in the Journal of School Psychology found there are literacy disparities among racial and ethnic groups, with Black and Hispanic children more likely to experience early reading difficulties than their white and Asian peers. 

Literacy promotion programs, such as Reach Out and Read — which enlists the support of primary care providers to encourage families to make reading a part of their routines — can improve reading and communication skills. However, evidence has shown that additional strategies, such as text messaging caregivers in between visits to the doctor, can produce even better results.

The study in Pediatrics, a publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics, included three intervention strategies. The first was a literacy promotion program that included free books and modelled reading during preventive visits beginning at six months of age. The second added text messaging for a duration of 18 months. The third combined the latter two with referrals to Connecting New Jersey (CNJ), a Help Me Grow affiliated statewide initiative that connects families with support services for young children.

The results showed that combining literacy promotion programs with referrals to Connecting New Jersey resulted in significant improvements in verbal responsiveness and social-emotional development nine months after enrollment. The intervention also demonstrated enhanced social-emotional development 18 months after enrollment.

“This study provides evidence that integrating primary care-based literacy promotion with systems-based efforts in the community to support children and families can optimize its impact on relational and developmental health,” Jimenez said.

DIY filter systems improve air quality in classrooms

 

Tests in university classes show that simple, low-cost systems can remove airborne particles with little disruption from fan noise.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

American Chemical Society

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A C-R Box is made from a standard box fan, four high-efficiency filters, two pieces of cardboard, and tape, creating a device that can improve air quality in active classrooms.

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Credit: Adapted from ACS ES&T Air 2026, DOI: 10.1021/acsestair.6c00143

As students return to school and cold and flu season begins, researchers are studying ways to improve indoor air quality and reduce the risk of airborne disease transmission. A study in ACS ES&T Air reports test results of do-it-yourself (DIY) air filters, known as Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes, in university class sessions. The units reduced particulate matter across the occupied classroom by 61%, produced minimal noise, and were more affordable than commercial portable air purifiers.

“Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes are a safe, highly effective tool for improving indoor air quality without disrupting the learning environment.” – Misti Zamora

“Indoor air quality in educational settings is a critical factor affecting student well-being and academic performance because children and school staff spend a large portion of their day inside classrooms,” says Misti Zamora, corresponding author of the study. “When schools lack good ventilation, harmful particles like infectious respiratory aerosols, dust, mold spores, and pollen can build up, creating an unhealthy environment.”

Commercial portable air purifiers clear airborne particles and help limit disease transmission. But they’re expensive — with the smallest sizes starting around $140 per device — and many school districts can’t afford them for every classroom. As a lower-cost, DIY alternative, researchers developed the Corsi-Rosenthal (C-R) Box, which combines a box fan, four high-quality pleated air filters (about $60 total), cardboard, and duct tape. Previous studies reported that the C-R Boxes effectively remove airborne pollutants, but few assessed their performance in active, occupied classrooms. So, Marina Creed, Kristina Wagstrom, Zamora and colleagues have been evaluating the system’s effectiveness and practicality, and this study focuses on university classes.

The researchers built two C-R Boxes and tested them during 59 class sessions with 14 to 30 students in a rectangular room. They turned on both boxes 10 minutes after the classes began and ran the fans at a low setting for the rest of the 50-minute period. Results showed that the boxes:

• Reduced ultrafine, fine, and coarse particulate matter concentrations by 61% on average by the end of class.
• Produced 46 to 55 decibels of noise, comparable to a typical office environment.
• Moved air evenly around the rectangular classroom space.
• Removed airborne particles at similar rates at three places around the room.

To Zamora, the study suggests that “Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes are a safe, highly effective tool for improving indoor air quality without disrupting the learning environment. We showed that the clean air circulated around the entire room, meaning every student receives the protective health benefits regardless of where they sit.”

“Commercial units can cost five to ten times more than these DIY air filters to provide the same amount of clean air,” says Zamora. “This research proves that communities don't need to choose between clean air and their school budgets.”

The study’s authors are part of the University of Connecticut’s Indoor Air Quality Initiative, which provides resources for schools and videos on how to build a DIY air purifier.

The authors acknowledge financial support, discounted materials, and/or donations of materials from the Balvi Filantropic Fund; Petit Family Foundation’s Haley’s Hope and Michaela’s Miracle MS Memorial Fund; TexAire Heating and Air Conditioning; The Home Depot; and the University of Connecticut’s Schools of Medicine, Engineering, and Nursing.

To learn more about the Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes, watch co-inventor Richard Corsi put one together in a short video and listen to an interview with Corsi on the Chain Reaction podcast episode, “The Air We (Want to) Breathe: The Chemistry of Pollution.”

Postsecondary Educational Value

Complete Executive Summary

US postsecondary education and training have long been valuable assets to the country and to individuals. From the early days of the republic, American colleges and universities have conveyed skills that are foundational to our democracy. As the centuries have rolled on, these institutions have evolved to become equally vital to the US economy, undergoing a transformation in the 19th century to become drivers of American innovation and industry. 

Through key legislation and investments—such as the two Morrill Acts, the GI Bill, and the Pell Grant program—policymakers have opened the doors of higher education to increasing numbers of students. Following World War II and the Civil Rights Act, enrollment in college grew rapidly with the recognition that American postsecondary education and training offer a ticket to a better life. 

Today, a college degree remains the surest pathway to economic security. Economic projections suggest that workers will need more education, not less, to thrive in the labor market of the future. Higher levels of education correspond with higher earnings for workers, which translate to public gains such as higher tax revenues and less reliance on public services. Higher levels of education are also associated with a host of nonmonetary benefits, including greater well-being and more civic engagement. Across many monetary and nonmonetary dimensions, postsecondary education and training have significant value for individuals and society. And yet, our postsecondary institutions are facing a crisis of confidence. 

Concerned about college costs and the content of the curriculum—and unsettled by growing doubts that postsecondary education prepares students for work—Americans no longer fully trust colleges and universities to teach the right things well and at a reasonable cost. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and its feared impact on the workplace have only heightened these concerns, leaving education and training providers under pressure to adapt to rapidly evolving technologies. 

Individual students are prudent to exercise a degree of caution about postsecondary education. College can be expensive, and not all educational pathways provide the same level of access to economic opportunity. Students who take out large loans to fund their degrees, certificates, and other credentials may find that their investment doesn’t yield an adequate monetary payoff, and they may face financial precarity as a result. Some graduates may find themselves struggling to land their first job after completing a degree, or they may end up employed in a role that doesn’t use their college-level skills. 

Policymakers realize that they need to protect students from poor financial outcomes, so many states and philanthropic organizations are working to define “credentials of value” according to monetary metrics. Additionally, federal and state governments are developing policies to hold institutions accountable for producing credentials that meet earnings or return-on-investment (ROI) benchmarks. These efforts recognize that Americans want—and deserve—to know that they are likely to benefit from their investments in postsecondary education. At the same time, regulatory efforts focused on credentials of value don’t capture the full value of postsecondary education and training. For a more complete assessment, we need to develop an approach that incorporates higher education’s many nonmonetary benefits. 

This series of reports helps make sense of the complex challenge of conceptualizing and measuring postsecondary value. The public conversation about postsecondary value spans multiple points of view. Students and their families want to know that their investments in college will pay off. State policymakers want to know that public funding for education is put to good use. Educators and education advocates want to ensure that decision-makers recognize the complete value—monetary and nonmonetary— that postsecondary education and training provide. A more robust approach to assessing postsecondary value will need to grapple with multiple perspectives on what education offers to both individuals and society. I

n this report series, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce explores the measurement of postsecondary educational value. Across three reports, we examine what various stakeholder groups expect postsecondary education and training to do, how these groups measure the outcomes of postsecondary education and training, and what changes in policy and practice need to happen next to ensure that postsecondary education delivers on its full potential as both a private and public good. The reports speak to different but overlapping audiences with their own interests and aims. In the following sections, we describe each report’s purpose and which stakeholder groups would most benefit from reading that report.

From Mann to Markets

The first report in the series, From Mann to Markets: Evolving Ideas About the Value of Postsecondary Education and Training to Individuals and Society, examines the historical and philosophical developments that have led policymakers and the public to focus on earnings and return on investment as the primary measures of postsecondary education and training success.

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Measuring Postsecondary Value

The second report in the series, Measuring Postsecondary Value: A Model for Applying Research to Policy and Practice, provides a resource to help leaders identify and measure how investments in higher education support the production of credentials that lead to value for both students and society.

The report’s Postsecondary Value Model (PVM) organizes metrics into categories that generally align with educational inputs (e.g., investments) and outputs (e.g., credentials) that contribute to value-related monetary and nonmonetary outcomes. The PVM includes six categories of inputs, outputs, and outcomes: investment, education, employment, earnings, wealth, and well-being.

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A Framework for Assessing the Value of Postsecondary Education and Training

The third and final report in the series, A Framework for Assessing the Value of Postsecondary Education and Training: State Guidance, provides practical direction for defining and measuring postsecondary value to policymakers, policy analysts, researchers, and practitioners at the state level, with particular attention to two major use cases. The first use case is assessing the broad value that accrues to each state from a robust postsecondary education and training system; the second is applying transparency and accountability metrics to ensure that institutions and programs deliver on the value they promise to students.

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GenAI use among online adult learners = academic performance and technology confidence

 Peer-reviewed research challenges assumptions that students primarily use generative AI to compensate for academic difficulty or time pressure.

University of Phoenix scholars have published new peer-reviewed research examining how non-traditional undergraduate students use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in online higher education. The study found that more frequent GenAI use was significantly associated with higher academic performance and stronger confidence in technology skills, while lower confidence in reading, writing and math and greater time demands from work, study or family responsibilities did not significantly predict use.

The article, “Strategic Integration or Skill Compensation? Understanding GenAI Use in Online Higher Education,” was published June 30, 2026, in Artificial Intelligence in Education, 2(1), 205–223. The research was conducted by fellows and scholars affiliated with the University’s Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research (CEITR): Jessica Sylvester, EdD; Melinda Kulick, EdD; Leonidas Maganares, EdD; and Stella Smith, PhD, associate university research chair.

Researchers surveyed 491 non-traditional undergraduate students enrolled in online general education courses. Of those surveyed, 43.2%, or 212 students, reported using GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Gemini in their coursework.

Sylvester and Kulick previously presented findings from the research at the 2025 Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Convention; a summary of that presentation, “Transforming Higher Education: Harnessing Generative AI for Student Engagement,” was subsequently published in The Journal of Applied Instructional Design.

GenAI use linked to academic performance and digital confidence

Multiple regression analysis identified two statistically significant predictors of how frequently students used GenAI:

• Higher GPA: Students with stronger academic performance reported more frequent GenAI use.
• Greater technology confidence: Students who felt more confident in their technology skills also reported using GenAI more frequently.
• Academic confidence: Confidence in reading, writing and math did not significantly predict GenAI use.
• Time demands: Hours spent studying, working or meeting family responsibilities were not significantly related to GenAI use.

Among students who reported using GenAI, 91.1% had a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and 68.9% earned a 4.0 in the course in which they reported using GenAI.

“These findings complicate the assumption that students primarily turn to generative AI because they are struggling academically or simply looking to save time,” said Sylvester, senior manager of College Operations at University of Phoenix and lead author of the study. “Instead, we found GenAI use associated with stronger academic performance and digital confidence. That points to an important opportunity for higher education to help all learners develop the digital fluency, critical judgment and ethical awareness needed to engage with AI effectively.”

Students describe GenAI as a tool for understanding and idea development

Open-ended responses from the 212 students who reported using GenAI provided additional context about how they incorporated the technology into their coursework. The three most prominent themes were:

• improving understanding and clarifying complex concepts
• using GenAI as a “thinking partner” or learning aid for brainstorming and organizing ideas
• increasing efficiency and productivity in academic tasks.

Students also identified concerns about the accuracy and originality of AI-generated content, preservation of their individual academic voice and uncertainty about appropriate use under academic integrity policies.

The researchers suggest the findings support a shift from approaches focused primarily on restricting AI toward clearer guidance that develops GenAI literacy, critical evaluation skills and transparent, ethical use. The study recommends incorporating AI literacy across disciplines, creating assignments that encourage students to critique and reflect on AI-generated information and providing consistent institutional guidance about appropriate use.

Because the research used a cross-sectional, correlational design and a non-probability sample from one online university, the findings do not establish that GenAI use causes stronger academic performance and should not be generalized to all college students. The authors recommend longitudinal and multi-institutional research to examine how patterns of GenAI use evolve and whether AI-supported learning affects longer-term academic outcomes.

Read the full study, “Strategic Integration or Skill Compensation? Understanding GenAI Use in Online Higher Education.” Artificial Intelligence in Education, 2(1), 205–223, at https://doi.org/10.1108/AIIE-08-2025-0237.

Digital textbooks significantly boost students’ intrinsic learning motivation

A research team from The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and East China Normal University (ECNU) has published a meta-analysis demonstrating the impact of digital textbooks (DTs) on student motivation. Synthesising 27 experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducted between 2000 and 2024 with 3,590 participants, the study confirms that DTs significantly enhance students' intrinsic learning motivation compared with traditional paper textbooks. 

The study was led by Professor Lei Hao of ECNU, with Professor Chiu Ming-ming, Chair Professor of Analytics and Diversity at EdUHK, as a key member of the team. 

For years, educators have debated whether DTs are simply electronic replicas of print materials or whether they can genuinely transform student engagement. This study's theoretical framework shows that DTs—through their accessibility, multimodal features (such as audio and video), and interactive tools—effectively meet students’ core psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In doing so, they foster deeper engagement and strengthen students’ understanding of learning materials. 

The findings also reveal that DTs have progressively greater effects at higher educational levels, with the strongest impact observed among university students. Older learners are better able to leverage metacognitive skills and digital literacy to process complex multimodal information. Furthermore, DTs are more effective in collectivist cultural contexts than in individualist ones. 

The study provides clear implications for policy and practice. At the policy level, education authorities should establish quality standards for DTs to ensure both pedagogical value and technical usability. Professional development programmes are needed to equip teachers with the skills to integrate DTs into instruction in ways that sustain student motivation. Implementation should be gradual and evidence-based, beginning with groups where the benefits are greatest (such as university students and collectivist cultural settings), and expanding through pilot evaluations. Funding policies must incorporate equity safeguards to prevent widening gaps in motivation or achievement across schools. Authorities should also establish systems to monitor both motivational and academic outcomes over time, ensuring that policy remains grounded in evidence. 
At the instructional level, teachers are encouraged to combine DTs with motivational strategies —such as timely feedback, goal setting, and reflection—turning short-term engagement into sustained intrinsic motivation. They can also teach self-regulated learning strategies, enabling students to capitalise on DT affordances for deep learning rather than superficial completion.
Professor Chiu Ming-ming noted, “Our findings provide clear evidence for the strategic integration of digital textbooks. By focusing on intrinsic motivation, we are not merely changing the medium of instruction, but enhancing students' inner drive to explore and master knowledge. This is crucial for nurturing lifelong learners in the 21st century.”

The study has been published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 

Exploring the brain and behavior of children who struggle at math

Researchers identify characteristic behaviors and brain activity that may explain how developmental dyscalculia persists in some children and not others. 

Some children have a condition that makes them persistently struggle with math problem solving (developmental dyscalculia), yet behavioral and mechanistic details about this condition are lacking. New in JNeurosci, Oliver Lasnick and colleagues at Stanford University advanced understanding by exploring problem-solving strategy use and brain activity in children with developmental dyscalculia. 

From a cohort of 68 children aged 8–10 years old, the researchers found that children with developmental dyscalculia were less efficient than other children at using a variety of math problem-solving strategies. Children with the condition took longer to switch between strategies, were less sensitive to changes in problem difficulty, and did not improve in selecting ideal strategies over time. Activity in a brain system was distinguishable between children with developmental dyscalculia and children who were more proficient at math strategies. This activity could even predict how well children counted and switched between math problem-solving strategies. 

According to the researchers, this work shows that persistent childhood struggles with using problem-solving strategies and controlling attention, thinking, and memory may lead to the onset of developmental dyscalculia and points to altered brain activity that may drive these characteristic behaviors. Adds Lasnick, "Importantly, this study also emphasizes the individual variability observed in dyscalculia, further demonstrating that the disorder reflects cognitive and neural dysfunction across multiple processes." 

Journal

JNeurosci

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2200-25.2026 

More social media use linked to poorer sleep and self-rated health among college students

 

Caption

College students who spend more time on social media tend to sleep worse, and that may have consequences for how they perceive their own health, according to a new George Mason University study. 

Credit

Created by George Mason University College of Public HealthCollege students who spend more time on social media tend to sleep worse, and that may have consequences for how they perceive their own health, according to a new George Mason University study. 

The study, published in Public Health Reports, found that greater social media use at the start of the school year predicted poorer sleep quality six months later, which in turn predicted worse self-rated health six months after that. According to the researchers, it’s the first study to indicate that poor sleep quality may be a pathway connecting social media use with self-rated health. 

“These findings suggest that students’ social media habits early may have effects beyond the time spent on the phone,” said study lead author Akosua Mainoo, alumna of the Department of Global and Community Health. “Sleep appears to be one way those habits may carry over into how students perceive their health months later.” 

One finding ran counter to the researchers’ expectations: Greater overall social media use was associated with poorer sleep, but nighttime use specifically was not. Researchers noted that previous studies on nighttime social media use and sleep have been mixed, and that the effects may depend on other factors, such as light exposure affecting melatonin levels. 

The research is part of Mason: Health Starts Here, the university’s landmark cohort study following students across their four undergraduate years. Lawrence Cheskin, distinguished professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, serves as principal investigator. 

Why it matters

Young adults spend about five hours a day on social media, and more than 85% of students in the George Mason study used YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat daily. Although seven to nine hours of sleep is recommended for young adults, previous research has found that one-third of college students get fewer than seven. Over time, not getting enough sleep is linked to health problems, including depression, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. 

The new study goes a step further in examining how sleep may connect social media use with students’ broader health over time. 

Asked in an interview what students should take from the findings, the researchers pointed to the value of reducing social media use. 

“Social media is a part of everyday life for college students, so the expectation isn’t to eliminate it,” said Mainoo (MPH ’22 in Epidemiology, BS ’20 in Community Health). “But young people can be more intentional about setting time limits and creating phone-free zones.” 

Cheskin said “less is more when it comes to social media use by young college students,” and that reducing use can leave more time for “direct interactions with peers and others.” 

More study information

The researchers analyzed data from 349 first-year students ages 18 to 24 participating in Mason: Health Starts Here, the broader longitudinal study examining predictors of physical and mental health throughout college. Students completed surveys in August 2019, February 2020, and August 2020. 

The researchers noted limitations including self-reported data and participant drop-off over time, and called for more longitudinal research on how social media use may affect sleep and health. 

The research team also included Lilian de Jonge and Fritz Nii Tettey Lokko of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies; and Jerome L. Short, Eleanor A. Speidel, Jeremy Maciarz, Patricia J. Mejia, and Emmarose Logan Price of the Department of Psychology. The study was funded by the George Mason Institute for Biohealth Innovation.  

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Journal

Public Health Reports

DOI

10.1177/00333549261462497