#031 – Research roundup: Studying abroad, teaching maths and girls engagement with science

28th February 2019

In this episode, Ellie and Sam discuss research they’ve been reading up on lately including a piece looking at the impact of studying and working abroad during higher education and whether all groups of students have equal access to these opportunities. Then, turning from higher education to the Early Years, they explore two recent pieces of research on: different approaches for teaching children maths in the Early Years, and, how even the subtlest language cues can affect whether girls are willing to engage in science, and discuss what these findings mean for Early Years teachers.

In this episode Sam and Ellie:

  • Examine the benefits of working and studying abroad during higher education
  • Delve into data which reveals that not all young people have equal access to these opportunities
  • Ponder how aptitude may also play a role in outcomes
  • Compare the research on four different approaches to teaching Maths to young children, from free play to adult/child initiated guided play to direct instruction, to see which has the most impact on learning
  • Explain their thoughts of what a free play approach to teaching maths may look like
  • Explore research on how subtle language cues influence children’s beliefs about different groups of people such as ‘Scientists’
  • Highlight key findings from research published recently on whether describing people as ‘Scientists’ increases or decreases girls’ engagement with science activities
  • Reflect on the implications of this research for overcoming stereotypes more widely

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Music credits:

‘Oui’ by Simon Mathewson and ‘Jump for joy’ by Scott Holmes both from http://freemusicarchive.org