The State’s Best Education

The students remember less of what they’re learning if they’re doodling at the same time. But the study also addresses a big misconception: Doodling is not the same as drawing. It concludes that drawing easily beats reading, writing, or listening when it comes to learning and retention.

Students are more likely to attend school when their teachers notice absences and make efforts to reach out to them and their families, highly engaging teachers can decrease absences by 49 percent, making it clear that a teacher’s impact extends well beyond test scores and grades.

Students can still benefit from enriching summer activities, of course, just as they would at any time of the year, but the idea that the gap widens over the summer is almost certainly overblown

In the absence of good information, misconceptions take root. One-third of teachers believe that learning disabilities reflect a lack of motivation, not a difference in brain development. To support students with learning disabilities, then, we also need to tackle the pervasive myths that can stymie their potential.