How music lessons can improve language skills
Study links piano education with better word discrimination by kindergartners. Many studies have shown that musical training can enhance language skills. However, it was unknown whether music [...]
Exploring the relationship between the developing brain, a child’s home environment, and learning ability
Boston public school teacher Colleen Labbe believes that the brain of a struggling child can change in response to the right interventions. “There’s a slogan in education,” says McGovern [...]
MIT and Harvard join forces to address early childhood literacy
Reach Every Reader aims to end early literacy crisis. Today, MIT’s Integrated Learning Initiative (MITili), Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), and Florida State University [...]
Back-and-forth exchanges boost children’s brain response to language
Study finds engaging young children in conversation is more important for brain development than “dumping words” on them. A landmark 1995 study found that children from higher-income families [...]
Socioeconomic background linked to reading improvement
Dyslexic children from lower-income families benefit more from summer reading intervention. About 20 percent of children in the United States have difficulty learning to read, and educators have [...]
Distinctive brain pattern may underlie dyslexia
Study suggests reduced plasticity could account for reading difficulties. A distinctive neural signature found in the brains of people with dyslexia may explain why these individuals have [...]
Enhancing education from pre-K to MIT and beyond
Two new initiatives take an in-depth look at learning. To improve education — whether pK-12, college, professional training, or online courses — one must first gain an understanding of how people [...]
Lauren Uhr: a brain researcher motivated by personal experience
MIT senior studies cognitive science and medicine from the vantage point of a person with dyslexia. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Lauren Uhr came to MIT for the research. Her first [...]
Faculty at MIT and beyond respond forcefully to an article critical of Suzanne Corkin
More than 200 members of the scientific community sign a letter supporting the late MIT neuroscientist; department head issues a statement. On August 7, 2016, the New York Times Magazine [...]
Seven from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2016
Prestigious honor society announces 213 new members this year. Six MIT faculty members and the chair of the MIT Corporation are among 213 leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the [...]