Developmental psychology suggests that fantastical beliefs in children are associated with positive developmental outcomes. And parents need not worry, children will bust the Santa myth themselves, when the time is right.
(Shutterstock)
There’s no need for parents to bust the Santa myth. Children figure out the truth themselves, at a developmentally appropriate time. In the process, they build their reasoning skills.
Beyond fuzzy sweaters and warmth, feeling cozy at home gets a boost with great child-centric books.
Stories that create connection, comfort and security aren’t just perfect holiday reading. They also provide inspiration - a vision of how life should be.
It’s exam time. Research suggests that while some students will be pleasantly surprised by how they did on exams, a larger group will falsely believe they did much better on their exams than they did.
(Shutterstock)
Research shows that many students are excessively optimistic about course grades. Those with a stronger sense of personal control are also less likely to receive the grades they expect.
B.C.’s ambitious new school curriculum includes mandatory financial literacy instruction within math courses at every grade level, starting from kindergarten.
(Shutterstock)
Financial literacy is non-intuitive to the human brain and fundamental to survival today. We should follow British Columbia’s example and make financial literacy mandatory in every grade - across the country.
The framing of Motion 103, combatting Islamophobia, may seem like a distant concern to the free speech debate in universities, but it is in fact related in the way the so-called “alt-right” uses free speech as a rhetorical prop in their campaigns of ideological intimidation. Here:
Protesters rally over motion M-103, the Liberal anti-Islamophobia motion, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in March.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
Right-wing ideologues use free speech as an alibi for their transphobic and Islamophobic rhetoric.
A statue of John A. Macdonald is shown covered in red paint in Montreal in November 2017. Canada’s first Prime MInister, he has been criticized for his treatment of Indigenous peoples and attitudes towards those of Chinese origin.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)
In a time of populism and political polarization, children and young adults need to learn to think critically, with complexity and nuance. History, as a subject, is more important than ever.
Parents find new methods for learning math challenging, as they are different. But they work for children, building upon what they have learned about numbers and reinforcing the strategy they use for reading.
(Shutterstock)
You may not know it, but the elementary math wars are raging. Our expert explains the ‘new math’ - why it works for kids, and how to do it.
People demonstrate in Toronto in August 2017 in solidarity with those at a University of Virginia rally against white supremacy. That demonstration ended in tragedy after a woman was killed by a white supremacist. Universities in both the U.S. and Canada are at the centre of fierce debates about free speech and the right of those on the far right to be heard.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
In such a polarized age, universities and colleges should uphold the core values of liberal education by asserting, through their policies and practices, the reasonable, rational middle ground.
Humanoid robots at an international robotics competition in Tehran, Iran, during 2014. Students from 22 countries, including Canada, were competing during the three-day event.
(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
In their relentless pursuit of research commercialization, and bigger robots, universities might miss the real opportunity of technology - to make our world a better place.
A Reconciliation Pole is raised at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., in April 2017. The 17-metre red cedar pole tells the story of the time before, during and after the Indian residential school system. Thousands of copper nails representing thousands of Indigenous children who died in Canada’s residential schools were hammered into the pole by survivors, affected families, school children and others.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
Calls to “indigenize” universities must start with listening - to Indigenous scholars and nations. And real reparation will be painful for settlers, for it will be unsettling.
Does your daughter forget or misplace things all the time? Is she the classroom helper? Assessment scales for ADHD have tended to use data from boys so the signs of ADHD in girls may not be what you expect.
(Shutterstock)
Assessment scales for ADHD have been developed using mostly male research samples. As a result, the behaviours indicating ADHD in girls may not be what you expect.
In the ongoing strike by college faculty throughout Ontario, the issues on the table include pay, job security for partial-load instructors and the question of academic freedom.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston)
College faculty in Ontario are going back to work after the longest strike in their history. Here one university professor describes her personal experience of undervalued college teaching work.
Research shows that when parents engage in simple science projects with their kids at home, it boosts their learning in school.
(Shutterstock)
Mathematics departments in Canada have a poor record on equity, diversity and inclusivity says a gay mathematics professor. Here he speaks about the hopeful changes he sees coming.
Approximately 87,000 children in Canada are affected by autism. A new web platform promises to help their families access much-needed research knowledge.
Families supporting children with autism urgently need better access to the latest research about evidence-based treatments. A new health design project from Emily Carr University is helping.
Using federal funding to hire a student composer for the summer is an innovative idea to help support young creative talent.
(Shutterstock)
The Canada Summer Jobs program allowed the Kingston Chamber Choir to hire a student to write an original composition. Other arts organizations should follow suit to employ students in creative fields.
U.S. President Donald Trump raises his glass in a toast at the start of a dinner in Seoul, South Korea.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s “scourge of oppressive stupidity” has been in the Oval Office for a year. His assault on higher education is among Trump’s more disturbing penchants.
Navdeep Bains, Canada’s
innovation, science and economic development minister, takes part in a technology event in Ottawa in May 2017. The Canadian government has started up a $1.26-billion fund to support innovation-related business investments.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
If leaders of educational institutions are concerned about the employability of graduates, they should avoid over-investing in STEM subjects and stop snubbing liberal arts.
Research shows that holding down a job as a teenager has real benefits later in life.
(Shutterstock)
Instead of trying out for band or the hockey team, adolescents might do better to choose a part-time job as an extracurricular activity. Research shows it pays big dividends later in life.
If the government expanded the new $73 million Student Work-Integrated Learning program to all students it could help tackle Canada’s most intractable social problems — such as homelessness, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, affordable housing, social cohesion and intercultural understanding.
A new government program will create 10,000 work placements for undergraduates in only business and STEM subjects. Why not fund students to innovate in the social sector too?
A unique collaborative journalism project revealed industry and government officials in Saskatchewan were aware of significant public safety hazards from potentially deadly hydrogen sulphide gas.
(Michael Wrobel/NSIRN)
Canadian newspapers are in trouble, and there are no philanthropic efforts afoot to rescue them. The National Student Investigative Reporting Network, or NSIRN, is aiming to make a difference.
The second annual International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating is an attempt by universities around the world to raise awareness about students who hire others to do their work.
(Shutterstock)
Across Canada and around the world, thousands of students are paying cash for good grades - in tests, essays and even PhD theses. On Oct. 18, 2017, universities globally are fighting back.
At McMaster University, 40 per cent of assistant professors in engineering are now women and the school is working hard to make the profession more equitable for women.
(Shutterstock)
Engineering has long been a male-dominated profession. Now engineering schools globally are making extraordinary efforts to attract the creative female talent they really need.
Biomedical engineering involves the application of engineering solutions to medical problems. Employment in the field is projected to grow 23 per cent from 2014 to 2024.
(Shutterstock)
One professor explains how war in Iran led her to a career in biomedical engineering - a rapidly growing field that offers students exciting opportunities to serve humanity.
Former astronaut Julie Payette urges Canada to use science, knowledge, and innovation as paths to better future for all, during her installation ceremony as Canada’s 29th Governor General in the Senate chamber of Parliament on Oct. 2.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
Society needs more research that is both excellent and useful. We can achieve this by shifting the academic culture toward research that is Highly Integrative Basic and Responsive (HIBAR).
