Though writing by hand is increasingly being eclipsed by the ease of computers, a new study finds we shouldn’t be so quick to throw away the pencils and paper: handwriting helps people learn certain skills surprisingly faster and significantly better than learning the same material through typing or watching videos.
Recent news from The Johns Hopkins University
This section contains regularly updated highlights of the news from around The Johns Hopkins University. Links to the complete news reports from the nine schools, the Applied Physics Laboratory and other centers and institutes are to the left, as are links to help news media contact the Johns Hopkins communications offices.
The Most Curious Babies Years Later Maintain Cognitive Edge
A first-of-its-kind longitudinal study of infant curiosity found that months-old babies most captivated by magic tricks became the most curious toddlers, suggesting a pre-verbal baby’s level of interest in surprising aspects of the world remains constant over time and could predict their future cognitive ability.
Teens Can Get Vaccinated: Johns Hopkins Experts Available on What This Means for Schools
People as young as 12 can now get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, as early as this week, now that the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use. Experts with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, which has been studying the complex question of what it will take for the nation to safely return students to school, are available for perspective and commentary.
Preview Latest in Science, Research During Hopkins on the Hill Event
Federal funding sustains much of the critical research underway at Johns Hopkins University and Medicine. The biennial event, Hopkins on the Hill, showcases the range, value, and impact of this work.
Instead of the usual one big event on Capitol Hill, Hopkins on the Hill is virtual this year, with lunchtime programming spread across May and June. It’s a chance to learn about the cutting-edge science and projects, straight from the early career researchers and practitioners working on it. The sessions will cover everything from space exploration and extreme materials development to Hopkins’ work to track and combat COVID-19.
Advisory: Johns Hopkins Early Education Experts Can Offer Perspective on Biden’s Free Preschool Plan
As part of his American Families Plan President Biden is expected today to call for free preschool for all three and four-year-old children. Johns Hopkins University experts who specialize in early education, including some who helped advise Biden’s plan, are available to offer context, commentary and perspective.
Repeating a Grade? Johns Hopkins Expert Available on Best Ways to Make Up Pandemic Learning Loss
Schools, teachers and parents nationwide are now grappling with how best to help students who might have fallen behind after more than a year of interrupted learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In some districts, parents are being asked to consider holding children back a grade.
David Steiner, director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, is available to discuss how schools can help students make up for these missed months of education, and, how retention might not be the best solution.
ADVISORY: Johns Hopkins Experts Available on Anniversary of WFH, SchoolFH
The United States is approaching the one-year anniversary of the pandemic forcing the closure of offices and schools across the country, launching millions of Americans into remote work and schooling.
Johns Hopkins University experts who have been studying the short and long-term impacts of these changes are available to speak about the possible implications of WFH and SchoolFH on the future of work and education.
ADVISORY: Johns Hopkins Experts Available on CDC School Reopening Plan
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected on Friday to release guidance on the safe reopening of schools. Johns Hopkins University experts, including experts from the university’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, which has been studying the complex question of what it will take for the nation to safely return students to school, will be available for perspective and commentary on the CDC update.
Most U.S. Schools Teaching Black History, But Few Doing It Well
history than ever before. However, ongoing analysis from Johns Hopkins University finds these efforts often fail, because coursework emphasizes the negative aspects of African American life while omitting important contributions made by families of color in literature, politics, theology, art, and medicine.
JHU Humanities Program for Community College Students to Expand
A summer program that gives area community college students an opportunity to bolster their academic confidence while conducting humanities research at Johns Hopkins University will expand with a new $1.8 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Singing for Science: How the Arts Can Help Students Who Struggle Most
Incorporating the arts—rapping, dancing, drawing—into science lessons can help low-achieving students retain more knowledge and possibly help students of all ability levels be more creative in their learning, finds a new study by Johns Hopkins University.
Black Students Who Have One Black Teacher More Likely to Go to College
Having one black teacher in elementary school not only makes children more likely to graduate high school, it makes them significantly more likely to enroll in college.
Baltimore Students to Take ‘Wakanda Challenge’ at Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Event
At the annual meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the nation’s largest gathering of black elected officials, about 100 students from Baltimore City’s Dunbar High School will participate in an event called the STEAM Revolt Youth Workshop: Wakanda Design Challenge. In this interactive contest, students, who are part of Dunbar’s P-TECH college prep program, will create a new Avengers superhero with ties to African culture.
Urban Violence Can Hurt Test Scores Even for Kids Who Don’t Experience It
Children who attend school with many kids from violent neighborhoods show significantly lower test scores than peers with classmates from safer areas, according to a new Johns Hopkins University study.
City Elementary/Middle Students to Show Off Their STEM Inventions
Students from nine Baltimore City elementary/middle schools will show off creations they conceived and built—some as part of classroom assignments, and others in response to challenges they encounter in their own communities.
JHU and Lockheed Martin to Host Science and Engineering Expo at Baltimore City School
The Johns Hopkins University, Lockheed Martin and Barclay Elementary/Middle School will come together for an evening designed to showcase the science and engineering projects that students have been working on in the classroom all year.
MEDIA ADVISORY: JHU Expert Has New Paper on Risk of Arming Teachers
A Johns Hopkins University professor’s working paper that concludes that arming teachers would be risky and ineffective.