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Study finds influential textbooks labeled American actions as imperialist, contradicting American exceptionalism

A new study from the University of Kansas found that influential history textbooks in Texas high schools have long argued that America acted as an empire, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The study contradicts the concept of American exceptionalism, which posits that the US is exceptional throughout its history.

SourceUniversity of Kansas·JournalPaedagogica Historica·TypeLiterature review·DateOct 28, 2024

Sexist textbooks? Review of over 1200 English-language textbooks from 34 countries reveals persistent pattern of stereotypical gender roles and under-representation of female characters across countries

A study analyzing over 1200 English-language school textbooks from 34 countries found a persistent pattern of stereotypical gender roles, with male-coded words appearing twice as often as female-coded words. The analysis also revealed under-representation of female characters in textbooks across countries.

SourcePLOS·JournalPLOS ONE·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateOct 9, 2024

Small changes make a big difference in life cycle diagrams

A new study finds that simple design changes in life cycle diagrams can have a significant impact on undergraduate students' ability to understand ecology and evolution concepts. The study involved 684 undergraduates who were given three different diagram formats, with the linear format showing multiple offspring scoring highest on que...

SourceNorth Carolina State University·JournalEducation Sciences·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 17, 2024

Religion is not the factor that most influences rejection of evolutionary theory in schools, study says

A survey of 5,500 Brazilian and Italian students aged 14-16 found that nationality, social perceptions of science, and household income were more influential than religion in rejecting evolutionary theory. The study published in PLOS ONE reveals a significant gap in understanding geological time between Italian and Brazilian Catholics.

Tufts CTSI publishes first-of-its-kind resource on real-world research conducted with broadly engaged, diverse, and inclusive teams

The Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute has published a comprehensive resource on broadly engaged team science, which aims to include stakeholders in the research process. The book features perspectives and best practices from over 60 experts to inspire researchers and stakeholders to build diverse, inclusive teams.

Persistent gender bias found in scientific research and related course materials: A long-term linguistic analysis

Two studies published in Language reveal persistent gender bias in both peer-reviewed journal articles and course materials used in linguistics. Linguistics textbooks exhibit male-gendered protagonists more often, while research articles show stereotypes about men and women, with non-binary identities absent.

SourceLinguistic Society of America·JournalLanguage·TypeMeta-analysis·DateDec 6, 2021

LSU Health rediscovers anatomy to correct “common knowledge” about hip muscles

Researchers at LSU Health have rediscovered the correct anatomy of the hip muscles, finding that they do not join into a single tendon but instead attach to different regions. This discovery has significant implications for understanding the evolution of human upright gait and bipedal locomotion.

SourceLouisiana State University Health Sciences Center·JournalThe Anatomical Record·TypeObservational study·DateNov 8, 2021

Math that feels good

Researchers have developed a method to create Braille math textbooks using an authoring system and enhancements to standard methods. The new process enables mass production of affordable Braille textbooks, making mathematics more accessible to visually impaired students.

Study finds very few pages devoted to climate change in introductory science textbooks

A recent study found that less than 2% of pages in leading biology, chemistry, and physics textbooks discuss climate change. The research team analyzed over 15,000 combined pages from current editions of 16 undergraduate textbooks published between 2013 and 2015, concluding that there is a significant lack of emphasis on renewable ener...

SourceArizona State University·JournalEnvironmental Communication·DateApr 30, 2018

Time to rewrite the dinosaur textbooks? Not quite yet!

A team of international experts has re-evaluated a radical proposal to split dinosaurs into two new groups, finding that the evidence is not strong enough to overthrow traditional classification models. The study suggests that the most likely site of origin for dinosaurs is still in the southern hemisphere, particularly South America.

SourceUniversity of Bristol·JournalNature·DateNov 1, 2017

Turning textbook highlighting into time well-spent

A research program at Rice University aims to create software that uses students' highlights to improve their comprehension and knowledge retention. The team plans to analyze volunteers' highlights for clues about their understanding of the text and conduct laboratory experiments to develop new software.

Accelerating universe? Not so fast

Researchers have found two groups of type Ia supernovae with different properties, hinting at a reevaluation of the universe's expansion rate and dark energy. The discovery uses combined observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and Swift satellite.

SourceUniversity of Arizona·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·DateApr 10, 2015