Useful Science

Ambient noise, email checking frequency, and academic tracking

Episode Summary

This week we learn about ambient noise for creative thinking, email checking frequency, and academic tracking, which is separating students into different classes or schools according to their academic ability.

Episode Notes

http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast/11

This week we learn about ambient noise for creative thinking, email checking frequency, and academic tracking, which is separating students into different classes or schools according to their academic ability.

Follow us @usefulsci or email us at podcast@usefulscience.org.

Show Notes

• Individuals who were instructed to only check e-mails 3 times per day (as opposed to as many times as they wanted) reported lower levels of daily stress.
• Ask Useful Science: Academic Tracking
  • The Variable Effects of High School Tracking (Gamoran, 1992)
  • Peer Effects, Teacher Incentives, and the Impact of Tracking: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Kenya (Duflo, Dupas & Kremer, 2008)
  • Implications for Ability Grouping in Mathematics for Fifth Grade Students (Stinnet, 2013)
  • Ability Grouping Interventions and Math Performance Among Inner-City School (Sreckovic, 2015)
  • Can Universal Screening Increase the Representation of Low Income and Minority Students in Gifted Education? (Card & Giuliano, 2015)
• The optimal noise level for carrying out abstract thinking and creative tasks is 70 dB, which is the average noise level of a coffee shop.