I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

A study has found that when you gossip about someone, the people listening tend to attribute those same negative characteristics to….you. This sounds like something I can add to my lesson on rudeness.

Recent studies have shown that Music Tickles the Reward Centers in the Brain. Another reason to incorporate music in teaching English (see The Best Music Websites For Learning English and The Best Online Karaoke Sites For English Language Learners).

Optimism appears to improve your health
, and is associated with daily goal-setting. You might also be interested in My Best Posts On Students Setting Goals.

Asking if people are available and have time to talk with you instead of just immediately talking with them dramatically increases the rates of compliance. In the classroom, when a student is acting inappropriately, I generally try to begin with a “Can I talk with you, please?” before intervening. Just framing it as a request, even though the student knows it really isn’t, seems to help de-polarize the situation. And there have been a few times when a student has responded something like “Can you not talk to me right now — give me some time and let’s talk later” and that has also ended up working well.