'magnifying glass' photo (c) 2005, Tall Chris - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
I often write about research studies from various fields 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:

Here’s an interesting “take” on incentives:

Before writing personal bonus checks to your employees this December, have a look at our paper — hot off the press! If you are hoping that a bonus would allow them to buy whatever they wish and as a result be happier at work and more productive, we have a better idea! Rather than giving your employees more personal bonuses, make a minor adjustment and offer them prosocial bonuses, a novel type of bonus to be spent on others.

Across three field experiments, we tested the efficacy of prosocial bonuses against the standard model of personal bonuses. We found that when companies gave their employees money to spend on charities or on their colleagues (as opposed to themselves), employees 1) reported increased job satisfaction and 2) performed notably better.

How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success is from The New York Times. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On How Exercise Helps Learning — Please Contribute Other Resources.

Think Twice, Speak Once: Bilinguals Process Both Languages Simultaneously is from Science Daily. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning The Advantages To Being Bilingual.

Helping Others Helps You Live Longer is from TIME.