University of Wisconsin–Madison

Category: Department of Educational Psychology

New study identifies problems with diagrams commonly used by chemistry teachers

Diagrams commonly used to teach chemistry concepts sometimes do more harm than good in students’ learning experiences, according to a new study from UW–Madison’s Martina Rau.  The study, published in Journal of Chemical Education, found that undergraduate students often misinterpreted the meaning of arrows used in chemistry diagrams to convey information about things like the structure …

Enright offers insight on science of forgiveness in Forbes feature

Forbes highlighted the expertise of Robert Enright, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, in a recent feature on forgiveness.  Enright is considered to be one of the founders of the scientific study of forgiveness and was recently lauded as a “game changer” in modern psychology by the American Psychological Association. In the Forbes article, Enright explained …

Back to school experts from UW–Madison are available to share insights

As parents, students, and teachers prepare for the upcoming 2022-23 academic year, experts from UW–Madison’s School of Education are ready to share their thoughts with media members on a range of school and education-related topics. Countdown to kindergarten (and 4K) As a parent, one day you’re changing diapers … and the next thing you know …

Student scholars explain their work at Summer Education Research Poster Symposium

On Wednesday, Aug. 3, 10 student scholars took part in the Summer Education Research Poster Symposium hosted by the UW–Madison School of Education’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. These student scholars had been conducting research alongside faculty mentors as a part of the 10-week Summer Education Research Program (SERP).  The students, who came to …

Latest Learning Connections alumni magazine now available online

The Summer 2022 edition of Learning Connections, a magazine for alumni and friends of the UW–Madison School of Education, is now posted online. This latest issue centers on “Rising to the Challenge.” The nation is divided on a range of topics and ongoing divisions are making it difficult to solve problems. In this environment, School of …

Enright discusses scientific study of forgiveness on Wisconsin Public Radio

Educational psychology professor Robert Enright joined Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Central Time” program last week to share his expertise about the scientific study of forgiveness.  Enright, who holds the Aristotelian Professorship in Forgiveness Science in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, spoke about decades of research that have shown offering forgiveness to others reduces …

‘If we could learn to not be fooled’: Educational psychology professor wins grant to fight misinformation

By Laurel White Teaching people how to spot and outsmart a particularly tricky form of misinformation online is at the heart of new UW-Madison research recently funded by the National Science Foundation.  The research, led by Martina Rau, will focus on visual misinformation — specifically, misinformation presented online in graphs. Rau, an associate professor with the …

UW–Madison’s Kaplan will be guest professor at Heidelberg University in Germany

UW–Madison’s David Kaplan, the Patricia Busk Professor of Quantitative Methods in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, was named an international guest professor and will spend three months at the Institute für Bildungswissenshaft (Institute for Education Science) at Heidelberg University in Germany. The professorship is part of the project “Expanding Internationality,” a component of the university’s Excellence …

UW–Madison’s Enright lauded as ‘game changer’ in modern psychology

By Laurel White Decades of pioneering work on the vast personal and social benefits of forgiveness — from reducing individuals’ anxiety and aggression to fostering better cross-cultural communication amid political conflict — have earned UW-Madison’s Robert Enright one of psychology’s rarest and highest lifetime achievement awards.  Enright’s scientific study of forgiveness has had a “game-changing impact …

School of Education authors receive ‘best paper’ honors at learning sciences annual meeting

Two papers that were selected for awards at the recent 2022 International Society for the Learning Sciences annual meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, were written by authors from the UW–Madison School of Education. A paper by UW–Madison’s Mitchell Nathan and Michael Swart, co-written with Candace Walkington of Southern Methodist University (SMU), received the International Conference of the Learning …