Ben Domingue and colleagues at Stanford University wanted to know if school disruptions during the pandemic caused delays in reading development in 5- to 8-year-old children. The research team found stark differences in children’s reading fluency in the spring and fall of 2020 compared with previous years. As reading is a foundational skill, the researchers urge swift action and targeted resources to help children recoup. Read the article here.

A popular notion may persist that video games could have negative effects on the brain, but in the latest episode of The BOLD Podcast, Daphne Bavelier discusses her work on how the brain adapts to new and different experiences, particularly the effect of playing video games, and how this could be leveraged to improve learning and brain plasticity. Listen to the podcast here.

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