Research

Comparing different ways of solving math problems is a great way to help middle schoolers learn new math concepts, researchers from Vanderbilt and Harvard universities have found. Read More

New research from Vanderbilt University has found students benefit more from being taught the concepts behind math problems rather than the exact procedures to solve the problems. The findings offer teachers new insights on how best to shape math instruction to have the greatest impact on student learning. Read More

Jesse Peterson, assistant professor of mathematics at Vanderbilt University, has won a $50,000 research fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation aimed at encouraging promising young scholars. Read More

Churches with predominantly black congregations are thriving in urban and suburban areas, and the most successful churches employ a variety of sophisticated marketing and programming strategies to draw members, a new study by Vanderbilt University researcher Sandra Barnes finds. The research offers insights into what successful black churches have in common today, when parishioners have more choices and expect more from their churches than they have in the past. Read More

Imagine a platoon of soldiers fighting in a hazardous urban environment who carry personal digital assistants that can display the location of enemy shooters in three dimensions and accurately identify the caliber and type of weapons they are firing. Read More

The keys to fixing the U.S. health care system are to hold people accountable for their actions; treat health insurance like auto insurance and tax individual's health care benefits said Larry Van Horn, a leading expert and researcher on health care management and economics. Read More

While many people associate the word "pork" with lawmakers' wasteful spending for pet projects, new Vanderbilt research demonstrates the importance of cabinet secretaries and their political ideology in the distribution of lucrative federal grants. Read More

Working in a global economy means a lot more than where a business builds or sends its products. Today, a business owner may operate a shipping business in Florida, have the business incorporated in Delaware, maintain the company's assets in an offshore bank account in the Cayman Islands and specify that any legal disputes be litigated in the United Kingdom. And this is all perfectly legal. Read More

New research by Vanderbilt professor of law and economics Joni Hersch found that housework not only reduces the salaries of women, but also affects some men's wages. She also found that women's salaries are negatively impacted by housework regardless of profession. Read More

Ellen H. Fanning, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, has received a 2009 Humboldt Research Award. Read More

New research from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College offers guidance for teachers to help them improve writing instruction in the primary grades and develop stronger student writers. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt scientists have invented the world's smallest version of the periscope and are using it to look at cells and other micro-organisms from several sides at once. Read More

As the Obama administration begins its quest to right the economy through government spending, a counter story of recovery comes from admirers of the Reagan administration. President Reagan's admirers point out that he was also faced with a horrible economy upon his inauguration which, they assert, Reagan cured with deep tax cuts. Read More

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today announced the establishment of a collaboration that seeks to make education a top priority for Tennessee. The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a nonpartisan initiative, hopes to jumpstart education reform efforts across the state. Vanderbilt will serve as a research partner to SCORE. Read More

The day that robot playmates help children with autism learn the social skills that they naturally lack has come a step closer with the development of a system that allows a robot to monitor a child's emotional state. Read More

Students helping other students learn has been proven to boost academic achievement and social skills in students with and without disabilities. A new book by Vanderbilt University researchers, Peer Support Strategies for Improving All Students' Social Lives and Learning, based on over 20 years of research in the field, offers teachers practical guidelines for implementing these peer support strategies in the classroom. Read More

Brandt F. Eichman, assistant professor of biological sciences and biochemistry at Vanderbilt University, has received Sigma Xi's Young Investigator Award. Read More

Thomas J. Weiler, professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University, has received a 2009 Humboldt Research Award. The award is granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Bonn, Germany for the purpose of encouraging research collaborations between German scientists and colleagues in other countries. Read More

Vanderbilt research shows impact of role models in African American performance Watch video of an interview with Ray Friedman. New research by Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management professor Ray Friedman finds that the presidential run of Barack Obama has had a strong positive impact on the test-taking… Read More

One of the most important themes to listen for in Barack Obama's inaugural address is a call for a united American body or citizenry, says Vanessa Beasley, an associate professor of communication studies at Vanderbilt University. Beasley is the author of You, The People: American National Identity in Presidential Rhetoric, which looks at previous inaugural addresses from 1885 to 2001. Read More