When students struggle at school and allocate little time for homework, a reasonable assumption is a lack of motivation – or the unwillingness to study. This pushes schools and parents to focus on incentivising the child to work harder. Recent research suggests that differences in the productivity of time spent on homework are potentially far more important, implying a fundamentally different remedy. Gaining a precise understanding of the science of student performance is critical for the success of the educational reforms under way across the Arabian Gulf.
When I was a child, I enjoyed playing soccer, but I only did so casually. I avoided the hundreds of hours of regimented drills that must be put in by someone who seeks to become a professional player. This ensured my career lay away from the green grass of soccer fields.
To an onlooker, there are at least two possible explanations for my failure to become the next Lionel Messi. The first is that I lacked the motivation to put in the necessary hard work. Or, that I lacked the ability and knowledge needed to transform my hours on the training field into a career as a professional soccer player.
From the perspective of the Arab Gulf countries, replicating such studies in local contexts can play a significant role in educational reform
The same line of thinking can be applied to students who struggle at school while spending less time on homework than their more successful peers: do they lack motivation, or is homework an unproductive enterprise for them?
To a struggling student, the return on each hour of self-learning may be meagre compared to the high yield experienced by star students. The steps needed to improve a student’s motivation – such as helping them appreciate the importance of doing well at school or improving their self-confidence – are very different from other interventions that may be required to make a student’s self-study more productive. Understanding the cause is critical for prescribing the correct remedy.
And there are parallel case studies in other fields. Take the Arabian Gulf, for example, and the economies that are undergoing transformations. There is a need for policy decisions that quickly deliver improvements before income from hydrocarbons falls.
Accordingly, understanding the underlying factors contributing to student success is a priority. This need is accentuated by studies of the relationship between human capital and economic growth: for an economy to thrive, one must not simply focus on the average or best students – even the weaker ones must improve: like a chain, an economy is only as strong as its weakest link.
The problem for educators in the Arabian Gulf and elsewhere is that it is very difficult to accurately diagnose the cause of a student’s struggles. How does one measure motivation and homework productivity reliably and discern the role played by each of those factors? This challenge has led to educators taking a more qualitative and one-size-fits-all approach, with a presumption that for many students, low motivation is a chronic cause of underperformance.
New research presents an alternative path. Christopher Cotton, professor of Economics at Queen’s University, Canada, and his colleagues gathered precise, student-level data for more than 1,600 students in the Chicago Public Schools system over several years. Critically, they were able to manipulate determinants of motivation, for example, by paying students to do their homework, and observed exactly how homework time was spent and how students benefitted.
The study’s key conclusion is that contrary to conventional wisdom low motivation was not the primary cause for the underperformance of students. Instead, students who struggled spurned the opportunity to do homework that would improve their grades primarily because the productivity of such time was so low, in contrast to the high returns on homework realised by better-performing students, which is to say, better grades.
Professor Cotton and his colleagues also identified solutions to the problem. Beyond the role that high-quality schools play, the researchers demonstrated productivity improves when homework is broken down into distinct, structured learning tasks with clear feedback.
For example, the online platform required students to solve five of six problems correctly per task. This structure made effort more effective, reduced time wasted and increased learning. Moreover, the judicious use of financial incentives – in the form of payments for correctly solved homework tasks – accelerated the process of learning and hence improved productivity, with lasting positive effects on a student’s performance.
From the perspective of the Arab Gulf countries, replicating such studies in local contexts can play a significant role in educational reform. Such an approach not only ensures that what worked in Chicago can work in this region, it can also equip educators and scholars with the advanced research methods needed to study this issue and related ones with the necessary rigor that can sometimes be elusive in the Arabian Gulf region.
Should the Chicago study’s findings materialise in the Gulf, the lesson is clear: motivating students matters, but making their study time work harder for them matters even more. A shift in focus towards productivity-based interventions could be the difference between cosmetic reforms and a genuine leap in educational performance.
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
RIDE%20ON
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (All UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (11.30pm)
Saturday
Union Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
FA Augsburg v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Werder Bremen (6.30pm)
SC Paderborn v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Monchengladbach (9.30pm)
Sunday
Cologne v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
Mainz v FC Schalke (9pm)
Naga
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
