Over lunch today I read an article on Overcoming Underachievement in Edutopia. In a nutshell, the study showed that a simple 15 minute writing exercise where minority students wrote about attributes “they value, such as relationships with friends or being good at art” (p.58). This little activity increased the students’ achievement, startling the researchers with the impact on their learning.

So I wonder, do videoconferences raise students’ self-esteem? I’ve seen some students get really excited when they are called on, get to talk, or are able to be on camera. If they share their work (poetry, writing, art, etc.) with another person, school, expert, author, other students… does that raise their self-esteem? And in doing so, does it make them more confident and motivated to do their other work?

Isn’t that a great research question? I’ve added a new category to my blog for research so I can record these “wonderments”. Maybe some graduate student looking for a research topic will take it on….