A multiyear NSF study by FAU, the Brookings Institution, Texas State University, and four Robert Noyce partner institutions examined STEM teacher preparation and retention in high-need U.S. schools. Using national data, program surveys, and stakeholder interviews, findings show that Noyce-supported programs help maintain a stable, well-qualified STEM workforce, boost teacher readiness, and reduce vacancies near partner institutions. While some gaps remain, targeted policies and programs are critical for sustaining a resilient STEM teacher pipeline and expanding equitable student access to high-quality STEM education.

The Research Group on Academic and Professional English at the Universitat Jaume I (GRAPE-UJI), led by professors Inmaculada Fortanet and Noelia Ruiz, is developing a computer tool to promote a paradigm shift in language teaching — in this case, English — that will make it possible to move from an exclusively linguistic approach to a global approach in which visual elements play as important a role as verbal elements.

The team has received funding from the UJI>LAB IMPULS call with a project led by Edgar Bernad that will help accelerate the software development of GRAPE-MARS (Multimodal Analysis Research Software). The first prototype, already in operation and tested by a large number of researchers at international level, was created in a previous project with the participation of Noelia Ruiz, Inmaculada Fortanet, Edgar Bernad and Julia Valeiras. The current project aims to improve the programme and commercialise it in relevant contexts such as research, education and business.

When animals move through complex visual environments, the brain cannot afford to analyze every detail one by one. Instead, it rapidly extracts the overall structure of the scene—for example, the mean (average) direction of motion across many moving elements. This ability, known as ensemble perception, allows the brain to capture the “gist” of a scene at a glance. Yet where, and how, this statistical summary is computed in the brain has remained unclear.

Non-verbal cues from teachers have a significant effect on social tension in the classroom. In a new study, a researcher observed that a teacher who responded to the school bell with deliberate actions and prompted his students to do the same enforced social ‘tightness.’ Whereas free-flowing responses to the bell indicated that social ‘looseness’ was acceptable. This suggests that teachers can alter the social tension they require from students through responses to the school bell.