A Principal's Reflections

MAY 22, 2013

Many of these conversations focused on my own son’s use of technology as a catalyst for creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking developed by playing Minecraft and using iMovie to storyboard and create his own movies. The two lead themes that students could choose from were ancient Egypt and Mars.

Critical Thinking 358

Critical Thinking Project-Based Learning Educational Technology Elementary School 358

A Principal's Reflections

JANUARY 18, 2015

When digital tools are integrated in a pedagogically sound fashion they also promote and enhance other essential skills sets such as communication, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, global awareness, and digital responsibility/citizenship.

Teaching 419

Teaching Artifacts Critical Thinking Educational Technology 419

A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 3, 2024

Relevant thinking in an educational context refers to connecting new knowledge and skills to real-world situations, making learning applicable to students' lives and future careers. It involves critical thinking directly related to personal experiences, societal issues, or practical applications.

Critical Thinking 464

Critical Thinking Pedagogy Project-Based Learning Cultures 464

A Principal's Reflections

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

Housed in the dining room for ease of access by all, the copper and cream books with gold trim were a staple resource for my brothers and me when we had to do any research for school work. It was a sight to behold as what seemed like an infinite amount of knowledge was alphabetically organized, just waiting to be consumed. Are you in?

Tradition 487

Tradition Critical Thinking High School Research 487

A Principal's Reflections

JUNE 16, 2024

However, research provides a beacon of hope, offering valuable insights into fostering a thriving learning environment. 2004), students who are actively engaged in lessons demonstrate a deeper understanding of content and develop stronger critical thinking skills. According to a study by Fredricks et al.

Critical Thinking 425

Critical Thinking Research Education 425

A Principal's Reflections

JUNE 9, 2024

Packed with practical examples, research-based strategies, and stories, any educator can find the most effective way to personalize learning. Personalize" provides the tools and strategies to create such a space, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and a genuine love for learning.

Tradition 409

Tradition Critical Thinking Cultures Leadership 409

NCHE

APRIL 1, 2025

The goals of the program have included providing instructional materials, tools, education and professional development that enhance teachers ability to integrate digitized primary sources from the Library of Congress into instruction that builds student literacy, critical thinking skills, content knowledge and ability to conduct original research.

Library 130

Library Primary Sources Museum Historic Sites 130

TeachThought

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Shifting from Chronos to Kairos in the Classroom Too often, modern education focuses exclusively on Chronosstructured schedules, standardized tests, fixed lesson planswhile neglecting Kairos, the individualized cognitive ‘space’ that empowers students to explore, question, and develop critical thinking skills.

Lesson Plan 268

Lesson Plan Critical Thinking K-12 Teaching 268

Thrive in Grade Five

MARCH 9, 2025

Activity #1 – Allow Students to Complete Independent Research Projects Have you seen the power of choice in action? When students are given the opportunity to research or learn more about something they enjoy, they work soooo much harder. Join my VIP email club for free. No spam, just great ideas, resources, and tips!

Social Studies 130

Social Studies Classroom Management Museum History 130

A Principal's Reflections

SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

Concerns center on its potential to replace human interaction and critical thinking skills. In a past post , I shared how leaders can use AI to provide timely and personalized feedback, create a research-based comment library to use during formal observation or evaluations, and streamline communication.

Leadership 400

Leadership Pedagogy Humanities Library 400

TeachThought

JULY 20, 2024

Discussions and Debates: To encourage critical thinking, engage students in conversations about AI ethics, societal impacts, and future possibilities. Computational Thinking Exercises: Create step-by-step instructions for tasks, teaching abstraction and problem decomposition. ’ to encourage deep thinking.

Teaching 314

Teaching K-12 Critical Thinking History 314

Passion for Social Studies

DECEMBER 15, 2024

For instance, they encourage critical thinking and analysis. The President Project allows students to research the role of this office. Luckily, the US History Projects Bundle has everything you need to integrate engaging ways for students to demonstrate their learning. They also promote activity learning.

History 130

History Primary Sources Critical Thinking Social Studies 130

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

News literacy is fundamental to preparing students to become active, critically thinking members of our civic life — which should be one of the primary goals of a public education,” Kim Bowman, News Literacy Project senior research manager and author of the report, said in an email interview. “If

Civics 145

Civics Psychology Critical Thinking Teaching 145

A Principal's Reflections

JUNE 10, 2018

The University of Sheffield provides the following synopsis that validates the importance of this pedagogical strategy: Reflective learning is a way of allowing students to step back from their learning experience to help them develop critical thinking skills and improve future performance by analyzing their experience.

Pedagogy 402

Pedagogy Lesson Plan Critical Thinking Research 402

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Below I will highlight 5 key areas (essential questions, research, practicality, evidence/accountability, reflection) that can put your classroom, school, district, or organization on a path to digital efficacy. Research Research is prevalent in education for a reason. Now, there is good research and bad. I get that.

Cultures 384

Cultures Interactive Learning Research Critical Thinking 384

A Principal's Reflections

OCTOBER 16, 2016

Important qualities such as patience, compromise, creativity, focus, critical thinking, problem solving, determination, resilience, and resourcefulness, to name a few, are developed through play. Research has found that play develops students in four ways: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. Why you ask?

Professional Development 419

Professional Development Critical Thinking High School Cultures 419

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 18, 2021

I wanted to know what the research evidence says about the model that New York is discarding and how education researchers would remake gifted and talented programs. Fordham Institute, an education think tank, which published the Ohio study. Among whites, 8 percent get tapped for gifted classrooms.

Research 145

Research Education Elementary School Public School 145

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

A ‘Knowledge Revival’ A 2025 book by 10 education researchers in Europe and Australia, Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival , makes the case that students cannot learn the skills of comprehension and critical thinking unless they know a lot of stuff first. Weve all been there.

Teaching 137

Teaching Charter School Social Studies Geography 137

TeachThought

JUNE 5, 2024

Asking a question that pierces the veil in any given situation is itself an artifact of the critical thinking teachers so desperately seek in students, if for no other reason than it shows what the student knows, and then implies the desire to know more.

Critical Thinking 328

Critical Thinking Tradition Artifacts Cultures 328

ED Surge

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

A growing number of high school students are looking for opportunities to do academic research, hoping to add ‘published author’ to their list of achievements when they apply to colleges. But experts say that the trend of high school research, while well-intentioned, has plenty of pitfalls. They may be playing sports.

High School 122

High School Research Research Skills Private School 122

TeachThought

MARCH 30, 2024

“He was Research Assistant at Princeton (1940-1941), Professor of Theoretical Physics at Cornell University (1945-1950), Visiting Professor and thereafter appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (1950-1959).” According to nobelprize.org , Feynman obtained his B.Sc.

Critical Thinking 320

Critical Thinking Teaching Research Education 320

A Principal's Reflections

AUGUST 5, 2013

I am a firm believer in accountability measures that are backed by research, but less so in those that line the pockets of special interest groups. A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that “challenging standards-based exams reduce graduation and increase incarceration rates.”

Critical Thinking 337

Critical Thinking Economics High School History 337

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Its an approach some researchers think is too often missing from the classroom. Even among researchers, this can cause bulimic partisan commitments to one or the other, he adds. Its unfortunate, because research has shown that they are deeply connected, Clements says. But whats meant by play? I mean, its fun!

K-12 121

K-12 Pedagogy Teaching Elementary School 121

TCI

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

With the right HQIM, students develop critical thinking skills, engage meaningfully with historical content, and become informed citizens ready to tackle complex societal issues. Selecting high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) for social studies is one of the most impactful decisions a district can make.

Social Studies 98

Social Studies Primary Sources Civics Professional Development 98

The Hechinger Report

DECEMBER 28, 2020

What stands out for me is how readers remain interested in basic research into how kids learn, from reading to critical thinking to collaborating with peers. Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on my weekly stories about education data and research. A study on teaching critical thinking in science.

Research 113

Research Tutoring Education Critical Thinking 113

Moler's Musing

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

Henrietta Lacks The woman whose cells were used for groundbreaking medical research. It encouraged discussion and critical thinking. Since it was a more relaxed day, I wanted to keep students engaged while still working on reading, writing, and critical thinking. Marshal, believed to have inspired the Lone Ranger.

History 116

History Critical Thinking Research 116

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

That’s why I’m convinced that we as a nation have to prioritize civics education in schools to encourage civic engagement, empathy and critical thinking to sustain our constitutional democracy. The Pew Research Center has been tracking public trust in government since 1958 and the decline in trust is very real.

Civics 98

Civics Civic Engagement Museum Government 98

The Hechinger Report

DECEMBER 30, 2019

The research evidence for education technology continues to be weak. Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on my weekly stories about education data and research. Scientific research on how to teach critical thinking contradicts education trends. The dark side of education research: widespread bias.

Research 98

Research Education Critical Thinking Psychology 98

The Hechinger Report

JUNE 10, 2019

The latest research comes from the Reboot Foundation, which released a study in June 2019 that shows a negative connection between a nation’s performance on international assessments and 15-year-olds’ self-reported use of technology in school. Photo: Tara García Mathewson/The Hechinger Report. Choose as many as you like.

Research 112

Research Critical Thinking Educational Technology Economics 112

A Principal's Reflections

JULY 26, 2012

Pink has provided a compelling case as to why this will never work and this is supported by the research. A focus on standardization narrows the curriculum and creates a teaching culture where creativity, exploration, critical thinking are scarce or non-existent. Does this seem more meaningful and relevant?

Education 304

Education Artifacts Cultures Leadership 304

A Principal's Reflections

DECEMBER 3, 2011

Case studies promote the following skills that are at the heart of authentic learning: problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. MS Office applications, Internet research, trend/statistical Analysis, etc.) and higher-order thinking skills (i.e. They expose students to real-life issues.

Project-Based Learning 272

Project-Based Learning Interactive Learning Critical Thinking Teaching 272

ED Surge

JANUARY 21, 2025

She teaches concepts as wide-ranging as American Sign Language, critical thinking, typing, conducting research and writing in cursive. So research skills, those foundational skills, are a part of it, and that involves parts of a book. They learn about the title, the author, the publisher, and the copyright date.

Library 105

Library Charter School Education Lesson Plan 105

ED Surge

JANUARY 13, 2025

Research shows students are more engaged when they connect the learning to their strengths, abilities, preferences and interests. Research suggests that student outcomes can improve when direct instruction is combined with opportunities for practice paired with timely feedback.

EdTech 97

EdTech Critical Thinking Teaching Research 97

A Principal's Reflections

JUNE 13, 2013

tools on a routine basis to enhance and promote essential skill sets such as communication, collaboration, media literacy, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, global awareness, and technological proficiency. To this end, teachers and students are now routinely utilizing social media and other various Web 2.0

Leadership 291

Leadership Professional Development Educational Technology Critical Thinking 291

TCI

MARCH 25, 2025

However, research increasingly shows that integrating knowledge-rich instruction across subjects is essential for improving literacy, critical thinking, and overall student success. This time allocation persists despite research showing that knowledge-rich instruction in these subjects significantly boosts literacy development.

Social Studies 52

Social Studies Primary Sources Critical Thinking Professional Development 52

ED Surge

JANUARY 16, 2025

Hardwired to Like Likes One of the reasons young people have a tough time unplugging from social media is that their brains are driven by dopamine, says researcher Laura Marciano. Marciano is a research associate at the Harvard T.H.

K-12 117

K-12 Middle School Critical Thinking High School 117

Passion for Social Studies

SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

Additionally, they will research why low voter turnout is a problem, even though it is essential to maintaining our democracy. Thankfully, this amazing unit has over 100 products that encourage critical thinking about political parties in the USA! Students will even learn how to register to vote!

Social Studies 235

Social Studies Teaching Lesson Plan Civic Engagement 235