A Principal's Reflections

JANUARY 30, 2022

One of the most powerful teaching and leadership strategies is the act of modeling. It goes beyond just telling people what to do by instead showing them how to do it as a means to either support learning or change. In the classroom, modeling aids in making concepts clear where students learn by observing. I shared the following in Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms : Modeling is a pedagogical strategy whereby the teacher or student(s) demonstrates how to complete tasks and activities related

K-12 523

K-12 Leadership High School Teaching 523

Catlin Tucker

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

This week, I received a comment to my blog asking: What do you feel is the biggest difference between playlists and choice boards? Would you say a playlist is more data-driven and a choice board gives more variety in learning modalities? These are great questions! I have heard teachers use these terms interchangeably, yet there is a distinct difference between these the playlist model and choice boards.

Teaching 218

Teaching 218

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

In the 1970s and 80s, groups of primarily white, Christian fundamentalists drove a surge in the number of home-schooling families around the country. As they pulled their children out of public schools, they also worked to dismantle state and local regulatory hurdles that kept kids in brick-and-mortar institutions. By 1994, over 90 percent of families who home-schooled were white.

Lesson Plan 142

Lesson Plan Private School Cultures Public School 142

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

Sean Michael Morris knows that he has cultivated a certain “ethos” over his career in higher education—as a self-described critic of edtech and a champion of helping professors improve their teaching. So he was not surprised when his latest job change led to a firestorm of criticism on academic Twitter and social media this week. The news: He left his job at the University of Colorado at Denver to become an executive at Course Hero, a controversial homework-help site derided by many professors.

EdTech 125

EdTech Pedagogy Teaching History 125

Edthena

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

If you are an educator committed to culturally responsive teaching, you likely know Zaretta Hammond. Zaretta is the expert and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain , and we’ve highlighted her insights about what culturally responsive teaching even is and the neuroscience behind CRT. What may not be common knowledge, however, is how video reflection can be key to culturally responsive practices.

Cultures 52

Cultures Teaching Education EdTech 52

Michelle Wood

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

Students get bored pretty quickly. I’ve been trying to incorporate activities to change things up a bit for my AP Macro, AP Micro and Economics students. Here’s my usual routine: I have them take notes (before the lesson), I give the lesson, they work on some multiple choice and short answer questions. Next section, repeat. It gets old!

Economics 52

Economics Teaching 52

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 31, 2022

More than one-third of American children cannot read by fourth grade. And while the pandemic has certainly exacerbated the nation’s literacy crisis, these struggles predated Covid. The answer, I believe, is with the “science of reading.”. Over the last several months, public discourse about learning to read and reading instruction has significantly increased.

Teaching 128

Teaching Advocacy Leadership Research 128

Edthena

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

After our recent announcement about Edthena’s AI Coach platform, THE Journal reported on this revolutionary new way to offer teachers personalized coaching. Here’s how they summed it up: New AI Coach by Edthena Makes Personalized Coaching Accessible to All Teachers. Educator professional development provider Edthena today launched an artificial intelligence-based platform called AI Coach capable of helping teachers review and analyze videos of their classroom methods and self-ide

Professional Development 52

Professional Development Teaching K-12 EdTech 52

Social Studies Success

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

Have you wanted to try stations, but are unsure where to start? Have you used stations with your students, but were unsuccessful? I remember my first year teaching. My principal told me to use stations… that was all the information I was given – use stations (not very helpful). After several years of trial and error, I finally figured out what makes stations work, and how you can use different types of stations in your classroom.

Social Studies 52

Social Studies History Teaching 52

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

Judging from the emails, calls and tweets I’ve received in the last week, there are few early education studies with more hated results than the multi-year study from Vanderbilt University researchers, which tracks outcomes for children who attended Tennessee’s voluntary pre-K program more than a decade ago. The first part of the study, released in 2015, showed slightly negative effects on the academic performance of pre-K graduates by the end of third grade.

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K-12 Elementary School Research Education Policy 122

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Ralphie came to us via a disciplinary hearing in the spring of 2019, after he was charged with multiple disciplinary infractions including fighting and drug use. He was 14 years old. Ralphie’s case resulted in long-term suspension and assignment to Marietta Alternative Program and Services (MAPs), an alternative program within his local high school in Marietta, Ga., that provides increased academic, social-emotional and behavioral support for students who aren’t thriving in traditional settings.

High School 118

High School Tradition Education Educational Technology 118

Edthena

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Today, Edthena is announcing the AI Coach platform. We’ve been working on this for close to a year, and we’re excited to welcome you to the future of teacher development. Wary of robots gone awry? Not to worry. Edthena’s first-of-its-kind solution isn’t trying to replace humans. Rather, the AI Coach platform helps schools and districts provide all teachers with supportive coaching in order to improve teaching effectiveness.

Humanities 52

Humanities Teaching Education K-12 52

Transcending Pedagogy

JANUARY 31, 2022

Today is the start of second semester, and the beginning of a new course for me to teach: Poetry. It’s not new for our district, just new to me. As a self-professed lover and consumer of poetry, I am both thrilled for this opportunity and nervous about it, as you might imagine, so I’m reflecting on current practices in order to think about taking them to the “next level.” I’ve taught quite a bit of poetry in my day, and have worked steadily over the last ten years o

Pedagogy 52

Pedagogy High School Teaching 52

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Convincing students and parents to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA, can often be a losing battle – and completion rates are low in many states across the country. In Louisiana, state officials have gotten students excited about what seems like a tedious task by turning it into a competition among high schools. In addition to offering typical FAFSA workshops and seminars, the state took FAFSA-form-filling tables to social events.

High School 105

High School Economics Government Education 105

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

This fall, students and staff at close to 200 public schools in Wake County, N.C., which includes Raleigh, received an unexpected break. Schools were closed on November 12 for a “ day of reflection and preparation.” That same day, schools in Cumberland County, N.C., about 60 miles south, had the day off for “Wellness Friday.” As the Delta variant of COVID-19 spread around the country, school districts in hard-hit regions of the country gave students and educators a chance to catch their breath.

K-12 116

K-12 Public School Research Education 116

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

It’s popular these days to argue that a pandemic boost of online education will lead to a wave of college closures. Most colleges just aren’t changing fast enough, the theory goes, and many are risking extinction. But this kind of rhetoric irks Clay Shirky, the vice provost for educational technologies at New York University and an influential voice on how technology is changing our culture.

Educational Technology 106

Educational Technology Cultures High School Education 106

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

In my early years as a teacher, I would read teaching books desperately looking for bulleted lists and numbered paragraphs. I sought out gray boxes at the end of chapters with a “Try This” heading. I wanted steps to follow, procedures with track-records of success. I wanted a step-by-step manual on how to be a good teacher. I wanted to do everything the right way.

History 104

History Cultures Teaching Research 104

ED Surge

JANUARY 31, 2022

There's a common misconception that science is inherently neutral and objective, absolving it of any responsibility for racist beliefs and practices. However, many of the scientific advancements we celebrate are rooted in racism and sexism. Numerous medical cures and breakthroughs, including the polio vaccine and recent developments towards an HIV vaccine, required HeLa cells.

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K-12 Critical Thinking Humanities Cultures 101

ED Surge

JANUARY 31, 2022

Here’s my New Year’s resolution for higher education: extend the reach of research to the people. Recently, universities and academics have begun to talk about open science (i.e., research practices used to enhance transparency from design to dissemination). There is a robust agenda for academia’s future, including code sharing, registered reports and accessibility.

Research 98

Research Library Education Educational Technology 98

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 31, 2022

The College Board’s announcement that it is ditching the paper-and-pencil SAT in 2024 and administering the college admission exam only by computer raises a confounding question: do students perform better on paper or digital tests? Back in 2016, Ben Herold of Education Week reported that grade-school students who took the computerized version of a different test, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), in 2014-15 scored lower than students taking the paper-a

Social Studies 97

Social Studies Research History High School 97

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

When Sasha Shunk first opened a child care center in her Maine home nearly 20 years ago, she knew she would have to stand out among the nearly 3,000 other home-based child care providers operating in the state at the time. This story also appeared in Mind/Shift. “I always knew there were other child care providers a road away or the street down from me,” said Shunk, who cares for 12 children at $325 a week, each, and has about 40 more children on a waitlist.

Government 129

Government Research Humanities Education 129