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The benefits of using a motivational framework for culturally responsive…
Sangeeta Johri EducationThis research-based article explores the benefits of a motivational framework for culturally responsive teaching in higher education. To support her study, the author explains how she has experimented and utilized a motivational framework in her classes while teaching English as a second language (ESL) to her students from diverse cultural backgrounds. The author highlights the four different aspects of a motivational framework: inclusion, attitude, meaning, and competence. She also highlights different strategies and activities that she has used in her own classes based on a motivational framework.
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‘Growth mindset’ in education: Great new tool or overrated…
Patrick Gleeson Education"Growth mindset" theory in education proposes that minds are malleable: teachers can improve students’ "intelligence, ability and performance" by encouraging them to believe their learning abilities aren’t fixed, but are capable of growth. The theory is popular in education circles. Firsthand teacher accounts show dramatic learning improvements attributed to growth mindset. It also has its detractors. At least one well-designed study found little evidence the theory really does work in practice. Who's right?
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Education predictions for the next year and beyond
Bambi Majumdar EducationThe beginning of every new year spawns a flurry of predictions. This year's predictions in education mark a definite shift in direction. According to experts, education will be moving away from one-size-fits-all assessments and memorizing facts to learning how to make a difference. In the next decade, solving complex problems will be most important for students. Forbes predicts that, instead of an obsession with testing and ranking, cohort education will involve place-based learning experiences. Experiential learning will slowly become the new normal.
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Enhancing linguistic choral responses with multilingual learners
Erick Herrmann EducationIn most any classroom focused on helping students learn language, phrases such as "repeat after me" are commonplace, as teachers know that students need to practice saying words and putting words into sentences in order to develop language skills. In some classrooms, you might even hear phrases such as "say it with me…" or just "say ____." All of these phrases and the practice of having students chorally respond will enhance language learning by providing practice opportunities and building engagement.
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Screen time: How much is too much?
Brian Stack EducationAs our world becomes more and more digital, our classrooms continue to become transformed through technology. The curriculum binders in the back of the teacher's classroom have been replaced with a shared "drive." The whiteboard at the front of the room seldom has dry erase marking on it because students know their agenda, know that their notes will always live in the "cloud" and realize that the whiteboard is really a way for the teacher to project the Google Classroom on the wall. There is an app for everything — literally.
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The real reason a new K-12 teacher probably can’t afford to live…
Patrick Gleeson EducationThere are two different reasons a beginning teacher in this country likely can't afford to live on their salary. One reason is supremely self-evident: state by state and city by city, teachers are paid less than similarly educated and qualified professionals. The second reason isn't quite so obvious, but it underlies the first and it's quite grim. Teachers are underpaid because as a group, teachers are disrespected and disliked by significant segments of the U.S. population. The underpayment isn't just "a lack of funds." It's deliberate and intended.
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Why cultural understanding is essential: Part 4
Douglas Magrath EducationIt is important for instructors and staff to understand the various cultures represented in their student populations. Culture might be defined as the ideas, customs, skills, arts and tools that characterize a given group of people in a given period. Culture is an integral part of any communicative language course; culture involves the interaction of words, function and reality. Language and culture are tied together. You can't have one without the other.
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Teachers are a lot less enthusiastic about innovation than you think
Patrick Gleeson EducationA courageous teacher fights an unwieldy bureaucracy to introduce powerful new learning strategies. Recognize this? It's basically the plot of "Dangerous Minds," the movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer, a plot it shares with a lot of other heartwarming film and television dramas. But also — if you accept the results of an Education Week 2018 poll on teachers and innovation — it’s a storyline you're not that likely to find in real life. Teachers, it turns out, are less enthusiastic about innovation in education than you might think. It's actually their administrators who favor it.
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2019: A year in review
Brian Stack EducationHappy New Year! As we begin 2020 and look forward to what the new year will bring, let's take a look back at what our profession learned in the last year. From the over 25 articles that I wrote for MultiBriefs in 2019, the topics that seemed to have the highest reach with educators focused on topics such as competency-based/personalized learning; mental health and social-emotional learning (SEL); and school safety.
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A look at the importance of innovation in K-12 schools for 2020
Bambi Majumdar EducationHundrED.org, a Finnish nonprofit education organization, recently announced its top 100 K-12 innovations globally. The list includes some incredible and inspiring innovations that are available for free, are impactful and scalable, and are aimed at helping children learn and flourish. Why is this important? Because we live in the digital age of education and mere access to computers, the internet, and basic educational software will no longer cut it. We need innovative programs so students can get more involved in their classes.
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