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Teachers share games that keep students moving — and learning
Sheilamary Koch EducationWhen I recently surveyed ESL and ELL teachers on their favorite games to play with students in class, most of the games recommended involved moving around the classroom or playground. One reason is these activities are most frequently requested by students — who unsurprisingly are attracted to what’s best for their well-being and learning. Among research that backs up what these children seem to know are multiple studies conducted by Terrence Dwyer that show exercise improves academic performance, classroom behavior and social skills.
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How a great coach makes a teacher excel
Savanna Flakes EducationThere are cultural changes in how children behave and navigate the learning experience, how standards are approached and have increased in rigor, and how technology can be integrated into the classroom. Thus, every teacher deserves a great coach. Countless research studies by Jim Knight shows that coached teachers were more effective in implementing new skills than just stand-alone professional development, and their students did better academically and emotionally.
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Scandinavian countries top happiness chart: What’s their secret?
Dave G. Houser Civil & GovernmentFor about six months of the year, Finland has only a few hours of light per day and endures temperatures well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. It also has one of the world’s highest tax rates. Nonetheless, Finns are the happiest people in the world according to the 2018 United Nations’ World Happiness Report — and their Nordic neighbors aren’t far behind in the rankings. By contrast, the United States is in a period of happiness slippage, fading from third place to 18th in the last two years.
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Linguistic change: Implications for teaching
Douglas Magrath EducationWhy study linguistics? Teachers and learners need an understanding of applied linguistics to better understand how languages work and the processes of L1 and L2 acquisition. In this article, I will discuss historical reasons for language change. As I’ve written previously, ESL instructors need to understand how languages work to be better able to serve the student population. Language is what makes us human, and it's something no other creature has.
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Can creativity be taught — and untaught?
Sheilamary Koch EducationRecently, my husband and I held a toy-making workshop with recycled materials in a primary school. While everything the kids made was brilliant, we both couldn’t help but notice that the lower primary students attempted wilder and more imaginative creations than the upper primary group. The younger students were also more persistent in making seemingly impossible toys hold together—whatever it took. Interestingly, our casual observations align with research conducted 50 years ago by George Land.
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Nursing faces a huge expertise gap in coming years
Joan Spitrey Healthcare AdministrationThere is little debate that healthcare is facing a potentially unprecedented nursing shortage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2014-2024, the total number of job openings for nurses due to growth and replacements will be 1.09 million by 2024. One of the significant contributing factors to the future need for nurses is the impending retirement of baby boomers, who currently make up 40 percent of registered nurses in the United States. The loss of these nurses caring for patients will also see years of experience and expertise go by the wayside, leaving nursing with a significant knowledge gap.
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The impact of stable school leadership
Brian Stack EducationWhen the school year comes to a close this month, one Arkansas school will have big shoes to fill at its helm, as longtime Southside High School Principal Wayne Haver has his final curtain call after 36 years in the role as principal and 48 years of service to the district as a whole. Without question, Haver is an exception to the rule. He represents a rare breed of school principals that continue to stay loyal to their school communities and buck the alarming trend of principal turnover that is plaguing many school communities in this country.
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What to make of the drop in pharmacy school enrollments
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalIn his excellent blog, Kevin Mero, the president of PharmacyWeek, detailed the latest data on pharmacy school enrollments…and for the first time ever, they are all down! The data come from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) website and refers to the latest information from 2017. Could this be the tipping point for the infusion of pharmacists into workforce? And what does a downward trend in pharmacy school enrollment mean?
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An end-of-year checklist for your music classroom
Aileen Miracle EducationThe end of the school year is here! There is so much to do at the end of the year. At my school, we receive an end-of-year checklist from our principal, but as a music teacher, there are several other "must-do" items that aren't on the typical classroom checklist. Here are all of the things I think about and do as I wrap up the year in my music classroom.
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What’s your story?
Debra Josephson Abrams EducationWhat’s your story? Kasiva Mutua’s story, which she tells in her TEDTalk, "How I use the drum to tell my story," is of heroic triumph over her culture and society’s gender discrimination. To introduce storytelling — the final major assignment in my conversation course — I chose Mutua’s TEDTalk. TEDTalks are outstanding resources, and one reason I often incorporate them in to my lessons is that they offer closed captioning/subtitles and transcripts in multiple languages, thereby allowing low-to-mid level EFL/ESL users to listen to the English and follow along in their native language.
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