All Education Articles
  • Math is about numbers, so it’s easier for English learners, right?

    Erick Herrmann Education

    Mathematics is regarded as one of the core content areas that all students are expected to master as they progress through school. Mathematics instruction, however, has changed in the past several years. In past generations, mathematics often involved learning algorithms and formulas and plugging in numbers to solve math problems. With the introduction of new, rigorous state standards and college and career readiness expectations, logic, problem solving and the integration of a variety of strategies to solve problems have taken a front seat.

  • A closer look at the new ESSA guidance for teachers

    Bambi Majumdar Education

    The U.S. Department of Education recently offered guidelines for the newest reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This blueprint focuses on helping teachers perform better, and in turn helping their students do the same. That means every student succeeds when their teachers succeed in their endeavors, too.

  • Partners in learning: A twist on the school‑home collaboration

    Pamela Hill Education

    The typical connection for communicating information from the school to home is between parent and teacher. At the start of each new school year, parents look for the basic weekly classroom newsletter, parent-teacher notebook or notes from the teacher.

  • The play debate: Primary and beyond

    Sheilamary Koch Education

    ​Ask primary students what their favorite school subject is and most will say, "Recess!" As adults we may laugh at this response and say, "I meant just real subjects." But it's no joke. Play — on the playground, in the classroom and after school — is still essential to children's mental, emotional and physical well-being at this stage of their lives.

  • How can we fix America’s teacher shortage?

    Cait Harrison Education

    The U.S. is facing a shortage of teachers in its K-12 schools, and the situation doesn't seem to be improving much. Teacher shortages across many districts became a hot topic in 2015, and a new study from the Learning Policy Institute details the causes of the shortage — primarily, teachers leaving the profession and fewer studying to become educators in the first place.

  • Why L2 teaching should mirror L1 acquisition

    Douglas Magrath Education

    Language acquisition comes under the field of psycholinguistics: Children learn L1 without any active intervention. It is a natural process. Children also learn languages more quickly than adults, as shown by research in L2 acquisition.

  • Digital resources and tools to support vocabulary acquisition

    Savanna Flakes Education

    ​I wrote an article in March about best practices for explicitly teaching vocabulary. Robert Marzano's six-step approach to supporting students with vocabulary acquisition and retention is still one of my favorite approaches to teaching vocabulary.

  • How can we solve our teacher pay dilemma?

    Brian Stack Education

    ​Last month, The Nation's Alissa Quart put the spotlight on teacher salaries in her article, "Teachers are Working for Uber Just to Keep a Foothold in the Middle Class." Quart highlighted Matt Barry, a public high school history teacher in the suburbs of San Jose, California, who at 32 has taken a part-time job with Uber to support his wife Nicole and their soon-to-be-born child.

  • Do you promote entrepreneurial spirit in your students?

    Danielle Manley Education

    The education system is designed to prepare students for the real world, but with more students than ever before entering the "real world" as entrepreneurs, is our education system still doing its job? Preparing students to become entrepreneurs isn't a one-size-fits-all plan. An entrepreneur can do practically anything — from creating a new technology to opening a yoga studio — so the preparation will vary for each student. However, you can help students get into the right mindset and encourage them to pursue their interests and talents by creating an environment designed to promote exploration, creativity and individual thought.

  • A ken for kenning: Identifying and creating imaginative language

    Debra Josephson Abrams Education

    For those who read the poetic epic "Beowulf" in excerpts or in its entirety, you'll remember the many kennings in the text. According to the British Library, a third of "Beowulf" is kennings. Kennings are types of figurative and metaphorical compound terms created using mixed imagery, with etymology in Old English, Old Norse and German. Bone-house (body) and whale-road (ocean) are two of the most famous kennings, both from "Beowulf."