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Virtual, augmented reality arrive at K-12 schools
Bambi Majumdar EducationA new survey conducted by Samsung and GfK shows that 83 percent of K-12 teachers in the U.S. are eager to explore the possibilities of virtual reality (VR) lessons in the classroom. While 72 percent are interested in simulating experiences that are directly relevant to the course material, 69 percent want to use this emerging technology to take virtual field trips to faraway lands. More teachers are of the opinion that this will help improve students' comprehension of different concepts and motivate them to self-learn and collaborate with peers better.
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New study links education levels to heart failure risk
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareA Norwegian study of over 70,000 cardiac patients found that the more education patients had, the less their risk of heart failure was. Previous research has shown that patients are more likely to die after a heart attack if they have a lower educational level, but information on the mechanisms involved was sparse. Since heart failure is the most important incident in the chain of events leading to death after a heart attack, the researchers hypothesized that it might contribute to the observed educational disparities in survival.
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Navigating a sea of words: An assessment of academic conversation
David Irwin EducationThe use of structured academic conversation in the classroom is becoming more sophisticated. However, many teachers are still unsure about how to assess the quality of the conversations. How do we know the students are talking about germane content, addressing the questions presented, and using the academic language skills targeted for that lesson? As with any lesson, we need assessment to know whether re-teaching is required, or if we can move on to new skills and content.
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What’s behind the rise in teen depression?
Christina Nava Mental HealthcareBack in high school, I had a friend who was depressed. His teacher, who had seen us together in the halls frequently, pulled me aside one day to express her concerns because he had developed a bad attitude and started sleeping in class, and his grades were plummeting.
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Trying to solve the dyslexia puzzle
Sonya Robbins Hoffmann EducationMy daughter has dyslexia. Her reading difficulties were finally diagnosed this year, three months into second grade. But as many parents with children who have dyslexia find out, this is a constellation of processing and/or auditory weaknesses, and simply giving the disability a name does not make easy to treat.
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Rethinking failure in the classroom
Brian Stack EducationEarlier this month, The Washington Post's Moriah Balingit and Donna St. George opened up a large debate by asking a simple question: Is it becoming too hard to fail? Their article discussed how schools are shifting toward no-zero grading policies as a way to focus a student's grade on what they know and are able to do rather than to use grades as a means to motivate or punish students for their academic behavior.
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Starting the school year with English learners
Erick Herrmann EducationIn just a few short weeks, schools will begin to fill up again with students ready for another year of learning. Of the approximately 50.1 million students in public K-12 schools in the United States, 9.3 percent will be English learners. For these students, school can be especially daunting as they will be learning new information in a new language.
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Report sheds light on disturbing trends in education
Bambi Majumdar EducationA recent report by Child Trends shows a rather disturbing trend in K-12 education. Data garnered from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicates only 18 percent of African-American and 21 percent of Hispanic fourth-grade students can be deemed "proficient" in reading. Experts think the shortcomings in our education system have disproportionately impacted them, and as a result so many of our young people are failing to achieve their potential.
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Don’t cry over spilled milk
Steve Spillane EducationYears ago, a family was enjoying a moment of peace in their new addition to their house. They sat together in the family room eating sandwiches and watching a movie. The father, though relatively at ease, was hypervigilant to avoid escalations of his complex, wonderful son that would lead to a highly stressful, potentially traumatic episode. Fortunately, he had enough free attention to observe and seize an opportunity to nurture his son's self-awareness, self-esteem and self-direction.
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For children to be independent thinkers, we must teach autonomy
Sheilamary Koch EducationWhen I asked junior high students to look back on their school career and describe the assignment that stood out most for them, most named activities where they were in the driver's seat. They claimed having the opportunity to take responsibility for their learning motivated them to achieve their best.
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