We’re pressuring students to read too fast, too much, too soon
We Are Teachers
Recent reading tests report that students’ reading comprehension scores show that just over ⅓ of students are proficient at reading in grades 4, 8, and 10. Researchers and educational policy makers ponder the significance of little to no improvement in reading scores for students as a whole and the widening gap between our high performing and low performing students. What many of these thinkers fail to think about is the way education has changed. The system ignores that developmental psychology says when we push students too much and too fast we do more harm than good. The reading pressures we put on students may be one major cause of the stagnant scores. READ MORE
Tone in teaching: 20 words that can change how students think
Teach Thought
While I often talk about ‘scale’ as one of the primary challenges in education–and have also wondered about curriculum, too–a more subversive concept constantly at play throughout education is tone.
As an ‘English’ teacher, I always explained tone to students as a kind of ‘attitude’ that can be expressed in a variety of implicit and explicit ways–from words (said and unsaid) and body language to voice tone, timing, irony, and any other modality used to communicate ideas. READ MORE
MindShift
Among the many things students are expected to do, self-assessing their learning is part of the suite of metacognitive tools that are valued in today’s society. This skill enables the student to think about their thinking, identify what they're doing well and what needs improvement. Self-assessment takes practice, and when it comes to schoolwork, students are not given enough opportunities. READ MORE
A framework for student goal-setting
Edutopia
“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”
—Thomas Edison
I learned that quote from Wendy Beth Rosen’s Self-Smart. Taking it seriously, Wendy suggests some areas where students’—and adults’—self-assessments can lead to greater accomplishments and personal satisfaction. Many distractions and challenges in our lives threaten to throw us off our path, or keep us from knowing what our path is. Setting explicit goals for success and tracking our progress toward them is a way to increase our chances of finding the success we hope for.
I’d like to share a method of goal-tracking that can be used by students and educators in ongoing ways, as well as at specific points when they’re experiencing uncertainty or setbacks. These also have value for promoting positive mental health in school. READ MORE
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