[Editor’s Note: This is the 3rd in a series of blogs that examine how education developed throughout history until the present. Links to previous blogs are included at the bottom of the post.] In terms of biological history, schools are a very recent human invention. For hundreds of thousands of years, people lived in hunter-gatherer societies, … Continue reading “A History of Education: Prehistory to Pre-Industrial”
Category: Education
A History of Education: The Purpose of Education
[Editor’s Note: This is the 2nd in a series of blogs that examine how education developed throughout history until the present. Links to previous blogs are included at the bottom of the post.] Education is a means of shaping an individual’s life, whether in the classroom or outside of it. It imparts historical, societal, and … Continue reading “A History of Education: The Purpose of Education”
A History of Education: An Introduction
[Editor’s Note: This is the first in a year-long series of blogs that examines how education developed throughout history until the present.] In its broadest sense, education is the imparting of information from one generation to the generation that follows it. It can be accomplished by modeling actions, sharing oral knowledge, or through reading and … Continue reading “A History of Education: An Introduction”
Effective Writing Instruction
Reading and writing are complementary skills; you read text that’s written, and you create text to be read. Both skills need to be explicitly taught and rigorously practiced since the human brain isn’t hard-wired for either one [see our blog post here]. We’ve talked on this blog about many different approaches to reading instruction. Now, … Continue reading “Effective Writing Instruction”
Addressing Unfinished Learning
Among many other educational problems raised by the COVID-19 pandemic is unfinished learning, learning gaps for students who didn’t fully cover all the material necessary to advance in grade but who find themselves at the higher level, nonetheless. How to address these gaps is, perhaps, a more complicated issue than one would expect, since barriers … Continue reading “Addressing Unfinished Learning”
Self-Education on Summer Break
When the final bell of the school year rings, it can feel liberating, exhilarating, and engender a sense of freedom. You have a whole summer to do nothing except soak up the sun and enjoy yourself. But is that really the best you can do? While spending some quality down time is certainly important, it’s … Continue reading “Self-Education on Summer Break”
Teaching Poetry in the Classroom
Poetry has a place in education, even among the elementary grades. It can be included as part of reading, writing, and language lessons, and adds additional value to classroom themes, projects, celebrations, and other important events. Here are five good reasons to include poetry in the classroom. Builds reading, speaking, and listening skills Children who … Continue reading “Teaching Poetry in the Classroom”
Guest Blog: How Learning to Code Helps Students Develop Essential Skills
Since the rise and proliferation of the internet in the late 1990s, coding has become an increasingly vital skill in the workplace. While coding may not be the most obvious choice for young learners, it is, in fact, a great subject to study, even for students as young as 5-10 years old. Beyond the obvious … Continue reading “Guest Blog: How Learning to Code Helps Students Develop Essential Skills”
Parents and Teachers: Bridging the Communication Gap
For students who learn or think differently, having a strong support network is critical to success. And that network should include both teachers and parents. Unfortunately, there’s always been a certain amount of difficulty bridging the communication gap between the two groups, but it certainly got worse during the remote learning of the pandemic, leaving … Continue reading “Parents and Teachers: Bridging the Communication Gap”
Improving Reading and Writing Skills
In a recent Education Week post, Mike Schmoker described three key elements for teachers to use to impart core literacy skills to their students: purposeful reading, discussion, and writing. He advocated for 90-120 minutes engagement each day, spread throughout the curriculum. To understand just what this means for classroom instruction, let’s examine the three skills, … Continue reading “Improving Reading and Writing Skills”