A History of Education: European Influences on the American Educational System (Universities and the Middle Ages)

[Editor’s Note: This blog is a supplement to the 13th 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.] The “university” as an institution was established in Europe during the Middle Ages, and in the 1100s, they broke into … Continue reading “A History of Education: European Influences on the American Educational System (Universities and the Middle Ages)”


A History of Education: European Influences on the American Educational System (Herbert Spencer)

[Editor’s Note: This is the 17th 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.] The last European influencer we’ll discuss in this series is Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), known as one of the leading Social Darwinists of … Continue reading “A History of Education: European Influences on the American Educational System (Herbert Spencer)”


The History of Education: European Influences on the American Educational System (Herbart)

[Editor’s Note: This is the 16th 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 the process by which a society delivers knowledge, culture, and values from one generation to the next. Individually along the … Continue reading “The History of Education: European Influences on the American Educational System (Herbart)”


A History of Education: The Islamic World: Basics

[Editor’s Note: This is the 10th 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.] From its inception, Islam has placed a high premium on education and has enjoyed a long, rich intellectual tradition as a result. … Continue reading “A History of Education: The Islamic World: Basics”


A History of Education: Prehistory to Pre-Industrial

[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”


eLearning and Knowledge Acquisition

eLearning, while once a limited force in education, has moved into the mainstream, and is poised to become a leading part the future, in large part because of the necessity of remote instruction during the pandemic. Students are also becoming more immersed in the online environment outside of the classroom, with increasing social media outlets, … Continue reading “eLearning and Knowledge Acquisition”


Learning when to Change Your Mind and when Not To

All knowledge builds upon knowledge that came before, and new knowledge often requires a change of thought. For example, the status of a scientific theory must change and grow when new data become available from additional tests of that theory. In her article “Learning Means Changing Your Mind,” Katherine Burd argues that, in the classroom, … Continue reading “Learning when to Change Your Mind and when Not To”


Study Skills — Becoming an Effective Learner

Effective learners, whether they’re in school or out in the world, are those who discover how to study smarter, not harder. For the purposes of this blog, we’re going to be focusing on classroom learning, and in that environment, studying smarter is key to managing your time efficiently, getting good grades, building upon what you’ve … Continue reading “Study Skills — Becoming an Effective Learner”


The Ups and Downs of Distance Learning in the Age of Coronavirus

Today, we’re trying a new format for the blog, since we’re all facing a very difficult situation stemming from the global pandemic. Education, while not at a standstill, has greatly changed by moving entirely to distance learning for the moment, and we need to determine a number of things as we move forward. Two of these … Continue reading “The Ups and Downs of Distance Learning in the Age of Coronavirus”


The History of Writing and Reading – Part 16: Printing and its Effect on the World (Part 3 of 3)

[Editor’s note: This is the seventeenth of an ongoing series that examines the rise of writing – and therefore reading – around the world. It is also the third of a three-part discussion of the rise of printing and its effect on various civilizations. Links to all the previous posts are listed at the end … Continue reading “The History of Writing and Reading – Part 16: Printing and its Effect on the World (Part 3 of 3)”