School should work more like martial arts, says Sal Khan
Khan academy is doing big things in #education. We want to know what you think: is this “simple solution” too simple or radical enough to make a difference in your classroom? Otherwise known as “Mastery Learning”, there is a lot of data to suggest that this can work. And we also know that real world […]
Math + Creativity = The Brain Growing
A couple of interesting articles, both with with the topic of #math, courtesy of the always fantastic MindShift blog. Math and #creativity: at odds with each other, mutually exclusive? Or actually capable of bolstering understanding together? Generally speaking, people understand that art and music can be “explained” with math, that harmonies can be depicted as […]
By: Nisha R Category: Articles Tags: creativity, education, math, math anxiety
Japanese Kindergarten Built Around A Tree With A Legendary Story
Fuji Kindergarten, a kindergarten located in Tachikawa, Japan, was built as a ring around a Zelkova tree with a storied past. A glass, steel and wood construction closer to the tree itself lets children play and explore in the kindergarten’s yard. The tree, which is about 50 years old, was nearly uprooted during a typhoon. […]
By: Nisha R Category: Articles Tags: kindergarten tree, playground, tokyo
Three Ways Software Is Empowering Teachers | Bill Gates
Newly available data is revolutionizing the way teachers and students collaborate. Right now, most teachers spend hours grading homework and tests and then copying everything down into spreadsheets they made themselves. And after all that, teachers often only have a partial sense of how each student is doing—based on rows and rows of numbers and […]
By: Nisha R Category: Articles Tags: edtech tools, education, teaching tools
Teachers of Shanghai have the perfect formula for learning
The answer was clear: in Chinese classrooms, whole-class teaching made up 72% of lesson time, compared with 24% in England. In addition, Shanghai mathematics teaching is based upon high-quality teacher resources. All schools follow the same textbook, which is published by the Shanghai #education commission and refined and revised on an annual basis. Compare this […]
A Teacher Like You
A lot of the time, when a child is considered at-risk, one of the reasons is that they might not be considered the brightest or the best or the most important of the group. They might not be on the honor roll or their parents aren’t around as much. They’re average students, and I think […]
Wanted: Time to Collaborate
Collaboration improves student performance. A study [PDF] from the University of Pittsburgh found that fostering teamwork in schools improved student test scores. Collaboration hones #teachers’ skills. Boston College #education professor Andy Hargreaves argues that we can’t make great schools just by hiring great teachers. If schools become spaces where teachers learn alongside students, both new […]
By: Nisha R Category: Articles Tags: education, TEACHERS, teaching
The lessons I learned trying to teach my child generosity
what if the act of giving doesn’t come naturally or easily, but instead requires practice and patience? It is true that giving #gifts can help strengthen relationships among siblings. Studies on human behavior by psychologists, anthropologists, economists, and marketers all find that gift-giving is a “surprisingly complex and important part of human interaction, helping to […]
By: Nisha R Category: Articles Tags: 111111, generosity, gifts, Psychology
Numbers on stairs help kids learn to count
A simple but effective trick… that could fit into any school! “…by placing the numbers on each stair, it gets them counting in their heads” Read more: Design Detail – Numbers on stairs help kids learn to count | CONTEMPORIST This is a great idea that is relatively easily implemented.
