The Answer Sheet: teaching


Posted at 11:32 AM ET, 06/17/2013

What's the most 'natural' way to learn? It might surprise you
By Valerie Strauss
Many people think that authentic learning happens when children explore on their own. A cognitive scientist questions the premise.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:32 AM ET, 06/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  How About Teaching?, Learning, Teaching and Learning

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 06/12/2013

A big unexplored idea in school reform
By Valerie Strauss
It seems too simple to take seriously, but it isn't.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:02 AM ET, 06/12/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  A New Curriculum, It's About The Brain, Teaching and Learning

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 06/05/2013

How college students incorrectly evaluate their instructors

By Valerie Strauss
A study shows that college students give top markets not to the best teachers of content but the teachers with the most charm.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:02 AM ET, 06/05/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Results of Study, Student Evaluations, Teaching and Learning

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 06/04/2013

Why teachers should present new material as stories
By Valerie Strauss
An interesting study shows kids learn better when they hear new information through narrative.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:02 AM ET, 06/04/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  How Kids Learn Best, Teaching and Learning

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 05/16/2013

How to teach history (and how not to)
By Valerie Strauss
History is fascinating but too often kids find it boring in history class. Here's what to do about it.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:02 AM ET, 05/16/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Making It Relevant, Teaching History

Posted at 04:02 AM ET, 04/02/2013

The new challenges of teaching
By Valerie Strauss
An education school dean writes: 'Our schools are no longer designed to produce educated citizens but rather places to produce test results.'

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:02 AM ET, 04/02/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Teaching and Learning, The Impact of Testing

Posted at 06:02 AM ET, 03/28/2013

Five ways to get kids to want to read and write
By Valerie Strauss
Here's a book excerpt from veteran educator Larry Ferlazzo's new book on how to get students to warn to learn.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:02 AM ET, 03/28/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Book Excerpt, Teaching and Learning

Posted at 10:06 AM ET, 03/17/2013

College student leads fight against anti-evolution teachings in schools
By Valerie Strauss
Going to college is tough enough without leading a campaign to repeal a bad state law, but that's what Zach Kopplin, 19, has been doing for several years. His target: The badly named Louisiana Science Education Act, which actually allows teachers in science classrooms to discuss creationism as a way to question evolution.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:06 AM ET, 03/17/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Protecting the Teaching of Evolution, Science Education

Posted at 03:33 PM ET, 03/15/2013

Three commitments U.S. Ed Dept. made at teaching summit
By Valerie Strauss
Here's the text of an email outlining the three commitments the U.S. Education Department delegation just made at an international summit.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:33 PM ET, 03/15/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Education Department, Read the Email, Teaching Profession

Posted at 12:16 AM ET, 02/21/2013

U.S. teachers' job satisfaction craters -- report

By Valerie Strauss
American teachers are enjoying their jobs less than at any time in the last 25 years, a new survey shows. And there's more bad news about the effects of school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:16 AM ET, 02/21/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  And More Bad News, Teaching Profession

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012

Ex-Marine turned teacher: ‘Stop demonizing me and my profession’

By Valerie Strauss
A man who served as a Marine and a police officer before becoming a physics teacher writes about the assault on his profession. Stop it, he asks reformers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voicers, School Reform, Teaching

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012

Former Marine turned teacher: 'Stop demonizing me and my profession'
By Valerie Strauss
A man who served as a Marine and a police officer before becoming a physics teacher writes about the assault on his profession. Stop it, he asks reformers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:15 PM ET, 10/21/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Guest Voicers, School Reform, Teaching

Posted at 08:30 AM ET, 03/01/2011

The fight over teaching evolution, climate change
By Valerie Strauss
A survey shows many biology teachers are afraid to teach evolution. A proposed law in Tennessee would require science educators to "teach the controversies" regarding evolution and climate change -- even though scientists don't think there is much controversy. What's going on in the world of science instruction?

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:30 AM ET, 03/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Anthony Cody, Guest Bloggers, Science | Tags:  climate change, evolution, global warming, intelligent design, science class, scopes trial, teaching climate change, teaching evolution, theory of evolution

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/30/2010

Learning the French Revolution with Lady Gaga: Teachers sing history lessons

By Valerie Strauss
Imagine learning about the French Revolution through a rewritten version of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Arts Education, Arts Education | Tags:  bad romance, dear prudence, french revolution, history and the arts, history class, history lessons, history songs, jennie from the block, jennifer lopez, lady gaga, music and history, teaching history, the beatles

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 12/27/2010

Willingham: 3 brain facts every educator should know

By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes, "Most of what you see advertised as educational advice rooted in neuroscience is bunkum."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 12/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  brain-based classrooms, brain-based education, brain-based teaching, daniel willingham, myelination, neuroscience and education, prefrontal cortex and teens, teaching and neuroscience, the brain and education

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 12/09/2010

Teachers: How much more can we take?
By Valerie Strauss
Established, expert teachers tell their personal stories about how the joy is going out of their profession and why they are thinking the previously unthinkable: getting out.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 12/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  teachers, teaching profession, urban schools, urban teachers, veteran teachers

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 12/02/2010

A system to tell how your kid is doing in school
By Valerie Strauss
Here's an assessment that can help parents figure out how well their kids are doing in school. And students can use it themselves if they are so inclined.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:30 PM ET, 12/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  how kids learn, learning, parents, report cards, teachers, teaching and learning

Posted at 12:46 PM ET, 11/20/2010

Why teaching experience really matters
By Valerie Strauss
Bill Gates just urged school districts and states to stop rewarding teachers for their experience in the classroom and/or advanced education degrees. Arne Duncan makes the same argument. But evidence shows that teaching experience DOES matter.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:46 PM ET, 11/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  arne duncan, bill gates, class size, does experience matter, education department, education secretary duncan, lowering class size, raising class size, research on class size, research on teaching experience, school reform, schools, shankar blog, standardized tests, teacher experience, teacher pay, teacher quality, teacher salaries, teachers, teaching experience, value added

Posted at 11:29 AM ET, 11/17/2010

Beyond the brain: Reading is a cultural activity
By Valerie Strauss
An educator writes: "Reading is a cultural activity. This statement may seem obvious, and yet in recent decades an increasing number of educators have considered reading from psychological and even neurological perspectives, as if reading were a process that happens in the agent’s mind and is ultimately regulated by brain mechanisms."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:29 AM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  guest bloggers, reading, reading strategies, teaching reading

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010

Teacher: Data, my new dirty word
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher explains how an obsession with data has led to the redefinition of teaching and learning: "Teaching itself has become redefined as generating, collecting, and using data, and learning has become redefined as the curve connecting data points. This is a fundamental shift in how educators think, talk, and go about educating our children. Unfortunately, it is not a shift that serves anyone but the data-collectors very well."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  data, education, educational data, mad math minutes, mad minutes, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, schools, teachers, teaching and learning, test data

Posted at 01:50 PM ET, 10/28/2010

Poll: How science should be taught
By Valerie Strauss
A national survey released today shows that big percentages of science teachers and parents believe that kids should learn science with hands-on experiments but only 22 percent of teachers feel they have the resources needed to conduct them.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:50 PM ET, 10/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Science | Tags:  how to teach science, parent involvement, science, science lessons, science teachers, teaching, teaching science

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 10/21/2010

English teacher: Data can drive us down wrong road
By Valerie Strauss
An English teacher writes: "Strict adherence to data-driven instruction can lead schools to push aside science and social studies to drill students on isolated reading benchmarks.... It is difficult to teach kids to read well if they don’t learn to enjoy reading. It is impossible to teach kids to read well while denying them the knowledge they need to make sense of complex material. Following the data often forces teachers to do just that."

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 10/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning, Learning, Learning | Tags:  compare and contrast, fcat, florida comprehensive assessment test, standardized tests, teachers, teaching, test questions

Posted at 03:26 PM ET, 10/04/2010

What public school teachers really need
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher at the SEED Public Charter School in Washington D.C., which was featured in the film "Waiting for Superman," explains what makes his school work for teachers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:26 PM ET, 10/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  center for teaching quality, certified teachers, charter schools, dan brown, davis guggenheim, guest bloggers, school reform, seed charter, seed public charter school, seed school, superman, superman film, waiting for superman

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 10/04/2010

Willingham: How to teach collaboration
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes that “collaboration” and “working effectively in groups” are often deemed 21st century skills that young people must learn. But how to teach them? Researchers just made headway in characterizing what good group members do.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 10/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Higher Education, Higher Education, Higher Education, Higher Education, Higher Education | Tags:  21st century skills, collaboration, dan willingham, daniel willingham, how to teach collaboration, teaching 21st century skills, willingham, working in groups

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/23/2010

Schools should teach religion (now more than ever)
By Valerie Strauss
The new school year began at a moment when religion was front and center in American popular dialogue. But the one place those issues were least likely to be discussed was in public schools. A professor argues that schools have misinterpreted the concept of "separation of church and state" and says students should learn about religion.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 09/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  establishment clause, first amendment, lausreligion in schoreligin in, religion and school, separation of church and state, teaching religion

Posted at 05:30 PM ET, 09/16/2010

While we wait for ‘Superman,’ let's focus on teaching
By Valerie Strauss
he founding director of a center that fosters best teaching practices saw "Waiting for Superman" and writes: "Conventional thinking tells us the best way to improve teacher effectiveness is to remove the ineffective teachers and replace them with effective ones. No doubt, this strategy is needed. But if we’re going for a fundamental shift in what we expect from schools, then a wholesale cast change won’t be the fix we imagine. We’ll risk ending up with a new batch of well-intentioned, but improperly prepared players in a flawed system."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:30 PM ET, 09/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  center for inspired teaching, firing teachers, how to fix schools, inspired teachers, inspired teaching, professional development, school reform, superman movie, teacher development, teachers, waiting for superman

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 08/23/2010

How to give classrooms a mission
By Valerie Strauss
As school begins, it seems appropriate to discuss how to improve schools and classroom instruction. Teacher Larry Ferlazzo does so by focusing on the cultural orientation of schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 08/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  classroom culture, larry ferlazzo, school and parent engagement, school culture, teaching techniques

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/09/2010

The problem with linking phys ed to academics
By Valerie Strauss
Sure, physical education has been linked to academic achievement. But why should it be? Isn't being physically fit a goal unto itself?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  benefits of physical education, guest bloggers, health, pe and academics, physical education, physical education and academics, physical education and test scores, sean slade, teaching to the whole child, the whole child

Posted at 12:26 PM ET, 06/25/2010

The long-lasting power of a great teacher
By Valerie Strauss
A colleague writes about one special high school teacher and the powerful connection they forged. He just learned of her death, and what she left for him.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:26 PM ET, 06/25/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  great teachers, great teaching, powerful learning experiences, teachers

Posted at 12:35 PM ET, 06/08/2010

Arne Duncan's 'learning story'
By Valerie Strauss
The following is a story that Education Secretary Arne Duncan told about his most powerful learning experience. It is one in a regular series of “learning stories” that I am starting to publish and that are focused on effective teaching and learning.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:35 PM ET, 06/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Education Secretary Duncan, Education Secretary Duncan | Tags:  arne duncan, effective teaching, learning stories, powerful learning

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 05/07/2010

Learning Stories: Tell your own
By Valerie Strauss
school systems: What do these actually look like. To find out, Rethink Learning Now asked people from various walks of life to talk about their most powerful learning experiences. You can share your own.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 PM ET, 05/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning, Learning, Learning | Tags:  great teachers, learning stories, teaching, what makes a great teacher

Posted at 02:20 PM ET, 04/25/2010

New strategy to teach vocabulary -- Viadero
By Valerie Strauss
A Harvard researcher develops and tests a new strategy for directly teaching all-purpose academic words to middle school students.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:20 PM ET, 04/25/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  Catherine Snow, Harvard research, research, teaching vocabulary, vocabulary

Posted at 03:07 PM ET, 04/21/2010

Should public schools teach gun safety? Virginia schools may
By Valerie Strauss
What with the deep concern in the country that too many kids can’t read or write on grade level, and that most kids don’t know anything about financial literacy or can’t name the first five presidents, guess what subject the Virginia General Assembly wants public elementary schools to teach? Gun safety.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:07 PM ET, 04/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Elementary School, Elementary School | Tags:  National Rifle Association, National Rifle Association and gun safety program, Virginia General Assembly and schools, Virginia schools, Virginia schools to teach gun safety, teaching gun safety, the NRA and gun safety

Posted at 09:03 AM ET, 04/19/2010

How writing improves reading skills--study
By Valerie Strauss
It is often said that reading can improve a student’s writing. A new study says the reverse--that writing can improve reading skills as well as content learning--is equally true, and identifies three ways that teachers and even parents can help students make the connection.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:03 AM ET, 04/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Reading, Reading, Reading | Tags:  new study on reading, new study on writing, reading research, study in reading, study on writing, teaching reading skills, teaching writing skills, writing research

Posted at 11:29 AM ET, 04/08/2010

Teaching the Civil War: Debate still alive
By Valerie Strauss
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s apology for leaving slavery out of a proclamation declaring April as Confederate History Month cannot gloss over the fact that the issue is still alive. While there is little disagreement among professional historians that slavery was the central reason for the secession of 11 Southern states from the union and the eruption of the war, it is still taught as only one of the issues in many Southern schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:29 AM ET, 04/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  History | Tags:  causes of civil war, mcpherson and civil war, obama, obama and civil war, obama and history, slavery as cause of civil war, teaching the civil war, virginia gov. civil war, virginia politics

Posted at 09:33 AM ET, 03/12/2010

Why Obama should invest in teachers
By Valerie Strauss
How a professional learning community works--and why the most important investment the Obama administration can make in education is in teachers and teaching.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:33 AM ET, 03/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  George Wood, Obama, guest bloggers, teachers, teaching

Posted at 11:19 AM ET, 01/22/2010

Teaching without gimmicks
By Valerie Strauss
By Diana Senechal. In discussions of “effective” teaching, we often hear about the “objectives” that teachers should spell out and repeat, the “learning styles” they should target, the “engagement” they should guarantee at every moment, and the constant encouragement and praise they should provide—all in the interest of raising test scores. DCPS IMPACT (the teacher assessment system for D.C. public schools) awards points to teachers who implement such practices; Teach for America addresses some of them in its forthcoming book. Except for the misguided notion of targeting learning styles, none of these techniques is wrong in itself. But together they raise a barrier.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:19 AM ET, 01/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Learning, Learning, Learning | Tags:  effective teaching

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 01/13/2010

What makes an effective teacher?
By Valerie Strauss
"Teach for America" founder Wendy Kopp is going to Capitol Hill later today to explain the qualities that her organization believes make the most effective teachers in low-income communities. Those qualities don't include knowing the subject matter. Not everybody agrees.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 01/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  Teach For America, teaching

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 12/14/2009

How should history be taught?
By Valerie Strauss
Most historians writing about the historic events of the last year in the United States would likely concentrate on the election of the first black president, Barack Obama, and the conditions that led to his victory. Not Howard Zinn. The longtime historian and social activist said he would instead focus on “people who are still struggling." This approach to history--focusing on how ordinary people help turn people rather than presidents and generals--was seen in "The People Speak," a film documentary that premiered last night on The History Channel. What do you think of Zinn's approach to history?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 12/14/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  History | Tags:  teaching history

Posted at 12:08 PM ET, 11/24/2009

Trachtenberg: When professors should teach more than research
By Valerie Strauss
“If only I had more free time, I would....” This sounds like the opening phrase of a writing contest, designed to award the winner with an all expenses paid vacation to a mystery foreign port! But for years that is exactly what faculty have said on campuses across the country: “If only I had more time, I would write a book, discover a cure, paint a canvas or solve a thorny problem.” And in many cases, that is what happened. Faculty were given reduced teaching loads in order to free up more of their time for scholarship, research and creative ventures and they scribbled, filled their petri dishes and squeezed paint onto palettes. But it didn't work for everybody.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:08 PM ET, 11/24/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, teaching loads

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 09/08/2009

Teach Your Child to Be Their Own Advocate
By Valerie Strauss
There are many things that experts tell parents they ought to do for their child at the start of the school year: *Help kids create a schedule to do homework and outside activities. *Create a quiet work space for them...

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:00 PM ET, 09/08/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  Parenting, Teaching Kids to Advocate