Robert Slavin on Teacher Evaluation

Exercise and the Brain

By Jonathan Jefferson

“SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John J. Ratey, MD is the one book that all educators must read to fully understand the inseparable connection between exercise and the brain’s ability to acquire knowledge.  Long before this well structured, research-based book was released in 2008, I had admonished my colleagues that it was…

One of the things I notice – and it seems to be getting worse – is almost a complete disconnect between the ideas discussed as possible cures in education, and the problems In the public schools that are actually fatal to learning.

In other words, if somebody’s got cancer, it’s fatuous to focus on whether they need new shoes.

Schools have almost stopped trying to…

Summer schools traditionally have focused on test prep, helping students know enough information to be able to pass the course's final exam, be it locally or state developed.  What does this say about what we value in education and do we need to change the message we are sending?  What kind of information do we need to collect in order to analyze this summer school question?  And why is it important that we do so?…

teachers create the proffessionals. a  school teacher should work all the days 365 days in an year

A Teacher's Case Against Summer Vacation

—David Jakes/David Adam Kess/Ross Brenneman

• Ed Week

With so many huge…

Technology and Time Management

In this article in The Atlantic, James Fallows is optimistic about the ways we’ll be able to master technology to guide our lives in the years ahead. “We’ve been through the worst,” he proclaims. “The next stage in information technology will put people back in control, or closer to it.” Here are the specifics:

• Escaping the e-mail nightmare – For most people, e-mail is still…

What Do Students Really Need to Succeed in a Community College?

In this Teachers College Record article, Melinda Karp (Columbia University) and Rachel Bork (The Wallace Foundation) examine the extremely low graduation rates of students in community colleges – only about 30 percent earn an associate’s degree within three years. Even young people who are theoretically “college ready” – they passed placement tests or completed remedial courses – drop out…