Students and educators have started a new school year in the midst of a pandemic, an economic crisis, a reckoning with racial injustice, and a divisive political climate. Everyone’s mental health is at risk, and schools are searching for ways to support young people’s well-being in addition to their academic learning. [Read more…] about Study: A combined teaching + app gratitude program helps adolescents address anxiety and improve mental health
educators
Enhancing brains the tried-and-true way: 50 Finalists shortlisted for the $1M Global Teacher Prize
Congratulations to the Top 50 2018 Finalists!
Now in its fourth year, the US $1 million Global Teacher Prize award is the largest prize of its kind, and was set up to recognize one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society. [Read more…] about Enhancing brains the tried-and-true way: 50 Finalists shortlisted for the $1M Global Teacher Prize
Top Resources for Educators on Learning and the Brain
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In my previous post 10 Brain Training Tips To Teach and Learn I promised to share some of the resources–books, conferences, and websites– that inform my understanding of teaching, learning and the brain. Here’s an updated list: [Read more…] about Top Resources for Educators on Learning and the Brain
10 Finalists announced for the $1M Global Teacher Prize
These are the 10 best teachers in the world (Global Teacher Prize announcement):
“We’ve all had teachers who have inspired us, who have made a difference to our lives.
Teachers have the power to make or break lives. A great lesson can inspire a passion for a subject that lasts a lifetime, while lacklustre teaching can kill any desire for learning.
Teachers who make a significant difference in their students’ lives – sometimes against all odds – deserve to be celebrated.
The Global Teacher Prize does just that, awarding $1 million to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession.”
[Read more…] about 10 Finalists announced for the $1M Global Teacher Prize
50 Finalists from 37 countries shortlisted for the $1M Global Teacher Prize
Congratulations to our Top 50 Finalists (Global Teacher Prize announcement):
“Now in its third year, the US $1 million award is the largest prize of its kind, and was set up to recognize one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to [Read more…] about 50 Finalists from 37 countries shortlisted for the $1M Global Teacher Prize
Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development
(Editor’s Note: we are pleased to bring you this article thanks to our collaboration with Greater Good Magazine.)
At a time when educators are preoccupied with standards, testing, and the bottom line, some researchers suggest the arts can boost students’ test scores; others aren’t convinced. Karin Evans asks, What are the arts good for?
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When poet and national endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia gave the 2007 Commencement Address at Stanford University, he used the occasion to deliver an impassioned argument for the value of the arts and arts education.
“Art is an irreplaceable way of understanding and expressing the world,” said Gioia. “There are some truths about life that can be expressed only as stories, or songs, or images. Art delights, instructs, consoles. It educates our emotions.”
For years, arts advocates like Gioia have been making similar pleas, stressing the intangible benefits of the arts at a time when many Americans are preoccupied with a market–driven culture of entertainment, and schools are consumed with meeting federal standards. Art brings joy, these advocates say, or it evokes our humanity, or, in the words of my 10–year–old daughter, “It cools kids down after all the other hard stuff they have to think about.”
Bolstering the case for the arts has become increasingly necessary in recent years, as school budget cuts and the move toward standardized testing have profoundly threatened the role of the arts in schools. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2002, the federal government started assessing school districts by their students’ scores on reading and mathematics tests.
As a result, according to a study by the Center on Education Policy, school districts across the United States increased the time they devoted to tested subjects—reading/language arts and math—while cutting spending on non–tested subjects such as the visual arts and music. The more a school fell behind, by NCLB standards, the more time and money was devoted to those tested subjects, with less going to the arts. The National Education Association has reported that the cuts fall hardest on schools with high numbers of minority children.
And the situation is likely to worsen as state budgets get even tighter. Already, in a round of federal education cuts for 2006 and 2007, arts education nationally was slashed by $35 million. In 2008, the New York City Department of Education’s annual study of [Read more…] about Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development