Boys not wanting to read is a big problem. An even bigger scandal is that, all too often, boys are not taught to read in the first place.
2: Times Tables – Causes of Difficulties (1 – 3)
The brief enumeration of main causes of difficulties in mastering the multiplication tables described in my previous article needs to be detailed and motivated. Now I would like to dwell at some length upon the first three causes.
3: Rudolph Flesch's Message Is Still Crucial
Rudolph Flesch remains a force in education for an unexpected reason. The Education Establishment still pushes the bad methods that Flesch exposed 55 years ago in "Why Johnny Can't Read." Here's the message: children can't learn to read using sight-words.
4: Coaching Vs. Managing
The Best coaches are caring and focused. Managing and coaching are both required and if used in the right time and place create Best results for both individuals and the organization!
5: Teachers as Pawns
Teachers are often blamed for the lack of educational progress in our public schools. What is missing from the discussion is the role that the two main political parties have in setting priorities for wars, the military, and bailouts yet ignore the basic needs of our schools.
6: A Checklist Of Ten Education Ideas We Might Want To Reconsider
Why are many public schools so mediocre? Sometimes there seems to be a surfeit of flawed ideas. Here is one critic's list of bad actors.
7: Move to Learn – Unlock the Potential of the Brain
There are about as many nerve cells in the brain as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The unique set of connections between neurons that each of us develops determines how we view the world, shapes our future experiences, and indeed, determines who we are. Successful students have developed rich, connected networks of neurons. Many factors encourage neurons to branch and communicate with each other. In this newsletter, our topic will be the vital role of movement in brain development.
8: Proposed causes of autism: Disorder in glutamate regulation and microglial activity
The incidence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has increased to the alarming rate of approximately 1 in 100, and in some areas of the country, as many as 1 in 67 males are afflicted with the condition. A research study published in Current Medicinal Chemistry proposes that environmental and dietary factors may trigger a devastating cycle of events affecting certain activities of the brain.
9: What’d You Say? Strategies To Build Attention During Listening
It was a hot, sticky afternoon in Mrs. Hall’s 5th grade classroom. The students were sleepy and Mrs. Hall was convinced they weren’t paying attention. Mrs. Hall knew that listening is an active, conscious process that has a huge impact on learning. She realized there were strategies she could use to wake up the students’ brains, interest and ability to listen.
10: Helping Children Take Control of Their Learning
Too often children and parents experience dissatisfaction and disillusionment in the educational process. Parents can feel frustrated in their efforts to help their child succeed. How can parents help their child be successful and find joy in learning? Parents can help their children thrive in school, and in life, by having realistic expectations of their children’s abilities and by helping them to develop independent work habits.
11: Role of self-belief in academic success: Max’s triumph
Self-belief is an important factor in a student's ability to achieve academic success.
12: Debating Current Issues
Social studies curriculum includes the discussion of controversial issues. The Cross Examination Debate format is a great way to
promote cooperative learning and provide students with a lively approach to debating current issues.
promote cooperative learning and provide students with a lively approach to debating current issues.
13: Effective reading comprehension techniques: Clicks and Clunks
"Clicks and clunks" is a reading comprehension technique.
14: The reading process: Research supported teaching strategies
Reading is a highly complex, integrated activity that daunts as many as 33 percent of the population.
Many children become proficient readers regardless of how they are taught. However, for children who experience difficulty learning to gain meaning from print, reading must be systematically and carefully taught. Mastering the following components of the reading process is essential if students are to become proficient readers.
Many children become proficient readers regardless of how they are taught. However, for children who experience difficulty learning to gain meaning from print, reading must be systematically and carefully taught. Mastering the following components of the reading process is essential if students are to become proficient readers.
15: Educational techniques for ADHD – What are executive function skills?
Individuals with ADHD and ADD often have difficulty with Executive Skills, also called Executive Functions. These are the skills that help us manage and direct our lives. They are analogous to the activities that an executive engages in to manage and direct a company or business.
Executive skills allow us to plan and organize our behavior, make well-considered decisions, overrule immediate desires in favor of longer-term goals, take conscious control of our emotions, and monitor our thoughts in order to work more efficiently and effectively.
Executive skills allow us to plan and organize our behavior, make well-considered decisions, overrule immediate desires in favor of longer-term goals, take conscious control of our emotions, and monitor our thoughts in order to work more efficiently and effectively.
16: Special Needs Students—Personal Attributes That Promote Success
Children who live with failure experience negative feelings such as shame, isolation, and anger. These students need guidance to develop personal skills that support their success. According to research conducted by the Frostig Center in Pasadena, six personal attributes form the core characteristics that contribute to success for special needs students. Successful individuals do not necessarily have all six of these qualities.
17: Guide Your Special Needs Child To Unlock Their Inner Greatness!
Children with special learning needs have experienced more failure and disappointment than other children. Parenting children with special learning needs can be difficult, and calls forth from their parents an extra measure of care in “planting the seeds of greatness.”
18: Educational techniques for ADHD – Bracketing distracting thoughts
One meaning of the term “bracketing” is “to place within.” This concept of “placing within” is a helpful strategy that students and adults can use to identify and appropriately deal with distracting thoughts.
In stage one, students decide whether their current thoughts are appropriate for the task at hand. If they are not, students can bracket them in stage two.
It is very helpful to teach students (and adults) to classify thoughts into three groups.
In stage one, students decide whether their current thoughts are appropriate for the task at hand. If they are not, students can bracket them in stage two.
It is very helpful to teach students (and adults) to classify thoughts into three groups.
19: Times Tables – Why so Difficult?
At the present the simple multiplication skills of very many pupils are “good-for-nothing”, and our children are getting worse and worse at the skills. If the situation is not changed, then, maybe, very soon we will be forced to say that most pupils cannot perform simple multiplication.
20: Dealing With Criticism, Guilt and Shame in the Classroom
When you think of shame, what comes to your mind? How about guilt? Many people associate shame and guilt as one emotion, but in reality they are very different. By definition, guilt is the "I have done someting bad" emotion. By contrast, shame is the "I am bad" emotion. As you continue reading, consider how your actions can impact guilt or shame in a child. Ask yourself if there may be ways to change these emotions into success for your students.
21: The Future of Educational Technology - Education 3.0
Thinking of what education might look like in the next decade, one quickly realizes that the trends in technology are leaving a large number of our students behind. We no longer live in an age of visible movement when it comes to progress and innovation. Today is an age of exponential change. New and ever-improving technologies are popping up every day and in every corner of society.
Educating the best and the brightest in this brave new world will take a new and improved educational paradigm. Allowing our educational tools to age in the corner of the classroom will be the mistake that may cost us our future. Throwing away masses of children to inequitable access will ensure that we languish at the bottom of the global pool of employable workers for decades to come.
Educating the best and the brightest in this brave new world will take a new and improved educational paradigm. Allowing our educational tools to age in the corner of the classroom will be the mistake that may cost us our future. Throwing away masses of children to inequitable access will ensure that we languish at the bottom of the global pool of employable workers for decades to come.
22: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Education
It is hard to really lock down a good definition for NLP. This area of psychology is old, immense and complicated. If I were to give it a short definition, I would define it like this: NLP is the art of using response and stimuli for the express purpose of constructing a desired outcome. This can be done in a conscious manner or an unconscious manner. NLP attempts to find reproducible methods that anyone can use for success.
Let me give you a real world example. Teacher 'A' has a class that is out-of-control. When the same students go to teacher 'B', they behave well. It stands to reason that a method exists to control the students. If teacher 'A' can discover the method that teacher 'B' uses, then teacher 'A' can control her class. NLP attempts to study the method and find commonalities and best practices for controlling behavior.
Over the last few decades, many common methods for success have been found in every area of endeavor. Name the behavior and NLP has the answer. It will be impossible for me to cover the entire territory of NLP in one article, so I will merely give you a good start. My best advice for you would be to purchase Neuro-linguistic Programming for Dummies by Romila Ready and Kate Burton. It is a fantastic read and can give you a great start into the subject.
Let me give you a real world example. Teacher 'A' has a class that is out-of-control. When the same students go to teacher 'B', they behave well. It stands to reason that a method exists to control the students. If teacher 'A' can discover the method that teacher 'B' uses, then teacher 'A' can control her class. NLP attempts to study the method and find commonalities and best practices for controlling behavior.
Over the last few decades, many common methods for success have been found in every area of endeavor. Name the behavior and NLP has the answer. It will be impossible for me to cover the entire territory of NLP in one article, so I will merely give you a good start. My best advice for you would be to purchase Neuro-linguistic Programming for Dummies by Romila Ready and Kate Burton. It is a fantastic read and can give you a great start into the subject.
23: Oedipus the Musical - Cognitive Benefits of Music Reading
I would like to try to make the argument that reading music is fundamentally superior to reading text for enhancing overall cognitive ability. Further, reading music is the best basic starting point for a child 's first steps toward reading ability.
24: Education - The Seed of Truth
Defining truth for the seeker of knowledge.
25: Education – A Marketplace for Sticky Thoughts That Stretch the Mind
For the last few years, education has moved from being a free market of ideas to a factory-floor of assembly line learning. Our mad dash to meet the standard of state testing has essentially placed a muzzle on the mouths of great educators and sterilized uniquely crafted curricula. The well-intentioned mandates of law makers have stretched teachers thin. Having the autonomy to transfer unique and sticky thoughts to stretch the minds of children is becoming increasingly difficult, sucking the life and vitality from the average classroom educator.
26: 21st-Century Skills -- this will be a Hot Topic for many years
21st-Century Skills will be much discussed for many years. The writer recommends several articles for background information.
27: Which Is The Right School For My Child?
All Parents want to find the right play school for their kids which a tall order to meet. With so many preschool around, you find yourself at crossroads. Then the question arises, Where and How to ..
28: It Will Take A Teacher
“For 31 years I have stood in front of a classroom and looked into children’s faces. From that perspective I see what they sometimes fail to see – potentia..
29: Extended School Day and what it could mean for students and parents
There is push in the UK for all schools to offer an extended school day by 2012. This follows evidence from the United States where extending the school day to 10 hours has provided dramatic results. Some underprivileged schools there have managed to increase the percentage of their students going on to college from 10% to 80%. It is hoped that an extended school day will have similarly dramatic results in the UK.
30: Warning: Constructivism Wants YOU
Many top educators say Constructivism is the perfect teaching method. Maybe in small doses, it has some merit. Unfortunately, this rapacious fad always demands bigger doses. (Short article explains the basics, and recommends a video and essay for more detail.)
