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Joanne Jacobs
Jan 161 min read
Creative in what?
Schools can't teach creativity as a general skill applicable to all fields.
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Joanne Jacobs
Jan 151 min read
Atticus learns to read: Teaching phonics works
K-1 students made significant gains when teachers used UFLI Foundations, a systematic phonics and phonemic awareness program.
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Joanne Jacobs
Jan 143 min read
Do special-ed kids do best in mainstream classrooms? Maybe not
The evidence that mainstreaming special-needs students improves their academic success is "flawed," says a new study.
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Joanne Jacobs
Jan 82 min read
We know how to get safe, effective schools, so why settle for chaos?
Teachers and students need safe, orderly schools.
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Joanne Jacobs
Jan 72 min read
Students need clear expectations, honest feedback
If schools can't hold students accountable, nobody's going to learn anything.
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Joanne Jacobs
Jan 51 min read
Measuring good teaching by the smile-o-meter
Is it true that "the person doing the smiling is the person doing the learning"?
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 18, 20242 min read
Teens are doing less homework, earning higher grades
Teenagers are working less and earning higher grades. Everybody's "phoning it in."
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 11, 20242 min read
'Multilevel classes' aren't equitable or excellent, say teachers
Mixing high-achieving, average and low-achieving students in the same class was a noble experiment, writes Ryan Normandin, a high school...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 3, 20242 min read
Most teens don't read for fun: What can teachers do?
Few teenagers read for fun regularly, and many don't read for school either, writes Natalie Wexler on Minding the Gap. We're "becoming a...
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Joanne Jacobs
Nov 27, 20241 min read
Thankful to be Americans
Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for our legacy as Americans , writes Rick Hess, being very Old School. As a former social studies...
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Joanne Jacobs
Nov 25, 20242 min read
Teaching shouldn't be 'guess what's in my head'
Explicit teaching works better than student-centered learning.
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Joanne Jacobs
Nov 18, 20243 min read
Teaching books doesn't work if students won't (or can't) read
English teachers don't teach many novels because students won't do the reading on their own.
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Joanne Jacobs
Nov 9, 20242 min read
To do more, attempt less
Subtract , advises Adam Boxer, a chemistry teacher in London, on his Substack. He visits many schools and finds himself telling school...
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Joanne Jacobs
Oct 31, 20243 min read
Politics in the classroom: Can teachers teach the election without bias?
Should teachers teach about the election?
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Joanne Jacobs
Oct 30, 20241 min read
Achievers need a chance to go faster, fly higher
"Differentiating instruction" in a class with a wide range of performance levels doesn't work for high achievers -- or anyone else.
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Joanne Jacobs
Oct 5, 20242 min read
She can't read or write, but she made the honor roll and got into UConn
A former special-ed student is suing Hartford Public Schools because she wasn't taught to read or write.
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Joanne Jacobs
Oct 4, 20242 min read
An 'F' for grading: Can expectations go any lower?
Grading may be stressful, writes George Leef on the Martin Center for Academic Renewal. It may deliver unwelcome news to students or...
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Joanne Jacobs
Oct 2, 20242 min read
Georgetown students 'have trouble staying focused on even a sonnet'
Even elite colleges don't read very much and have trouble staying focused on books.
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Joanne Jacobs
Sep 24, 20242 min read
U.S. history teachers prefer DIY curriculum to textbooks
U.S. history teachers are using "digital sources and primary documents" rather than textbooks , according to a report by the American...
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