Motivation Matters
Motivation Matters covered what works, and what doesn’t work, to motivate students to do better in school. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: student motivation & engagement.
Science
Studying Math Motivation
One of the responsibilities of this blog is to troll for interesting or useful research articles about student motivation.
Assessment
Catch 22: Love of Learning vs. Getting the Grade
Guest contributor Ann Bradley, an assistant managing editor here at Education Week, often talks about the trials and tribulations of motivating her children to do well in school. This past weekend, she witnessed the poignancy of what really motivates kids.
Student Achievement
Chatting About Global Competition
The transcripts of chats on edweek.org are a treasure-trove of practical tips, well-informed insights, and strong opinions.
Education
Later Wake-Up Call in Boston
The Boston public schools have decided to let students from 10 high schools sleep a little later Monday through Friday, according to All About BPS, a district-sponsored blog written by the schools' chief communications officer.
Education
A Quiz for "Helicopter" Parents
Thanks to the PEN Weekly NewsBlast for pointing us to a part of the College Board's Web site that asks the question: Are you a helicopter parent?
Education
How Bored Are Your Students?
An Indiana University study released last week (sorry for the late notice) suggests that 2 of every 3 high school students are bored in at least one class every day, and 17 percent say they suffer daily boredom in every class.
Recruitment & Retention
"Mouthwatering Motivation"
Should pizza be used to motivate students to read more?
Assessment
Failure is Relative
From the T.F.A. Trenches has a recent entry that touches on the life lessons about resiliency that can be learned by struggling to master basic mathematical concepts. In this case, maybe a failing grade is still a step in the right direction. Nice little story. Check it out.
Education
Multitasking Gone Mad?
My job requires quite a bit of multitasking. So I understand that the ability to juggle many tasks is a valuable skill in today's economy.
Science
Game On
Check out the latest Classroom Tech column in Teacher Magazine, "Game On," by yours truly. It touches on an issue generating quite a bit of interest lately: The power of video games to improve student learning.
Education
Long and Articulate vs. Superficial and Sarcastic
Fast Company magazine has a regular feature called Best Blogs. In the March issue, the magazine focuses on education blogs.
Assessment
Breaking Down the Asian Stereotype
The stereotype of the highly motivated, high-achieving Asian student is hard not to buy into because Asian-Americans, as a group, outperfrom all other minorities in virtually all categories, and they beat white students on most measures too.
Assessment
NCLB: A Local Perspective
In case you missed it, we had a fascinating online chat on edweek.org last week with local leaders from Rockland County, N.Y., which recently published a 72-page report on how the No Child Left Behind Act needs to be changed to better serve the needs of local school districts. A transcript of the chat is available on edweek.org.
Education
"Girls Just Work Harder"
Am I a member of the lazy gender? Are three of my four kids also part of that group?