The Teaching Now blog explored the latest news on the teaching profession, from practical classroom tips to raging policy debates. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: teaching, teaching profession, and curriculum.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Leaving Teaching: Options and Legacies
Pointing to a surge in teacher job losses in the region, an article in the Utica (N.Y.) Observer-Dispatch highlights alternative career options for educators. It cites the example of a 20-year teaching veteran in the area who four years ago started her own business as a district professional development consultant. Some educators, the article notes, may find that, with a little reconfiguring, they may be able to position themselves for private-industry jobs as well.
Classroom Technology
Study: Teacher PD Needs More on Emotions
A new study out of the University of Illinois suggests that teachers may not always be well-equipped to respond effectively to students' emotional outbursts, according to a report on Psychcentral.com.
Teaching Profession
Inside a Teacher's Termination Hearing
The Washington Post's Emma Brown takes a deep dive into the proceedings surrounding a tenured Virginia teacher's fight against termination. The piece illustrates the complexity of defining what makes a good or bad teacher—especially in a district like Fairfax County, which has historically not taken any student achievement measures into account in making that determination. (That will change next year when Virginia follows many other states' leads in requiring student achievement to be a "significant" factor in teacher evaluations.)
Teaching
Do Teachers Grade Too Much?
Instructional technologist Bud the Teacher has some decidedly non-high-tech advice for writing teachers who want to streamline their grading process. Grade less:
Teaching Profession
Anthony Cody: Award-Winning Gadfly
For the 2nd year running, our blogger Anthony Cody is among the winners of the California Teachers Association's annual John Swett Awards for Media Excellence. The award recognizes "outstanding achievements in reporting and interpreting public education issues during 2011."
Professional Development
Weird Neuroscience: How Can It Be Curbed?
Concerned that the teaching profession is rife with misconceptions about the connections between brain research and learning, a number of scientists and academics are advocating increased formal training for K-12 educators in neuroscience, according to an Education Week story. Some of the ideas mentioned certainly sound enriching and potentially constructive:
Student Well-Being & Movement
A Student's Presidential Pardon
Eleven-year-old Tyler Sullivan brought his teacher arguably one of the best excuse notes for missing class ever written:
Teacher Preparation
The Coming Demand for Credentialed ELL Teachers in Pre-K
In a push to improve early childhood education for English-language learners, Illinois will soon require pre-K teachers who work with ELLs to earn ESL credentials, Maggie Severns writes in The Washington Post.
School & District Management
What Works in PD? Even Experts, Feds Aren't Sure
With more pressure than ever on teachers to demonstrate their effectiveness, professional development has become big business. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education gives districts more than $1 billion annually for teacher-training programs (and that's not including Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants funds), according to Beth Fertig and Sarah Garland of The Hechinger Report. But the era of accountability in education has not trickled down to PD providers themselves. The authors contend that there's been little reliable research on the companies, programs, and universities that are being hired to help teachers improve their practice.
Classroom Technology
Is Teaching Heading Toward an 'Ed-Tech Iceberg'?
USA Today has an interesting article on the rise of Khan Academy, the popular and well-funded video-lesson provider founded by former hedge fund manager Sal Khan. As the article notes, Khan's success is partly responsible for the momentum behind the concept of the "flipped classroom," where students watch expert videos on their own time and then do "homework" or review with their teacher during normal class time.
Teaching Profession
Researchers Develop Attention-Getting Robot-Teacher
Two researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created a robot teacher that can gauge students' level of attention and use some of the same techniques as human teachers to bring it back, according to the United Kingdom-based New Scientist.
Student Achievement
Teachers Who Make House Calls
Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews reports that a relatively under-the-radar Teacher Home Visit Program in Missouri is having a noticeable impact on student performance:
Curriculum
Are Students Getting Outside Enough?
In a Wall Street Journal article, science writer Jonah Lehrer points to a growing body of research showing that spending time outdoors can provide significant cognitive benefits. A forthcoming study from the University of Kansas, he reports, finds that Outward Bound participants on an extended hike scored 50 percent higher on a creativity test than those not yet on the trail. Similarly, a 2009 study found that just taking a walk in an arboretum significantly boosted college students' performance on tests of attention and short-term memory. And a number of studies have shown that students with attention-deficit disorder exhibit improved behavior and focus when surrounded by nature.
Teaching Profession
Learning to Teach All Over Again
The New Haven Independent has a nice profile of a 7th grade teacher at a "turnaround" school in New Haven, Conn., who describes how the move from a small town to a big city forced him to reinvent his teaching style.