As 2011 comes to an end, we look back at our top five most popular Teaching Now posts of the year, ordered by the number of online page views they generated.
1) Film Depicts Hardships, Dedication of the ‘American Teacher’
Coming in at No. 1 with the most traffic was our piece on Dave Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari’s documentary, “American Teacher.” The write-up stirred up some interesting comments from our audience on teacher pay, workload, social value, and the teacher’s role in the education hierarchy.
2) Survey: Alternative Teacher Certification on the Rise
A survey found that four out of 10 new public school teachers hired since 2005 came through alternative teacher-preparation programs.
3) National Teacher of the Year Finalists Announced
The Council of Chief State School Officers announced the four finalists for the 2011 National Teacher of the Year.
4) A 10-Minute Activity That Can Improve Test Scores
Scientists from the University of Chicago found that college students who performed this 10-minute activity before taking a final exam performed better on the exam than those who did not.
5) It’s One Space After a Period, Not Two
A Slate columnist wrote an editorial on why typing two spaces after a period is “totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong.”
Thank you to all of our Teaching Now readers for making time in your busy schedules to read our blog. We promise to keep you up-to-date on news and topics affecting teachers in 2012, so stay tuned!