Unique Solutions for Unique Learners
Annie Murphy Paul, one of my favorite columnists, published a piece in Sunday’s New York Times about computer-based tutoring programs. Many researchers and companies have developed technologies to deliver individualized instruction. The challenge, however, is capturing the human decision-making that occurs in more expensive one-on-one private tutoring sessions. One company, ASSISTments, has tried to do read more…
Written by Talya Braunstein, Writing and Organizational Skills Tutor As a private tutor, I am devoted to my students’ future success and helping them to become passionate and curious learners. I am also cognizant of their short-term goals and their performance on specific projects and exams. So, when I am confronted with a student’s claim: read more…
While attending a human development class this summer, I came across two articles that left me wondering about the significance of same sex schools. Prior to reading these articles, I would have considered myself strongly in favor of coed schools, but now I am not so sure. The first article was titled “The Gender Divide,” read more…
How many teaching techniques can you think of? There are too many to list. And for those educators who have been in this field for at least five years, we’ve already seen numerous additions and enhancements. When I was in elementary school it was all about rote learning. Then there was “new math”. Then manipulatives. read more…
In this famous TED Talks presentation from 2006, creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we educate our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems in order to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence. Robinson says, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything read more…
City physics educators retool their teaching in summer school From GothamSchools, 7/16/12 by Rose D’souza On most days, Room 404 in Zankel Hall is a laboratory used by graduate students at Columbia University’s Teachers College. But for the next two weeks, the lab is the temporary headquarters for a group of educators who are rethinking what it read more…
Do Schools Kill Creativity? If So, What Can We Do About It? From Parenting.com, July 12, 2012 By Melissa Taylor Creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson asserts that schools kill creativity. Just a few years in our educational system and kids say adios to their innate creative abilities — creativity defined as creating something original and useful. Notice that creativity’s definition (creating read more…
Presenter and author Rick DuFour talks about the importance of professional learning communities (PLC) and the biggest obstacles a school faces when transitioning to a PLC.
Dr. Tony Wagner, co-director of Harvard’s Change Leadership Group has identified what he calls a “global achievement gap,” which is the leap between what even our best schools are teaching, and the must-have skills of the future. The presentation below was given at the Asia Society in 2009. Dr. Wagner quotes Albert Einstein who says, read more…
An innovative and growing instructional approach as reported by Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post‘s Local Education section on June 3, 2012… The philosophy behind the flip is that teachers can spend time working with students who need their help in the classroom — and students can work together to solve problems — rather than read more…
Bringing together groups of educators is one of my favorite things to do. At My Learning Springboard, we’re extremely fortunate to have talented educators and specialists from nursery through graduate school working in tandem. Because of our families’ unique needs, we value having a diverse faculty, which provides families with options and educators with a read more…
I’m reading Tony Wagner’s book, The Global Achievement Gap, in which he explains the competencies high school and college graduates need in order to be successful young professionals and global citizens in today’s society. Wagner explains how much of the way we go about traditional schooling is truly obsolete, and he challenges educators to redefine read more…
