Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Gale In Context: Literature Launches to Promote Critical Thinking Skills and Better Learning Outcomes in ELA for High School Students

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Gale, part of Cengage Group, has added a new resource to its award-winning Gale In Context family of products. The company has launched Gale In Context: Literature, a new resource for literature instruction and learning that helps high schoolers engage and thrive in English language arts (ELA). Read our blog about why English teachers will love Gale In Context: Literature.

Designed with high school students in mind, Gale In Context: Literature provides learners with the context they need to engage and form personal connections with a wide variety of literature from traditional texts to diverse new voices. Educators can easily connect students to standards-based resources that provide the literary context necessary to ensure student understanding of the texts they’re reading in ELA lessons. This sparks greater interest in literature, enabling teachers to facilitate meaningful interactions that inspire more compelling classroom discussions that increase critical thinking skills, delivering better learning outcomes.

Download/view screenshots of Gale In Context: Literature.…Read More

4 ways to enhance critical thinking skills

Critical thinking is plainly in decline.  Everywhere we look, people are uncritically consuming and spreading information that is distorted, misleading, and sometimes intentionally deceptive. Conspiracy thinking is rampant–QAnon, Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook shooting, Pizzagate, and unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud are just a few of the most notorious examples. The very foundations of our democracy are arguably at risk when millions are willing to believe irrational and unfounded claims.

Nobel prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman (Thinking Fast and Slow) demonstrated that we’re generally inclined to draw conclusions based on gut instincts, thereby avoiding the hard work of closely examining evidence.  Psychologists and neuroscientists have shown that we are subject to “confirmation bias,” the tendency to believe whatever reinforces our prior views and to disbelieve what challenges them. We are especially prone to this bias if changing our views would be costly–financially, to our reputation, or to our identity. These natural tendencies, exacerbated by the pervasiveness of social media and the limitless access to information on the internet, leave us vulnerable to being duped by disinformation.

But we are not defenseless.  There are some simple exercises we can use to combat both our natural instincts and the rising tide of digital misinformation.  …Read More

5 essential STEM education reads

STEM education is a critical part of a comprehensive K-12 education–it helps students build and improve critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and it teaches students to be persistent when presented with a challenge.

And while STEM education is essential, it’s not always accessible–underrepresented groups, including female students and minority students–often lose interest in STEM subjects as the subjects grow more challenging and as they move through school.

Representation is another obstacle to more ubiquitous STEM participation. When students don’t see STEM professionals who look like them represented in advertising, on TV and in movies, or in classroom resources, they have a harder time envisioning themselves in STEM careers.…Read More

5 ways to make way for science in an ELA and math world

How much time do you think the average K–3 student spends learning about science? Thirty minutes a day? An hour a day? Well, according to the 2018 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education, K–3 students spent an average of 89 minutes studying ELA, 57 minutes learning math, and a miniscule 18 minutes a day on science. These numbers aren’t too surprising when you consider that reading and math are high priorities in early grades. However, when educators fail to make room for science in their lessons, students can still lose out on essential growth. 

Science is much more than naming planets or memorizing the periodic elements. At its heart, science is about tapping into a student’s innate curiosity and creativity while fostering their critical thinking skills. It encourages them to ask important questions and discover answers by carefully examining their surroundings.

Given the incredibly packed school day schedule, finding room for science will take more than a little flexibility and creative thinking. Here are just a few resources and strategies that teachers can put into practice right away:…Read More

The purpose of a K-12 education: Who decides and how do we get there?

In a recent report by Populace (2022), 55 percent of American parents expressed their desire for educators to rethink how today’s K-12 schools are educating our children. The study found that, despite the widespread perception that American society wants K-12 schools to prepare students for college, college is not as important to parents as it used to be. Instead, the study reported, today’s parents would like to see their children develop practical skills “for both life and career” (p. 10), critical thinking skills that allow them “to problem solve and make decisions” (p. 8), and moral character traits such as “honesty, kindness, integrity, [and] ethics” (p. 20).

The Populace study reported that today’s parents want more individualized educational experiences for their children, with greater emphasis on students’ interests and personal/career goals than on a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Parents want their children to have learning opportunities across a variety of modalities, and they want learning to be assessed through demonstration of mastery as opposed to traditional assessments like standardized tests.

According to the Populace study, today’s parents believe that “better” (as in straight As and college bound) should not be the purpose of a K-12 education, but “different” (as in a customized educational experience for every student) should be. It seems that–at least for parents–the purpose of an American K-12 education is changing.…Read More

Using VR to radically improve learning outcomes

“When will I ever use this?”

Math students have been asking educators this very question for decades. And yet, it has long been reported by Brookings (Loveless, 2008) and others like the Algebra Project (Moses, 2001) that Algebra I is the gatekeeper to higher level math classes, higher education success, and careers in the technical fields. It is a commonly-held belief that algebraic concepts are directly related to critical thinking skills. So, what is the disconnect?

We have hovered our proverbial mouse over the 21st century now for two decades. Yet, our education system and structure had shown little to no trace of modernization. Bells rang, people moved. An agrarian calendar is used to let our students “off” for the summer to help with…wait, for what? …Read More

7 tips for future-proofing school libraries

Schools in urban districts like Denver Public Schools often struggle to fund library programs, which only exacerbates already existing equity gaps for students of color. And while it is painfully true that tight school budgets often result in unstaffed or understaffed school libraries, I am hopeful. I sense a revolution in how we serve our students — a revolution in how we walk the talk of equity.

Prioritizing equitable library access for students

As school libraries evolve and best practices shift accordingly, there is one constant to solve for: equity. All students deserve access to a school library. Libraries support students’ literacy and lifelong learning, help develop their empathy, build their critical thinking skills, and empower them with skills to navigate their world.…Read More

New partnership to promote the 16 Habits of Mind

ASCD, in partnership with Wonder Media, presents a series of animations based on the renowned 16 Habits of Mind developed by Dr. Art Costa and Bena Kallick of the Global Institute for Habits of Mind. This groundbreaking collaboration offers a unique tool that empowers students in kindergarten through 2nd grade with creative and critical thinking skills for success in school and life.

The Habits of Mind Animations offer educators a revolutionary new tool in alignment with college- and career- ready standards to help students learn how to persist, how to manage their impulsivity, how to listen with understanding and empathy, how to strive for accuracy, and 12 other essential life skills.

Research shows that young children form strong emotional relationships with animated characters, and using these characters to model behaviors helps break down barriers to students’ understanding of difficult-to-teach concepts.…Read More

Kick off your Hour of Code with Minecraft’s help

Just in time for Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code, Microsoft Corp. and Code.org have unveiled the Minecraft Hour of Code Designer, a coding tutorial for students and educators.

The Hour of Code is an annual global campaign held during Computer Science Education Week, which this year runs Dec. 5–11.

The new web-based tutorial, available for free at http://code.org/minecraft, helps novice coders to create and share their own simple “Minecraft” game, and is designed to empower anyone to begin learning the problem-solving and critical thinking skills required in today’s tech-fueled world.…Read More

A society with poor critical thinking skills: The case for ‘argument’ in education

The Huffington Post reports that researchers have shown that most students today are weak in critical thinking skills. They do poorly on simple logical reasoning tests. Only a fraction of graduating high school seniors (6 percent of 12th graders) can make informed, critical judgments about written text. This problem applies to both reading and writing. Only 15 percent of 12th graders demonstrate the proficiency to write well-organized essays that consisted of clear arguments. Critical thinking and argument skills — the abilities to both generate and critique arguments — are crucial elements in decision-making. When applied to academic settings, argumentation may promote the long-term understanding and retention of course content…

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