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.

What the F? Grading strategies for early career teachers

According to a recent study, grading is one of the least stressful activities early career teachers have to complete. Grading is time consuming, however, and more grading-related questions are popping up in the news these days. For instance, are teachers allowed to reduce grades for late work? Are students allowed to retake tests on which they did not do well? It is essential that teachers have a clear and supportive grading system in place to address the scrutiny of today’s students, parents, and other stakeholders.

Setting up a grading system requires more than a calculator. A philosophical foundation is important to how a teacher grades. Having a philosophical basis for grading helps instructors explain grades, their meaning, and their value to students, who may then see the grade as less arbitrary.Two common approaches to further mitigate this arbitrary nature include normative-based grading and criterion- or standards-based grading. To build a strong, meaningful grading policy, instructors must choose the approach that best fits the course design and student learning outcomes.

Instructors who choose a normative approach will grade based upon relative performance. A teacher’s fallback practice may be to grade on a curve; however, curved grading is philosophically flawed in most course level applications. Effective instructional design models and psychometrics generally anticipate that students can master an end-of-course exam with a 70 to 80 percent score. Exams that do not reflect that criteria may have been poorly designed. Otherwise, instructional challenges or lack of student engagement could be to blame. Some college courses simply provide a curved score for students to lower the failure rate or to stratify student performance. This, however, does not evidence how students understood the content. Curved grades only show how students performed in relation to other students instead of reflecting students’ mastery of the materials.…Read More

5 math resources to boost student inquiry

Lloyd Alexander once said, “We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from the answer itself.” I love this quote because I’ve witnessed the truth of it firsthand in the classroom. Like much of life, the best parts are often found in the journey rather than the destination itself.

When students are truly engaged in inquiry, they are able to construct deep knowledge and understanding rather than just passively receiving the information. It also gives them the opportunity to encounter different perspectives that build upon prior learning, which they can then return to for guidance as they continue to grow.     

This is particularly true when it comes to the study of mathematics. With math, educators often find themselves jumping between two worlds: the conceptual knowledge and the procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge is what’s learned through standard memorization (like math facts), but conceptual knowledge is where students are able to grasp deeper learning through thoughtful, reflective activities. …Read More

Focusing on upstream prevention can stem school violence

While instances of school violence are on the rise, there is strong evidence to suggest that upstream violence prevention is what’s needed to curb this trend. Since 1999 there have been over 300 violent tragedies that have played out from college campuses to elementary schools, and 320K students have been exposed to gun violence. 

According to a 2019 CDC study involving 13,667 students, 1 in 5 report of being bullied on school property within the last year and roughly 8 percent of high school students surveyed indicated they had been in a physical fight on school property at least one or more times within the last year.  

These events have cast a spotlight on school safety and have put teachers, students and administrators squarely at the center of taking steps to create a positive school environment. It is widely known that a safe and supportive learning environment has a profound, positive impact on the academic success, mental health, and social well-being of students.…Read More

Quieter classrooms: How classroom design promotes effective learning

Working in the education design space collectively for 26 years, we understand students and teachers need environments to support learning. Classrooms should be designed for listening and engagement; study spaces should be calm and quiet. And yet, these environments are typically noisy and full of unintentional distractions – and overlook design elements that facilitate focus.

Besides noise reduction, students require a harmonious balance among lighting, temperature, air quality, and intentional design to maximize their focus throughout their long days. Ninety-two percent of teachers believe classroom design has a strong impact on students’ learning, and carpet, color, and furnishings are just a few elements that can help improve education spaces.

Understanding the need to balance these components, we always approach education design by drafting inclusive spaces with adaptable features. It’s important that designs address today’s modern classroom demands and demonstrate how designers and architects can create a comforting, student-centered design. By integrating noise-absorbing elements for focused learning, supporting classroom productivity and creativity with color, and reconfiguring the classroom layout to inspire collaboration, students and teachers alike are better positioned to succeed.…Read More

What SEL teaches us about safety

According to a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) study, the number of children aged 3 to 17 diagnosed with anxiety increased by 29 percent between 2016 and 2020, while those diagnosed with depression increased by 27 percent.

The situation worsened with the pandemic. And now, stressed students are hurting others and themselves.

There’s a dire need for safety in schools and other educational institutions — it’s time for strategies that help create safe learning environments.…Read More

How plagiarism makes the literacy gap worse

Plagiarism is becoming ubiquitous in academia as an increase in AI-powered writing tools become more advanced and available to students. As a result, educators are faced with preventing, identifying, and stopping plagiarism even as plagiarism becomes increasingly harder to detect.

But why should educators even continue to tackle plagiarism? What are the documented and potentially long-lasting impacts of students plagiarizing their work?

According to a recent study, there was a marked increase globally in paraphrasing and text replacement during the pandemic in 2020 compared to 2019. The average similarity score, which is the score that comes from detecting what content was paraphrased versus what is original, increased from 35.1 percent to 49.6 percent. This is especially troubling considering the already negative effects the pandemic had on education. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that the pandemic erased over two decades of progress with drops in both mathematics and reading scores for students at record highs. …Read More

Building a Successful Certification Program at Your Institution

In a world where competition for jobs, pay increases, and academic success continues to increase, certifications offer hope because they are a credible, third-party assessment of one’s skill and knowledge for a given subject. According to a study conducted across the state of Florida, those who earn certifications while in school are more likely to have a higher GPA, are more likely to graduate, are more likely to enroll in a post-secondary program, and are less likely to drop out. Furthermore, once the candidate is in the workforce, certification improves a candidate’s marketability and earning power, with some professionals making up to 7% more than their non-certified colleagues.

Building a certification program from the ground up often involves significant legwork from educators and administrators. Get advice below on the best ways to build a successful certification program at your school.

Research Funding Options

One of the common issues faced by many educators is a lack of funding. Asking for additional budget to grow or increase resources in your classroom can be a frustrating process.…Read More

National Study Finds High Schoolers Keenly Aware of Current In-Demand Jobs, Impacting Education Choices After Graduation

MINNEAPOLIS (May 20, 2022)—Today’s high schoolers are keenly aware of the impact the pandemic had on the job market and are evaluating their options as they forge their path to a career, according to the latest Question The Quo Education Pulse survey. The most recent national study of 14-18-year-olds in the United States, fielded in January, found three-quarters have heard about worker shortages, and more than one-third are more likely to pursue an education or career in an in-demand field.

“The most stunning finding for me has been how insightful, intuitive and engaged this demographic is when it comes to understanding the career landscape, the impact of student debt and the options available to them in the current environment,” said Jeremy Wheaton, president and CEO of ECMC Group. “Today’s students have experienced the pandemic’s impact, and they want to forge their own path—a path that is shorter in duration, more affordable and connects directly to a career—especially a career in a field that needs workers.”

According to this survey, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, half of high schoolers are no longer considering four-year college and less than half believe a four-year degree will make them successful. More than half are open to a path other than four-year college, and because of the pandemic, one-third say they’re more comfortable with following a shorter pathway. Despite that, 85% feel pressure to pursue a four-year degree.…Read More