The author, a professor and former student at Harvard, was intrigued by how much the percentage of students with disabilities at that college has increased in recent decades. He began simply asking certain students, "How did you get here?" Drawing from in-depth interviews conducted with 16 Harvard attendees who had disabilities that…

The author has looked at four decades of scientific research on human motivation and found a mismatch between what science tells us and what organizations actually do. In this interview with "Educational Leadership," Pink shares his insights on how schools can create more optimal conditions for learning--and how they can dial up…

Educators and policymakers have expressed considerable enthusiasm for engaging students with data. In this article, the authors consider how teachers commonly examine data with their students, and how these practices are likely to affect student motivation. Combining motivation research with their own study of teachers in six middle schools that…

In this interview, James Block explains the model of mastery learning, developed by himself and B. Bloom, according to which individual differences in academic ability are lessened by appropriate teaching methods. (GW)

In this interview with Executive Editor Ron Brandt, Bloom answers criticisms of mastery learning and explains why he believes it is so important. (Author/JM)

Interviews with five neuroscientists--Martin Diamond, Pat Wolfe, Robert Sylwester, Geoffrey Caine, and Eric Jensen--disclose brain-research findings of practical interest to educators. Topics include brain physiology, environmental enrichment, memorization, windows of learning opportunity, brain learning capacity, attention span, student interest,…

Sylwester says education must begin relying more on biology than social and behavioral science. All brain systems move from a slow, awkward functional level to a fast, efficient level. Contributions of metacognition, self-regulation, emotions, reflective and reflexive responses, comparison, and classification to cognitive development are…

Elementary English language learners at Harrington Elementary in Lynn, Massachusetts--whom Reeves interviewed--share their perspectives on learning English in elementary school, and give advice to teachers working with English language learners. Among the advice students give teachers are: don't worry so much as you teach us, be patient and repeat…