Some bad ideas never seem to die, despite research showing they do not actually work. It can be hard to spot them at first. Those dispelled education theories that research shot down long ago. They creep up in studies, shuffling around mumbling in the reference lists, or moan loudly in blog posts. The author often stumbles across these…

When faced with students who have learning skills, styles, and backgrounds very different from their own, teachers can promote academic rigor by engaging in reality pedagogy. This approach proposes seven strategies, or Cs: Cogenerative dialogues (in which teachers solicit feedback from a dissimilar group of students); coteaching (in which students…

Educators know that students learn better when their teacher considers carefully how young people learn best. Yet, when administrators plan professional development for teachers, the author claims, they often forget to consider how teachers learn best. As principal of a private K-8 school, Scott arranges professional learning for her teachers in a…

How important is it that every student in a school is excited about learning? Should a student be allowed to use all his/her strengths in learning? Do you know someone who wasn't a particularly good student but has been very successful in life? What these seemingly unrelated questions have in common is an appreciation for the range of talents that…

This article presents comments of high school students at the Howard Gardner School in Alexandria, Virginia, who were asked, What should teachers know about students to help them learn? Twelve high school students from the Howard Gardner School in Alexandria, Virginia, describe how their best teachers get to know them and thus were more able to…

The best homework tasks exhibit five characteristics. First, the task has a clear academic purpose, such as practice, checking for understanding, or applying knowledge or skills. Second, the task efficiently demonstrates student learning. Third, the task promotes ownership by offering choices and being personally relevant. Fourth, the task…

When teaching to the "typical" student doesn't work, teachers can tap into students' areas of greatest comfort, confidence, and passion and teach to their strengths. Five principles guide this work, which involves learning to recognize diverse student strengths, helping students see their capabilities in a positive light, helping students…

Providing high-quality education for all students is far more complex than placing students of diverse backgrounds in the same classroom. Hawaii's Kamachamcha Early Education Project (KEEP) takes a group-oriented, culturally responsive approach to improving students' academic achievement while preserving characteristics of more traditional…

By understanding the learning styles of educational researchers we can better understand the policies they promote and the lessons they plan for others. This article is based on an interview study of the beliefs and intentions underlying researchers' and policymakers' views on staff development. (Author/DCS)

Noted educator Carol Ann Tomlinson shares the insights that shaped her thinking about informative assessment. Informative assessment goes beyond tests and the grade book. It means assessing students both formally and informally in multiple ways and giving frequent, productive feedback on student work. Informative assessment isn't separate from…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: Simplified interpretations of brain function portraying rationality solely in the left hemisphere and creativity solely in the right are incorrect, but the two sides of the brain do differ in important ways. Researchers have discovered that: In the vast majority of right handers, speech is almost…

Refutes the myths surrounding gifted students that may still influence how they are educated. Suggests ways to improve the classroom learning experience for these students. (Contains 12 references.) (PKP)

What goes on in most classrooms depends on the cognitive style of teachers, not students. (Author)

The Relational Thinking Style (RTS) identifies five generic learning styles: transient, digital, multi-digital, multi-relational, and meta-relational. (Author/MLF)

Describes a Massachusetts language arts teacher's experiences with diagnosing seventh and eighth graders' learning styles and designing activity stations geared to a particular type. Students progress from one station to another, trying to figure out which activity goes with each style by experiencing each one individually. (MLH)