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A good highlight of 10 major education studies that were published this year. 1/11 https://www.edutopia.org/article/10-most-significant-education-studies-2020?utm_content=linkpos1&utm_campaign=weekly-2020-12-09-B&utm_source=edu-newsletter&utm_medium=email
1) When teaching vocabulary, find a way to make the words come to life. Students who acted out words were 73% more likely to remember them. Drawing or looking at pictures also helps. 2/11
2) Handwriting engages more neurons than typing. We already knew this, but for PreK, free writing is even more effective than tracing letters. And the handwriting vs. typing effect extends to middle school. 3/11
3) High school grades are stronger predictors of four-year-college graduation than ACT or SAT scores. Hopefully this will start to change the college admission process. 4/11
4) A well-written rubric can reduce racial grading bias. Teachers were 13% more likely to give a writing piece with a character named Connor a passing grade than a character named Dashawn — unless they were using a rubric to grade the papers. 5/11
5) Environmental factors (e.g., air quality, neighborhood crime, noise pollution) can have significant effects on learning. This reminds me of JAMA guidance that recommends schools refresh air 6x/hour. Most are at 1–3x. 6/11 https://edhub.ama-assn.org/jn-learning/audio-player/18566655
6) Have students generate questions about what they are learning. (Maybe they can help you create the next day’s Do Now or quiz?) 7/11
7) The Units of Study curricula do not systematically build knowledge or teach phonics (among other shortfalls) — two very important pieces of teaching reading! The full report is linked here and would be great reading for a PD. 8/11
https://achievethecore.org/page/3240/comparing-reading-research-to-program-design-an-examination-of-teachers-college-units-of-study
https://achievethecore.org/page/3240/comparing-reading-research-to-program-design-an-examination-of-teachers-college-units-of-study
8) Organize your asynchronous resources! Clearly label them (maybe by topic?) Use folders. Think about what search terms a student may use. A significant obstacle to online learning is locating and accessing materials. 9/11
9) Learning how to code more closely resembles learning a language than it does learning math. Some districts are ahead of the curve and already allow for coding classes to count as second language credits. 10/11
10) Focus on building content knowledge, not teaching isolated reading skills. Bring back daily science and social studies! Students with more background knowledge have a better chance of understanding new texts they encounter. 11/11
