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The Research Is In

Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong

Teacher Collaboration
How to Choose a Co-Teaching Model
Knowing the pros and cons of the six models of co-teaching can help teachers determine which one is best for a given lesson.
Sean Cassel

Student Voice
Creating a Classroom Culture of Shared Ownership
Getting buy-in from students at the outset encourages them to engage more deeply in their learning.
Miriam Plotinsky
Literacy
6 Ways to Make the Most of Classroom Movies
A Twitter thread on how to elicit real learning from movies draws over 150 teachers—and produces some fantastic ideas.
Stephen Merrill
Communication Skills
Building Perspective Through Meaningful Discussion
When they don’t shy away from talking about tough topics, students and teachers gain a deeper understanding of important issues—and each other.

Latest »

Diversity
Should You Use “At-Risk” to Describe Students?
Professor Ivory Toldson says you shouldn’t—here’s why.
Stephen Merrill
Social and Emotional Learning
How to Promote Social, Emotional, and Character Development
There’s no need for funding or special training to bring these approaches and strategies into your classroom right away.
Maurice J. Elias
Communication Skills
What Productive Talk Looks Like in the Elementary Grades
Using sentence stems to scaffold classroom discussions guides students to speak, actively listen, and build on each others’ ideas.
Susan O’Brien
The Research Is In
Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong
How much background knowledge is needed to understand a piece of text? New research discovers the tipping point.
Youki Terada

An Engaging Word Game Helps Students Grasp Implicit Bias

Laura Lee

Assessment »

Assessment
Methods for Managing Late Work
Examining the reasoning behind your assessments can help shape your approach to tardy work, says Jennifer Gonzalez.
Laura Lee
Service Learning
Using Community Challenges for Learning
Find tips on how to collect real-world problems for your students and a framework to start and monitor their projects.
Cathleen Beachboard
Assessment
60-Second Strategy: Respond, Reflect, and Review
This simple activity helps students practice giving and receiving peer feedback—and gets them out of their desks.
Assessment
Making Assessment a Collaborative Process
A middle school teacher turned an individual assessment into a group presentation with an authentic audience and three layers of feedback.
Jill Fletcher

STEM »

Technology Integration
The Value of Digital Tools in Science Classes
Digital learning experiences can be used to mirror the work of real scientists, boosting students’ engagement and learning outcomes.
Emily Gonzalez
STEM
5 Science Experiments Inspired by Harry Potter
Teachers can use elements of the Harry Potter books and movies to inspire students of all ages to engage with scientific concepts.
Youki Terada
STEM
It’s Good News on Girls and Science
A recent meta-analysis of almost 80 studies finds that girls are making dramatic strides in imagining themselves as scientists—but there’s still work to do.
STEM
The Best (Free) Posters of STEM Women
Our periodically updated list of beautiful, free posters—along with a few good reasons why you should display them in your classroom.
Stephen Merrill, Laura Lee

Student Wellness »

Education Trends
Lessons From the Cigarette Wars: Harness Student Voices Against Vaping
The number of kids who are vaping has risen dramatically in the last year—and the addictive habit has now claimed its first lives. It's time to let kids know we’ve seen this all before.
Stephen Merrill
Education Trends
New Research Casts Doubt on the ‘Summer Slide’
Under closer scrutiny, the idea of dramatic learning loss over the summer doesn’t seem to hold up, according to a recent study.
Youki Terada
Mental Health
Activating the Brain With Movement Breaks
Research has shown that short movement breaks help students get focused, improving both skill-building and knowledge retention.
Mental Health
Creating a Positive Learning Environment
When students’ mental, emotional, and physical needs are met, they’re more likely to love school—and they learn more.

Prekindergarten »

English-Language Learners
Using Diversity to Build a Culture of Belonging
Academics and social skills are equally prioritized at this multilingual elementary school in Chicago, ranked one of the best in the city.
Conor P. Williams
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Helping Refugee Students Feel Safe
Creating an environment of safety and security is crucial for inclusion of refugee students in the elementary classroom.
Lori Brenneise
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Sharing Holiday Traditions in the Classroom
Finding simple ways to celebrate different holidays in the classroom can create a culture of inclusion and deepen understanding.
Kyleen Gray
Teaching Strategies
Optimizing Station Rotations in Blended Learning
Using three stations effectively—teacher-led, online, and offline—should provide your students with plenty of ways to collaborate.
Laura Lee
Social and Emotional Learning
Teaching Consent to Elementary Students
Teaching consent in the elementary grades means using nonsexual situations to guide students to assert and respect boundaries.
Emelina Minero
Education Trends
What’s Lost When We Rush Kids Through Childhood
The author of "The Importance of Being Little" on the costs of our collective failure to see the world through the eyes of children.
Emily Kaplan
Social and Emotional Learning
Using Dance to Promote SEL Skills
Bringing dance into the classroom with simple exercises can help elementary students develop social and emotional learning skills.
Margot Toppen
Social and Emotional Learning
Starting the Day With a Calming Routine
Exercises that help young students who’ve experienced trauma transition into the school day in a relaxed and ready state.
Lori Desautels

Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong

How to Choose a Co-Teaching Model

Creating a Classroom Culture of Shared Ownership

6 Ways to Make the Most of Classroom Movies

Building Perspective Through Meaningful Discussion

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Should You Use “At-Risk” to Describe Students?

How to Promote Social, Emotional, and Character Development

What Productive Talk Looks Like in the Elementary Grades

Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong

A Student-Driven Approach to Experiential Learning

Inviting Participation With Thumbs-Up Responses

What’s Executive Function—and Why Does It Matter?

A Public School Transitions to Montessori

An Engaging Word Game Helps Students Grasp Implicit Bias

Laura Lee

Methods for Managing Late Work

Using Community Challenges for Learning

60-Second Strategy: Respond, Reflect, and Review

Making Assessment a Collaborative Process

The Value of Digital Tools in Science Classes

5 Science Experiments Inspired by Harry Potter

It’s Good News on Girls and Science

The Best (Free) Posters of STEM Women

Lessons From the Cigarette Wars: Harness Student Voices Against Vaping

New Research Casts Doubt on the ‘Summer Slide’

Activating the Brain With Movement Breaks

Creating a Positive Learning Environment

Using Diversity to Build a Culture of Belonging

Helping Refugee Students Feel Safe

Sharing Holiday Traditions in the Classroom

Optimizing Station Rotations in Blended Learning

Teaching Consent to Elementary Students

What’s Lost When We Rush Kids Through Childhood

Using Dance to Promote SEL Skills

Starting the Day With a Calming Routine

Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong

.css-1enhq53:hover{background-color:#d1ecfa;}How to Choose a Co-Teaching Model

.css-1sk4066:hover{background:#d1ecfa;}Creating a Classroom Culture of Shared Ownership

Get the best of Edutopia in your inbox each week.

.css-1z0exdd{padding:0 20px;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#ffffff;}.css-1z0exdd:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;} An Engaging Word Game Helps Students Grasp Implicit Bias

How to Choose a Co-Teaching Model

Creating a Classroom Culture of Shared Ownership

An Engaging Word Game Helps Students Grasp Implicit Bias