Tag: teaching

It has only been in the last decade or so that dyslexia has been recognized as a legitimate issue. In the past, dyslexia has been ignored, discounted, or morphed to fit under existing learning disabilities. With further research and clear evidence, it’s becoming not only recognized and understood but finally addressed in education. The movement is...

How shall I talk of the sea to the frog,if it has never left its pond?How shall I talk of the frost to the bird of the summerland,if it has never left the land of its birth?How shall I talk of life with the sage,if he is prisoner of his doctrine?Chung Tsu,...

Martha Edelson and Lori Langer de Ramirez share the consequences of motivation and affect in teaching middle school world languages and math As teachers of math and Spanish, we have both been approached on countless occasions by adults — friends, colleagues, parents — who share variations on the...

Complexity theory (CT) deals with complex, dynamic, and nonlinear systems. When I first encountered CT some 20 years ago, it was not in the context of language. However, I couldn’t think of many things that were more complex, dynamic, and nonlinear than language (Larsen-Freeman, 1997). And it soon...

Danny Brassell gets over himself to make learning fun for all ages When I first began teaching elementary school, my principal asked me if I knew any Spanish. After I replied, “Un poquito (a little),” he said, “Good. You’re our new bilingual coordinator!”

Joanna Duggan and Teddi Predaris examine the ten key components of an English learner master plan Imagine being the parent of a third grader new to a school in a large, urban district. Your child was designated as an English learner (EL) at her...

The U.S. House and Senate have both introduced bills that encourage the replacement of math, science, and foreign language courses with computer coding in high schools. In June, U.S. senators Bill Cassidy, MD (R-Louisiana), and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced the Coding Opportunities and Development for Equitable Students (CODES) Act, a new competitive grant program for local education agencies (LEAs) that...

Mary Thrond explores trends in world language development for teachers (Teaching Works, University of Michigan, www.teachingworks.org) Commissioned by a bipartisan group of members of Congress “to examine the nation’s current capacity in languages and recommend actions to ensure excellence in all languages as well as international education and research” (vii), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on Language...

Rene Gadelha believes that only careful implementation will realize the promise of virtual reality in education Revolutionizing Education Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to revolutionize education as we know it. Specifically, it immerses students in their learning more than any other available medium. It blocks out both visual and...

Keith Oelrich argues that teacher preparation and curriculum design are the keys to closing the digital technological opportunity gap A Gap Emerges In the mid-’90s, as personal computer and internet access was becoming more available to many in the U.S., a correlation could be observed between access to technology and socioeconomic status. Scholars, policy makers, and advocacy groups referred to this...