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This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here): Can the new federal voucher program help public schools? Democrats are torn is from NPR.
State takeovers of struggling Texas school districts come at a high cost, with little evidence of success is from The Conversation. I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning About The Student Protests In France:
Don’t Be Fooled by Claims That Tax-Credit Scholarships Can Help Public Education is from Ed Week.
I’m adding this post to The Best Sites For Learning That Money Does Matter For Schools:
For undocumented students, the path from high school to college is shrinking is from Chalkbeat. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Encouraging ELL’s To Attend College. Direct Instruction is the American Default is by Michael Pershan.
Want to Improve Attendance? Start With Relationships is from Ed Week. The best strategies to improve chronic absenteeism, per new research is from Ed Source. They’re both summaries of the same recent report. I’m adding them to The Best Resources On Student Absenteeism.      Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
Ten years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in all my Best lists on teaching ELLs. Also, check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners. In addition, look for our latest book on teaching ELLs, The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox 2.0. Here are this week’s choices: I’m adding this post to THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT TRANSLANGUAGING: This could be a fun video to show to ELL students and then have them talk/write about what they saw:
How to Help Students Express Complex Ideas: The Metaphorical Transmediation Protocol is from Song Activity Factory. I’m adding this post to SOME “BEST” IDEAS FOR USING MINI-WHITEBOARDS IN THE CLASSROOM: AI-Powered Learning for ELLs: A Texas Study Mindful Moments for Teachers of Multilingual Learners is from Helping Multilingual Learners Thrive. A Poetry-Writing Exercise to Support English Learners appeared in Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best World Poetry Day Resources – Help Me Find More.  SEL Weekly Update
I’ve begun this weekly post where I’ll be sharing resources I’m adding to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources or other related “Best” lists. Also, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources. Here are this week’s picks: The Social Wealth Gap is from Education Next. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Social Capital In Schools. 5 neuroscience-backed tips for beating procrastination is from Fast Company. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Teaching Students About The Dangers Of Procrastination. Down on your luck? How behavioural neuroscience could help is from The Guardian. I’m adding it to THE BEST RESOURCES ON LEARNING HOW TO IMPROVE OUR “LUCK” Stop trying to ‘educate’ people into changing. Science proves it doesn’t work is from Fast Company. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On Building Influence & Creating Change/ Glisten offers resources to support LGBTQ students. I’m adding it to THE BEST WAYS TO SUPPORT LGBTQ STUDENTS.  A Look Back: Six Ways For Students To Be Powerful In The Classroom – What Are More Ideas?For the next several months, each week I’ll be republishing posts from the past that I think readers might still find useful. This post first appeared in 2022.
 Pexels / Pixabay
The Ikea Effect (see Video: “How the ‘IKEA effect’ can motivate people to work [& learn] harder” ) – basically, we are more invested in something if we feel we contributed to creating it – is not big news to just about anyone. As many experienced teachers know, this holds true in the classroom, also. I was prompted to write this post because of a couple of things that happened this week. One, a student teacher who was observing my class asked me what I was saying to students who I had invited to briefly come to my desk after he saw they had been “off-task.” I explained to him that they had previously made some decisions about how they had wanted to conduct themselves in class (see Here Is How I’m TRYING to Create The Conditions Where My ELL Students Can Motivate Themselves (With A Little Encouragement)), and I was checking in with them to see if those goals they had set for themselves were still important to them. I told the student teacher that the important thing to keep in mind was not to challenge them to comply with my expectations but, instead, to challenge them if they wanted to act on what they said they wanted (see Irritation vs. Agitation). Two, I asked peer tutors (see Are Schools Overlooking An Obvious Strategy They Can Implement Immediately To Accelerate Learning? Peer Tutors!) for their recommendations (and reasoning for those recommendations) of Newcomer students who might be ready to be moved to the Intermediate ELL group. They took it very seriously and, though the names were the same I would have chosen, they pointed out a couple of improvements made by students that I had not noticed. And, importantly, though the peer tutors generally take their job seriously, they seemed to be even more attentive to it after I asked them for their suggestions. So, what are some other ways to create the conditions where students feel – and have – a genuine sense of power and ownership? One simple strategy for incorporating this “need for power” (as William Glasser describes it) is through the use of choice (see The Best Posts & Articles About Providing Students With Choices). I also talk about it in an excerpt from one of my books that appeared in Edutopia, Strategies for Helping Students Motivate Themselves. Asking for student suggestions and acting on them is another strategy. One way I do this is through a weekly Google Form (see I’ve Been Having Students Complete Weekly “Check-Ins” & I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Think To Ask This Question Until Now! ). Asking for feedback, and not responding to it, can make things worse. I’ve received some good suggestions, and make it very public when I act on them. Anonymous class evaluations have also been helpful (see Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers)). Inviting students to tell me how much time is needed to complete a task/assignment or, if they are in the middle of it, how much more time they need. Some researchers have questioned the value of student input on pacing (see A Look Back: Study Finds That “Student-Centered” Activities Better Than “Teacher-Centered” Ones – Except When It Comes To Pacing). I used to feel the same way, and maybe I’m just more flexible during the pandemic, but I’m generally finding that students are setting reasonable deadlines. I think having many of my students act as mentors to other students also contributes to their sense of power and agency in class (see The Best Resources On The Value & Practice Of Having Older Students Mentoring Younger Ones). Sometimes they are mentors to students in other classes, and other times they are mentors to new students who have recently arrived in the United States. I’m sure I’m forgetting other ways to invite student ownership. What are additional strategies you use? I’m adding this post to: The Best Posts & Articles About Providing Students With Choices The Best Resources On Student Agency & How To Encourage It Best Posts On “Motivating” Students The Best Posts & Articles On Student Engagement
ADDENDUM: GUEST POST: WAYS TO CREATE A STUDENT-DRIVEN CLASS Bringing Student Voice to the Forefront is from NASSP. NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THAT “STUDENT VOICE” MATTERS  This Piece On How Lack Of Agency Is Driving American Politics Is Very Relevant To American Classrooms
My toddler theory of American politics is an insightful piece about American politics, and also has a lot of relevance to America’s classrooms. The author rightly suggests that people are frustrated with being told that what future is happening to them, and are desperate to gain a sense of agency. Of course, a sense of student agency, most easily supported through creating opportunities for student autonomy through choice and other ways, is an important way teachers can help students gain a feeling of power, too. For specific ideas on how to make that happen, check out: Six Ways For Students To Be Powerful In The Classroom The Best Resources On Student Agency & How To Encourage It Not to mention our most recent book, The Better Teacher’s Toolbox.
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