Schools need to put more effort into evaluating what makes effective teaching, and ensure that discredited practices are rooted out from classrooms, according to a new study published by the Sutton Trust and Durham University. The study suggests that some schools and teachers continue using methods that cause little or no improvement in student progress, and instead rely on anecdotal evidence to back fashionable techniques such as “discovery learning”, where […]

Teachers who give struggling pupils “lavish praise” could make them even less likely to succeed, research into classroom tactics has suggested. The Sutton Trust education charity has warned that many strategies used by teachers have no evidence to show that they really work. Too much praise for low achievers can “convey a message of low expectations”. Robert Coe of Durham University said teachers needed to know what was “most likely […]

Education scientist Sugata Mitra tackles one of the greatest problems of education — the best teachers and schools don’t exist where they’re needed most. In a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and saw results that could revolutionize how we think about teaching.

Troubling trends involving work, college, and social inequity cited (IRVINE, Calif) — Close the gap between the no-frills learning that too often happens in-school and the interactive, hands-on learning that usually takes place out of school. Take advantage of the Internet’s ability to help youth develop knowledge, expertise, skills and important new literacies. Use digital technology to combat the increasing reality of the haves and have-nots in education. Read more

The most compelling moments in Ivory Tower, a documentary that debuted in theaters on Thursday, all surround Cooper Union, a historically free college that will, this fall, charge tuition for the first time in its 155-year-history. The standoff between student protesters and Cooper administrators boiled over into the occupation of president Jamshed Bharucha’s office, all of which played out during the making of the film. The footage of the standoff, inside the […]

Does creativity come from within or is it a skill which can be developed? Creative education is currently considered very effective. In this edition of Learning World we look at some examples.. Denmark: the building blocks of education The International School of Billund in Denmark is only three months old, but it has already garnered a reputation of innovation for its creative education methods. Read more

What do rap shows, barbershop banter and Sunday services have in common? As Christopher Emdin says, they all hold the secret magic to enthrall and teach at the same time — and it’s a skill we often don’t teach to educators. The science advocate (and cofounder of Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. with the GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan) offers a vision to make the classroom come alive.

Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish — and how current education culture works against them. In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational “death valley” we now face, and how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility.

    I’ve been pretty busy in the education sector. Two weeks ago, I provided an overview of key education trends for the Board and senior academic team of a major university. Next month, I’ll be keynoting a conference with key leaders from Harvard, Yale, Vanderbilt and countless other leading colleges and universities from throughout the US. I’ll also be spending time with the CEO and senior management team of […]