In the Classroom

When struggling with an aspect of our education, many of us instinctively ask a peer for help—either because they’re working on the same thing alongside us, or we know they’ve been where we are and can provide some insight. The benefits of peer-to-peer consults may seem one-sided, as the person...

Here are two quick facts: (1) The nation’s K–12 student population is rapidly becoming more diverse. (2) There is a dire need for teachers of color in classrooms across the United States. First, let's take a closer look at student diversity. As of the 2015–2016 school year, white students are no...

A 2019 study regarding what happens when high school students give pep talks to their peers revealed something surprising: The student giving the talk “often benefits even more” than the one receiving it, according to a review of the report written by Amelia Harper for the online news source Education...

There has been no shortage of attention devoted to teacher turnover rates in K–12 schools across the United States in recent years. Indeed, a simple internet search will reveal dozens of concern-filled articles and blog posts about the rising number of teachers who leave the profession each year, with some...

For students who have special education needs, the classroom can pose a considerable challenge, with undiagnosed or untreated learning disabilities often proving particularly troublesome. An article devoted to this topic in the Hechinger Report online education journal offered some alarming insights—for example, of the thousands of minors arrested each year,...

To the ears of many, project-based learning is just another education buzzword laden with promise but unclear in definition. These days, the phrase is often linked with the rise of personalized approaches to learning, as exemplified in a 2018 blog post by Mike Wolking, a progressive education advocate affiliated with...

Ariel Sacks, a New York City-based English Language Arts teacher who works with middle school students in grades seven through nine, has a busy professional life. In addition to her "day job" in the classroom, Sacks is a published author who has written two books on teaching, maintains her own...

Ashlee Tripp’s classroom looks more like a library lounge for teens than a serious place to get academic work done. There are strings of twinkling lights framing walls and bookcases, a couple of bright blue Adirondack chairs, and a cozy seating area complete with a wrap-around couch that looks well loved....

Mastery-based learning is a growing area of interest for many educators. A 2019 post on the Hechinger Report website documents both the challenge and the potential associated with this approach to learning, which seeks to assess students’ knowledge and skill levels as they move through various concepts and tasks. Written...

Universal design is a concept first articulated by Ronald Mace, who worked as a North Carolina architect at a time when conventional building design was being challenged by a growing awareness of the rights and needs of people with disabilities. In 1989, Mace founded the Center for Universal Design at...