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Following the leader?

teacher at chalkboard writing

By now you’ve probably heard of William Deresiewicz, the controversial former Yale professor whose new book, Excellent Sheep, has been making the usual promotional rounds. Before you ask: no, I haven’t read it (it was only released last week). I am going to do what I always tell my students not to do, which is criticize it anyway. As I understand it, the […]

Foreign students are a cash cow for universities — and a threat to some

Canadian flag with graduation cap.

Two stories about foreign students made the Canadian headlines this week. This is unusual, both because most of the time Canadian news outlets pay little attention to who is actually attending their universities, and also because I think most Canadians consider themselves open to immigrants (unlike, say, their southern neighbors). But this seems to be about to change as more […]

Rag in A major

Photograph of graduates seated at a convocation ceremony.

Controversial columnist Jeff Selingo made his own headline this week by suggesting that colleges eliminate majors. Why? Well, they’re so last century. Since I suspect that I may know more about curricula than Selingo (I have certainly been teaching longer), I’ll be honest: I think that this is not a particularly helpful idea, and since he doesn’t […]

Assessment + Personalized Instruction = Learning

Students sitting together and smiling.

It’s a truism that there are few aspects of education that everyone can agree on. It seems likely, however, that most people would agree that the prospect of better outcomes without additional expenditure is a pretty good bargain. This is where differentiated instruction comes in. Differentiation is not a new idea. It’s been around since […]

Promises and pitfalls of predictive analytics

Predictive analytics has long been seen as the next big thing in education. Several different learning-management systems have the option of analyzing student progress included in them; there are also standalone systems (see “read more” for some of these options). The allure of being able to pinpoint which students need further assistance is obvious, although […]

Assessment without exams

Flag on White House with Maker Faire logo (a convention for DIY enthusiasts).

No one likes testing. Students don’t: some get too nervous, others don’t like to study. And their teachers and professors don’t: good exam questions are hard to come up with, hard to recycle (thanks to online exam repositories), and a huge pain to grade. Unfortunately, students are also learners, and they need to be assessed […]

Computers in the classroom are here to stay

teacher at chalkboard writing

Photo by Wikimedia / original article Advances in technology are generally seen as a good thing in our society. Remember the adding machine? Remember the calculator? For the most part, these tools have moved aside for newer models (such as the smartphone). But there are still a few last frontiers where technology is seen as, at […]

Lovers, dreamers, students

Students huddling over a name card, each student has a different label: procrastinator, reluctant borrower, dreamer and determined.

Students are often divided up for statistical purposes. When they apply to school, they may be asked to select a race/ethnicity. They will be asked for their geographic location and parental income. While they are at school, various offices will be categorize them by gender, roommate preferences, degree progress, and major. Sallie-Mae, a large American […]