On the best of the edu-internet #1
Links that have added value to my week
1. On student surveys
Who knew that students’ ratings of their teachers correlate highly with the grade they receive? This article is about higher ed but I think it contains valuable takeaways for anyone who evaluates teacher effectiveness through student surveys. We need to be careful to survey for the kinds of behaviours we want to see in our teachers, not just subjective measures like student engagement and rapport.
2. On resilience
Robert Pondiscio has written a thoughtful essay long-form essay. We are idologically kindred spirits. This short extract sums up his views on the coddling of school students:
As adults and as educators, we are not merely failing in our responsibility to be a reassuring presence in their lives, we seem perversely determined to normalize and even valorize their despair.
3. On learning, not just teaching
Rod Naquin specialises in the study of learning dialogue. This week he published a piece that rightfully questions how much of our discourse is centred on teaching and not learning. To say it made me uncomfortable is high praise.
4. On retrieval practice
This post is the simplest explainer I have seen about retrieval practice. The graphics are brilliant and I actually think this is simple enough for students to understand without teacher-translation.
