In the previous post, Using Video Gaming Technology to Teach US History, Christopher Czajka, Senior Director of the LAB @ Thirteen, highlighted the positive benefits of digital history games such as Mission U.S. to harness student learning: “These benefits include greater gains in subject knowledge and critical thinking skills, positive teacher reactions, and more classroom emphasis on analytical work rather than textbook activities.”

It is time we take a step back and consider another way that one of America’s most tested subjects – mathematics – can be more effectively taught and produce better student achievement. Let’s take just one example that demonstrates how the subject can be enlivened and brought into context with other related subjects.

President Barack Obama has often mentioned in his speeches that the role of parents is of paramount importance for our overall educational programs. We at Mercy College have established a Parent Center to serve the borough of the Bronx and simultaneously serve as a paradigm for the rest of the city and beyond as a way to prepare and engage parents as genuine partners in the education of our youth.

“iPod, Podcasts and Apps: Oh My!”: The presentation is motivated by a recent grant received by the three Long Island BOCES and NYIT in collaboration with 11 public schools and 8 non-public schools to enhance the use of technology to support the ELA skills of English Language Learners (ELL) and students with disabilities.

The subjects most like math, to me, are art and music. Though these subjects are viewed very differently in schools today with math getting all the attention and the arts getting squeezed out, the things they have in common are what makes math a worthwhile pursuit.

Finding ways to get students to write about mathematics has played a pivotal role in my development and growth as a math teacher. Mathematical writing challenges students to express their ideas clearly and efficiently; it forces students to stop thinking of mathematics as merely equations and answers; and it opens up a new and unexpected dialogue between math teacher and student.

Do the Common Core Standards matter? I teach math in a New York City public high school, and many of the teachers I know have responded to the Common Core with various degrees of skepticism. They are concerned that the new English Language Arts (ELA) and math standards, which were designed to replace an uneven patchwork of state standards, won’t do enough to improve student performance.

As we continue into this election cycle, we repeatedly see polls about what the most pressing issues are for the average American. At the very top of the list are the stalwarts: National Security, Jobs and Spending. These are three from a handful of issues that repeatedly get broadcast as most important in the minds of citizens.

Reading aloud brings us all close to each other, with the text as the bridge. But the bridge is not just from reader to listener, and listener to reader, although there is that too. It is also a bridge to our understandings of the world and a way to make the world smaller and softer, and for children, more understandable in every way.

Does online professional development work? As a researcher in the field of educational technology, I’ve heard this question many times. The fact is, teachers are continually learning in both informal and formal settings. They attend conferences like the Celebration, discuss lessons with colleagues, take workshops and courses, and connect with others on the Internet through listservs, Nings, Facebook, Twitter, etc. So, the answer to the question of whether online professional development works is not a simple yes or no.

Failure is hot. The Harvard Business Review devoted an entire issue to the power of failure last year. Noted economist Tim Harford wrote a fabulous book about it – Adapt: Why Success Always Comes from Failure. And 10s of millions of children (and adults) happily subject themselves to it everyday. They play video games.

What is humane education and why do we need it? In its broadest sense, humane education fosters compassion and respect for all living beings and the environment. Humane education really takes root with reflection. It encourages us to think about our relationship to the earth and all of its inhabitants and deepens our awareness of the global consequences of our actions.