We often lament the level of young French in foreign languages. What is it really? This is the question that was raised by the National School System Assessment Board ( Cnesco ) at its Consensus Conference on Language Learning, held in March 2019, whose synthesis and recommendations come from to be published this Thursday, April […] … learn more→

In the spring of 2018, thousands of public school teachers walked out of their classrooms in a half-dozen states, protesting low salaries, rising class sizes and cuts to school budgets that have prompted most teachers to buy their own classroom supplies. Additional strikes followed in 2019 in Los Angeles, Denver and Oakland. While these walkouts, which enjoyed much public support, were about more than teacher pay, stagnant teacher […] … learn more→

Studying online is becoming a popular option for individuals around the globe because it proves to be a much more pocket-friendly option, as opposed to studying on campus. It also allows students to work part-time and cover the costs while attaining their degree of choice. While not all degrees can be obtained online, nursing is […] … learn more→

Continuing a recent trend, more states are passing laws that deal with free speech rights on college campuses. Action has also come at the federal level with President Donald Trump’s March 21 executive order on campus free speech. There have also been calls to add campus speech protections to the Higher Education Act. This legislation is the main federal law dealing […] … learn more→

Large-scale testing, or what many know as standardized testing, often carries important consequences for students. The results of large-scale tests may be used by schools or policy-makers to make important decisions such as grouping students by ability or assessing how well schools are doing. Yet when it comes to literacy testing, while the competencies of literacy have […] … learn more→

Admin: “Please be aware we had another phishing attempt on our servers, do not respond to e-mails in the following format…” –I get phishing/hacking e-mails on my institution’s account about every week or so. Like most folks, I get many “phishing” attempts on my e-mail. Some are quite good, but many have a weakness which […] … learn more→

A couple of weeks ago I shared some of the research I have been doing with my colleagues Associate Professor Hanna Suominen and Dr Will Grant about recruiter’s attitudes to PhD graduates. I recommend you read the previous post on anti-PhD attitudes before this one, but briefly: our research concerns recruiters, who are important gate keepers in the non-academic employment process. […] … learn more→

Of course a PhD is “hard” – as in it “has a high difficulty setting” and also “is a lot of work”. It is three or more years of creating new knowledge, after all. But how “hard” should it be, and what kind of “hard”? In my work teaching research and writing skills at La […] … learn more→

It is fashionable now to talk in France of alternative pedagogies in the continuity of the new education which, at the beginning of XX th century meant put the child’s needs at the heart of the system, and encourage more active posture students. The historical authors often cited are Steiner, Freinet, Montessori … In a […] … learn more→

Looking for another role be an exciting and/or daunting state. It could mean that you’re finishing your PhD, coming to the end of your contract (still waiting to hear if your contract is renewed…), or wanting to move on from where you are. There is work to do, however, before you actually are on that […] … learn more→