There’s a lot written about the benefits of academic writing groups, writing rooms and writing retreats. But not so much about academic reading groups. And yet, they can be just as beneficial. Being in a reading group puts you in the company of others working with texts. It takes you away from reading as a […] … learn more→

The word “Pisa” sounds like the Italian city with the leaning tower. But for teachers it is also synonymous with international comparisons of student academic performance. The “culprit” is the OECD. For two decades, it has used PISA as an acronym for its International Performance Assessment Program – Program for International Student Assessment , in English – which assesses the reading, […] … learn more→

I’d gone into a secondary school in Bradford to talk about the challenges facing our planet and the implications for future careers. Talk turned quickly to dream jobs and that meant lots of aspiring footballers and social media celebrities. There was a notable exception, though: a quiet lad sitting at the back of the classroom […] … learn more→

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many students are getting lower grades and inconsistently attending classes. For students in one Florida county, low grades and absenteeism may put them at risk of being labeled by law enforcement as potential criminals. The Tampa Bay Times reported in late 2020 that the Pasco Sheriff’s Office uses student data to identify young people […] … learn more→

When the holidays end, barring a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, teenagers across Australia will head back to school. Some will bounce out of bed well before the alarm goes off, excited to start a new school year, but many others will drag themselves to the shower or reach for caffeine to shake themselves awake. Many […] … learn more→

“I feel like college puts us to sleep,” says the high-achieving student sitting across from me. It’s pre-Covid times, so I’m still meeting with students in my office. He claims to have stopped by for no particular reason, but I know better than that. Clearly, he has something to get off his chest, so I […] … learn more→

Many critics of Russia’s 5-100 Project have declared it a failure since it has not fulfilled its defining aim of catapulting five Russian universities into the top 100 of the global university rankings. But as the Russian government discusses a new initiative to succeed the seven-year $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion) programme, it is worth pointing […] … learn more→

  Let’s make history: some of those lights that illuminated the 18th century must have also illuminated the neoclassical academics when the Ortografía de la Academia de 1741 was a systematized compendium that regulated, as it does today, the orthographic regulations of Spanish, drawn up between the RAE and the corresponding academies in Latin America. Hence his consideration […] … learn more→

Improving quality of life for people globally means investing in education. By 2025, more than 100 million learners are estimated to be capable of higher education but won’t have access to it either because they cannot afford the costs, or because courses aren’t available in their region. Courses aren’t available because communities or institutions lack the technological infrastructure, […] … learn more→

Whatever the type of course, long or short, academic or vocational, it may surprise you to learn that there is a standard thought-process that students go through before making their decision. In fact, the process is the same for all of us, whatever purchase we are looking to make and understanding all of the steps […] … learn more→