Dominique, a Black electrical engineering doctoral student, found herself in an awkward situation in the lounge of a hotel where she had been attending a conference on science. A white man at her table assumed a nearby Black woman was on the hotel cleaning staff, so he asked her to clean their table. The woman […] … learn more→

What have been the main talking points among academics as we’ve adapted to online teaching this year? The logistics of managing Zoom or Teams? Developing curriculum content? Making learning sessions engaging? At my own institution, much of the conversation has been about something quite different: what one colleague called “death by blank screen”. Why, colleagues […] … learn more→

Since COVID-19 forced many of America’s schools to teach kids remotely, parents and elected officials have been rightly concerned about when things will get back to normal. But there are certain aspects of education where a return to a prepandemic “normal” may not be in the best interests of America’s students. I believe that stationing […] … learn more→

If you are drafting, it is pretty easy to find a lot of advice about the benefits of free writing. Lots of people find that timed writing sprints help to generate content. Unstructured writing is useful to work out what you want want to say. The pomodoro sprint works really well for many academic writers, […] … learn more→

Results from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 testing round were released last week. They showed Australia had improved in Year 8 maths and science, and Year 4 science, from the previous testing cycles. The TIMSS is a standardised, international assessment administered to check how effective countries are in teaching maths […] … learn more→

Good news on Covid vaccines has finally provided hope that the international student number may bounce back sooner rather than later. But the journey to something close to “normal” will be a tough one and the final destination may bear little resemblance to the student recruitment market that existed before the pandemic. The most immediate […] … learn more→

  On his first day in office, President-elect Biden vows to take swift action to ensure that the US rejoins the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Accord. But while the US might be about to rejoin the international community, it should not return to its old role as “leader of the free world”. That […] … learn more→

Statistics tell us that in France a diploma remains the best asset for gaining access to employment, especially when it comes to a stable, open-ended contract – especially in times of crisis. This is the lesson given to us by the financial crisis of 2007-2008, as Céreq explains : “In 2010, three years after leaving the education system, 73% of […] … learn more→

The French Review didn’t confirm a “free speech crisis” in Australian universities. But nor did its report last year confirm free speech was “alive and well”, as Universities Australia would have it. In many university policies the report found vague language, which could rule out voicing a view deemed offensive. Most universities have updated their policies in […] … learn more→

Last week, South Australia announced a mobile phone ban in primary schools. Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan endorsed the ban, saying: Data shows a correlation between the uptake of mobile phones by young people and a downturn in student performance. The federal government put “mobile phones on the agenda” in a September 2019 meeting with the Education Council. […] … learn more→