Blog Archives

Professor Kevin Dalby discusses reading for comprehension and learning

Professor Kevin Dalby discusses reading for comprehension and learning

While some people excel at learning from a textbook, others struggle to connect with the written word. Professor Kevin Dalby offers a simple, easy-to-understand strategy for comprehending complex texts, such as course content and textbooks. Learners can retain information when this strategy is followed because they are actively engaged in the learning process. Active Learning […] … learn more→

Learning loss: the National Tutoring Programme for England is a valuable step – but may not go far enough

Learning loss: the National Tutoring Programme for England is a valuable step – but may not go far enough

UNESCO estimates that around 1.5 billion children were unable to attend school in the spring of 2020. Closed schools mean lost learning, lower skills and reduced life chances and wellbeing. A strategy for closing this learning gap needs to be rapid, school-based rather than online, and provided in addition to regular school. Given the size of the learning gap, […] … learn more→

Wales cancels 2021 A-level and GCSE exams: other UK nations should follow suit

Wales cancels 2021 A-level and GCSE exams: other UK nations should follow suit

The education minister for Wales, Kirsty Williams, has announced that Welsh school pupils will not take GCSE and A-level exams in 2021. Instead, externally set and marked classroom assessments, which can be taken within a broad window of time, will be used to grade students. Scotland has already made a similar decision for for its National 5 assessments taken […] … learn more→

In the classroom, what are the factors that can contribute to dropping out of school?

In the classroom, what are the factors that can contribute to dropping out of school?

Dropping out is a considerable social problem (it affects more than 100,000 young people in France). This phenomenon worsened with the confinement of spring 2020 which helped to weaken the links between the school and a certain number of students. The insights into the possible causes of this phenomenon are manifold. At the risk of oversimplifying, it can be argued […] … learn more→

Language learning in Canada needs to change to reflect ‘superdiverse’ communities

Language learning in Canada needs to change to reflect ‘superdiverse’ communities

As people moving across territorial borders continues to drive globalization, our society needs to reflect on the linguistic identities of students who are learning English and French, Canada’s two official languages. In language classrooms, where English as a Second Language (ESL) and French as a Second Language (FSL) programs reflect Canada’s bilingual mandate, how we teach languages has […] … learn more→

Is learning more important than well-being? Teachers told us how COVID highlighted ethical dilemmas at school

Is learning more important than well-being? Teachers told us how COVID highlighted ethical dilemmas at school

As an educational ethicist, I research teachers’ ethical obligations. These can include their personal ethics such as protecting students from harm, respect for justice and truth, and professional norms like social conformity, collegial loyalty and personal well-being. Moral tensions in schools can come about when certain categories of norms conflict with each other. For example, sometimes […] … learn more→

Debate: Should we teach inclusive writing?

Debate: Should we teach inclusive writing?

What goals does what we call inclusive writing pursue? Essentially, this writing aims to make women more visible, by explicitly indicating their presence, and to end the supposed domination of the grammatical masculine. On the linguistic and sociolinguistic level, we can distinguish three aspects which inform us about the treatment that the school should reserve for […] … learn more→

Although now required by California law, ethnic studies courses likely to be met with resistance

Although now required by California law, ethnic studies courses likely to be met with resistance

In August 2020, California passed a law that requires college students in the state university system to take an ethnic studies course in order to graduate. In essence, the California state legislature has made it mandatory for the nearly 500,000 students in the Cal State system to take the classes that student activists and others fought for universities to […] … learn more→