Can 5 minutes of talking curb test anxiety?
Allowing students to discuss test questions — and strategies for solving them — before an exam may help curb test anxiety, writes Howie Hua, a math instructor. Hua shares how the five-minute “Test Talk” was implemented in his own classroom.
Full Story: Edutopia online
Teacher: Go slow with personalized learning
Teachers can make incremental progress — or “microshifts” — to adopt personalized learning, writes Elena Silla, a fourth-grade teacher in California. Silla shares three steps she took on her personalized-learning journey, including incorporating flexible grouping and stations into her classroom.
Full Story: EdSurge
Mental health problems tied to adolescent tobacco, e-cigarette use
A study in Pediatrics showed that teens ages 12 to 17, with four or more externalizing problems, had higher odds of beginning use of combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes or both, compared with those with fewer externalizing symptoms. Researchers also found an increased likelihood of e-cigarette, but not combustible cigarette, initiation among those with at least four internalizing behaviors, compared with those with nominal or no symptoms.
Full Story: MedPage Today (free registration), 2 Minute Medicine
Should interpersonal skills be assessed?
Students’ assessments of their own interpersonal skills, such as self-control, are not reliable enough to be part of accountability systems, according to a study by nonprofit Policy Analysis for California Education. Officials say the state does not plan to use the data in school assessments but assert that such skills can affect outcomes for students.
Full Story: EdSource
Report cites concerns about personalized learning
The expansion of personalized learning has been pushed by education-technology vendors and philanthropies, among others, according to a report from the National Education Policy Center. The report, which questions the efficacy of these initiatives, recommends schools establish independent entities that can supervise the programs to ensure the integrity of student data privacy and academic rigor.
Full Story: T.H.E. Journal
Audrey Altmann is an editorial assistant at SmartBrief.
____________________________________
This “most read” feature reflects the most read items in ASCD SmartBrief from the previous week. Sign up for ASCD SmartBrief to get news like this in your inbox, or check out all of SmartBrief’s education newsletters, covering career and technical education, educational leadership, math education and more.