If you were to poll an audience of educators–classroom teachers, literacy specialists, reading researchers, and university professors–about whether high frequency words should be taught in early elementary, the resounding answer would be YES. These words, after all, are important to students’ ultimate reading success.
The nuances of teaching high frequency words in early elementary would only arise around how these words should be taught.
Luckily, there is a plethora of best practice research and engaging, tech-enabled activities on teaching high frequency words to help teachers make it both a fun and interesting learning experience for young students.
Understanding high frequency words
Before teaching about high frequency words, it is important to understand how they differ from sight words. While these categories of words are often used interchangeably and can cross pollinate, high frequency words are words that appear most frequently in spoken and written language. Sight words, on the other hand, are those words that students recognize by sight–without the need to stop and decode the word–when reading.
For example, “the” is a high frequency word as well as a sight word for many people. “Email” is not a high frequency word, but is often a sight word. Classmates’ names often become sight words for students. Kindergarten students who are still emergent readers during the first semester will quickly learn their name by sight, as well as their classmates’ names (…and, they often get a great sense of satisfaction when recognizing and reading each other’s names!)
When it comes to choosing the actual words that are considered high frequency words, the educational community has embraced three different lists of words: the Dolch, Zeno, and Fry high frequency word lists. These lists have many shared words, and there is no research that says one list supersedes the other. Any of the lists or teaching a combination of the lists should still help produce successful readers.
Strategies for teaching emerging readers high frequency words
There are hundreds of ways to teach high frequency words and the majority of those ways fall into two instructional categories: memorization and phonics integration.
Both of these instructional strategies lead to students learning and quickly recalling many, many words–both high frequency words and sight words–with automaticity. This is called orthographic mapping, which is essentially a progression of warehousing words permanently in a student’s memory for immediate retrieval.
With memorization, teachers can create fun–and effective–learning opportunities for students as long as a few rules are applied. First, it is important to eliminate distractions so that the focus is on the high frequency word. Distractions can include other words printed around the target word, and having accompanying pictures with a word. For example, a picture of a girl in a swing holding her cat can be distracting when the target word is “with.”
It is also important for teachers to say the high frequency word clearly multiple times and to put the word in a sentence for contextual understanding. Providing students with the opportunity to write the word, so they are making the physical connection to the spoken word, is also important.
There are a number of digital flashcard apps teachers can use to help students memorize high frequency words. The flashcards can also be shown to the whole class using projectors or interactive displays as part of a whole group activity.
Creating “sounds walls” in the classroom–whether on a bulletin board or digital display–highlighting four to five high frequency words is another great way to help students visualize, practice, and memorize target words. Each week, the words can be swapped out with new ones for them to learn.
Another strategy for teaching high frequency words is through integrating the words into phonics lessons. It will help if teachers pick high frequency words that integrate with the phonics skills they are covering. For example, when teaching the phonic element /s/, it can be valuable to include the high frequency word “said,” even if the vowel irregularity of /ai/ hasn’t been taught yet. If students are learning /s/ and maybe even /d/, they will be excited and motivated to apply this knowledge to learning and remembering a new word.
With either memorization or phonics integration, teachers can play a quiz game with students in which teams compete to come up with answers to questions about high frequency words. Or, they can have students participate in racetrack-style board games where two or more players move markers along the spaces of a path from start to finish. At each stop, the player must read a word and use it correctly in a sentence in order to stay on that space. Technology, whether through the use of apps or student devices, can easily be incorporated into both of these game-based activities to make the experiences even more engaging.
Regardless of which instructional strategy is used to teach high frequency words, it is important that students are immersed and active participants in the learning experience. This means that students should be hearing, saying, reading and writing high frequency words consistently within foundational lessons. These immersive opportunities are what make the words stick and what keep students engaged. And, it’s the ultimate mastery of high frequency words that will enable young students to grow into proficient readers.
For more news on STEM education, visit eSN’s STEM & STEAM page
A new study at the University of Missouri–in partnership with Harvard-Smithsonian researchers–shows that when colleges host ‘STEM Career Days,’ the students who attend are far more likely to pursue a career in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) related field.
The findings not only highlight the benefits of college recruiters introducing high school students to STEM-related opportunities, but they can also help increase and diversify the STEM workforce in the United States.
Michael Williams, an assistant professor in the MU College of Education and Human Development, analyzed a nation-wide survey conducted by Harvard University that asked nearly 16,000 college students if they attended a college-run STEM Career Day while in high school. He found that the students who attended were far more likely to have STEM-related career aspirations compared to the students who did not attend.
“Now that we have found that this type of intervention works for turning that potential interest in STEM into career aspirations in STEM, we can work on designing these interventions in a way to be even more effective and accessible to develop a more diverse STEM workforce,” said Williams, who is also a faculty fellow in the MU Division of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity. “If you want someone to be good at something, you want them to develop a sense of efficacy, which is about putting them in a position where they can see themselves doing it and succeeding at it, and seeing other people that look like them doing it as well.”
When Williams was pursing a master’s degree in computer information technology, he remembers being the only Black student in classes such as computer engineering and differential equations. He also remembers the classes being disproportionately made up of international students.
“The United States trails a lot of global competitors in the production of STEM talent, especially in areas like sophisticated technology and quantitative methodologies,” Williams said. “The National Science Foundation has pushed for broadening participation in STEM fields and increasing diversity for populations that have previously been excluded from STEM-related opportunities. So, I am passionate about reaching people earlier in the educational pipeline and seeing what interventions help turn interest into career aspiration.”
Williams added that MU is a land-grant university and has several community outreach initiatives to not only expose Missouri students to STEM topics at the high school level, but also at the middle and elementary school levels.
“STEM Cubs is a free STEM education program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade that is hosted by the MU Office of Academic Access and Leadership Development, MU College of Education and Human Development, and MU College of Engineering that emphasizes the importance of exposing all students to exploratory and experiential learning,” Williams said. “The program seeks to engage young students, particularly those historically underrepresented in STEM education and career fields, to hands-on STEM activities. By allowing them to learn about scientific concepts and how they relate to everyday life, the program helps them build interest in science and science-based careers.”
Indiana is in the midst of an enormous undertaking to improve literacy rates. The approach: Align state standards, curriculum, and teacher training programs with practices rooted in the science of reading, which emphasizes phonics to help students decode words.
Literacy coach Mika Frame has a memorable mantra for accomplishing big goals.
“My current principal always tells me, ‘Eat an elephant one bite at a time,’” she said. “Through this saying, he always encourages me to seek change in our staff by taking small steps, as opposed to expecting my teachers to change all at once or in drastic measures.”
A K-2 literacy coach at Rose Hamilton Elementary School in Centerville, Frame is part of the first cohort of educators that trained in reading science practices as part of the Indiana Literacy Cadre. Now she co-teaches, analyzes student data to see who needs more help, and leads her colleagues through the state’s new requirements.
Frame told Chalkbeat about her work as Indiana looks to bring more literacy coaches like her to its schools.
What drew you to a career in education?
My favorite part of high school was when I was a cadet teacher and worked with elementary students. I still love working with children today. I enjoy the energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity of young learners. Witnessing the progress and achievements of students, seeing them overcome challenges, and helping them reach their potential brings me a deep sense of satisfaction.
What does your typical day look like?
My typical day at Rose Hamilton includes working alongside teachers in their classrooms. Co-teaching is my favorite aspect of working with my colleagues. An additional responsibility I have most days involves disaggregating learning data. This data often presents patterns and helps teachers identify subgroups of students who need additional interventions. Each month, I also lead professional learning community meetings and offer new ideas and strategies to our teachers. Finally, coordinating testing is an important part of my position; I help ensure testing protocols are executed with fidelity and testing deadlines are met.
What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?
My favorite lessons to teach are phonics lessons. Phonics plays a vital role in children’s literacy development by providing them with the tools to decode words, read fluently, and comprehend written materials effectively. It sets the stage for their future academic success. Phonics empowers children to read independently and with confidence. When children can decode words accurately, they can read books and other written materials on their own. This opens up a world of knowledge and imagination. I love seeing children’s eyes light up when they start sounding out words.
When did you first learn about the ideas of reading science? How have you been able to apply those recently with fellow educators or students?
I first learned in depth about the science of reading when I was accepted into the Literacy Cadre program. In the Summer of 2022, I attended a weeklong training that dove into the science of reading. I have been able to apply these strategies by leading professional learning community meetings. During this time, I’ve encouraged teachers in the building to present to one another about the science of reading instructional practices they are doing in their classrooms.
Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.
I grew up in Modoc, Indiana. My community was rural and consisted of approximately 160 people. I graduated with only 18 students in my class, and that included a few foreign exchange students. It was a close-knit community in which everyone knew each other. This background helps me understand that every single child matters, and no matter the size of the district, helping all students succeed academically and helping them reach their full potential is the ultimate goal in education.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?
My current principal always tells me, “Eat an elephant one bite at a time.” Through this saying, he always encourages me to seek change in our staff by taking small steps, as opposed to expecting my teachers to change all at once or in drastic measures. I have used this advice frequently as our school has been going through new initiatives in the last year. Our next step this coming school year is to look into a new phonics program. We are slowly looking into the programs we are using and making small changes, if needed. Again, small steps that lead to changes are important!
What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?
This past year I read “Shifting the Balance” by Jan Miller Burkins and Kari Yates with my colleagues in the literacy cohort. It really helped me understand the aspects of science of reading. After reading the book, my superintendent was kind enough to buy a set for my teachers, and I led a book study at Rose Hamilton. It was great to meet after school with the teachers and reflect on each chapter, as well as what we do or possibly could do better.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education.
When it comes to digital equity, U.S. schools are well-positioned to help families get online with low-cost, high-speed internet options through the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), according to a new study from Discovery Education and Comcast.
However, the study also found that educators lack centralized resources and direct support necessary to successfully overcome barriers to the digital divide. Released to help support this year’s Digital Inclusion Week theme of “Building Connected Communities,” key findings include:
Nearly all educators surveyed feel strongly that digital equity is more important today than ever before.
82 percent of families and 80 percent of educators surveyed feel strongly that high-speed Internet at home is extremely important to fulfilling learning outcomes.
While two-thirds of families and educators acknowledge their school’s interest in closing the digital divide, only one-third are aware of actionable measures being taken by the school district.
Only 39 percent of parents were aware of the ACP, and of those that were aware, just 13 percent of parents have signed up. What’s more, only 22 percent of educators surveyed strongly agree that administrators in their school districts are equipped with the necessary information to communicate options for high-speed internet access at home.
Data shows multiple disconnects between what parents pointed to as actual barriers to broadband adoption versus what teachers perceived as parents’ barriers to adoption. Addressing these will be critical to ensuring that school districts and digital navigator programs are effective in closing the digital divide for students.
There was a 52-percentage-point difference between the share of teachers who thought that cost of service was the primary barrier to adoption for families versus the actual share of parents who pointed to cost as a barrier.
Significantly larger shares of teachers thought that families did not live in buildings that were wired for broadband, did not know how to set up the Internet, and did not have devices than the share of parents who raised these barriers.
Findings from the study also support a recommendation for school systems to partner with proven and trusted programs such as those that include support from Digital Navigators — to help streamline communication, advocacy, and adoption strategies that lead to equitable opportunities for all students. Ensuring all ACP-eligible families are signed up is equally important in supporting district connectivity goals.
To help further address these issues, Comcast is helping school administrators more quickly and easily access additional resources to get more households enrolled in the ACP during the back-to-school season through the Online For All Back to School Challenge, led by the U.S. Department of Education and Civic Nation.
A new online tool from Comcast is designed to help administrators quickly and easily assess ACP eligibility in their school districts. They can also learn about which schools have the lowest broadband adoption rates in their area. This valuable data will enable school leaders to better tailor communications around the ACP and direct families to resources that can assist in supporting Internet adoption.
“Ensuring every student in America has access to reliable, high-speed Internet in the classroom and at home is a top priority for Comcast’s Project UP. The combination of historic investments in universal broadband, public-private collaboration, and private industry support will together ensure that neither availability nor affordability stand in the way of achieving connectivity for everyone,” said Broderick Johnson, EVP of Public Policy and EVP of Digital Equity, Comcast Corporation.
“At Discovery Education, we are on a mission to prepare learners for tomorrow by creating innovative classrooms connected to today’s world. Today, no matter where learning takes place, access to and adoption of high-speed Internet is an essential ingredient for student success. As Comcast’s education partner in this work, we’re proud to support efforts to ensure students and families have the tools necessary to meet the demands of the modern learning environment,” said Amy Nakamoto, EVP of Social Impact, Discovery Education.
“Today, 17 million unconnected households are eligible for low-cost, high-speed Internet under the Affordable Connectivity Program. Civic Nation is partnering with the U.S. Department of Education, school districts, and organizations across the country through Online For All to close this gap and ensure every student and family has equitable access to learning, both at home and in the classroom,” said Kyle Lierman, CEO of Civic Nation.
Additional key findings from the study include:
While educators believe their school district leaders are aware of the negative impacts the digital divide has on learning outcomes, there are numerous other factors being prioritized over home Internet adoption.
86 percent of educators surveyed elevated student well-being as the most important issue for schools to address, followed by school safety, and equity and inclusion more broadly. This places more emphasis on policymakers, school officials, institutions, and the private sector to show how digital equity and home broadband adoption facilitate broader equity issues and level the playing field for families seeking opportunities for their children.
Further, coupling Internet access and adoption with an ability to address other school concerns, such as providing supports for student well-being and growth, has the ability to keep digital equity as a top priority for school leaders and help them serve broader needs for their students.
There is widespread agreement that the pandemic forcefully evolved and rapidly closed gaps in the digital divide as schools moved swiftly to remote learning. This cultural shift was met with success stories of connectivity and technological advancements, but also shined a light on students and families who did not experience equitable access to learning because of lack of connectivity or devices, or other barriers that made remote learning cumbersome.
This study and partnerships were made possible by Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities. Part of Comcast’s $1 billion commitment is prioritizing Internet connectivity and its impact on education. In addition, through providing low-cost broadband through Internet Essentials to families and the Internet Essentials Partner Program (IEPP) for schools, Comcast continues to ensure there are no barriers to home connectivity that could impede learning.
Mentorship is an essential aspect of professional growth and development for early childhood educators, but for many training programs, mentorship components are either not well supported or are missing altogether. Experience shows that it can be highly valuable for both the mentee and the mentor as well. Being a mentor to someone else is a rewarding leadership experience that allows one to give back to the profession and help shape the future of early childhood education.
If structured and designed well, a mentorship program can help early childhood educators grow and develop in their current careers by gaining new insights, knowledge, and skills from a more experienced colleague. The early childhood education field and its many training programs, certifications, specializations and professional training should invest in a quality mentorship component.
Mentorship programs are common across many industries and offer a structured and supportive approach to professional development. A mentor can provide guidance on best practices, share knowledge and experiences, and offer constructive feedback in the context of a deeper, more trusted relationship. Early childhood educators can benefit from a mentor’s expertise in areas such as child development, curriculum planning, and parent engagement, and often receive more practical and personal tips rooted in experience.
Mentorship can also provide crucial help to early childhood educators in navigating challenges and overcoming obstacles in their professional lives. A mentor can provide emotional support, helping educators deal with the stresses and challenges of their work. They can also provide guidance on career advancement, helping educators set goals and achieve their professional aspirations. These supports help to retain educators, many of whom leave the field after just a few years on the job.
Historically, one reason coaching and mentorship programs are not standardized is because of the high cost associated with this additional component. Cost cutting or cost avoidance is symptomatic of broader underinvestment in early childhood educators. Mentorship programs, however, are important to building the foundation of childhood education and should be viewed through the lens of overall benefit as opposed to just cost. They strengthen and amplify the content of instruction and should be viewed as a core component and a best practice – not a nice-to-have add-on.
Through partnerships with networks of schools, Bank Street College of Education has designed degree programs that add a mentoring component to the combination of coursework and coaching all aspiring teachers receive as part of their degree. Our report, Cultivating Powerful Mentorship in Educator Credential Programs, takes a close look at the different ways these programs were designed to identify key components critical to the development of an effective approach to mentoring. We found that:
1. Strong educators aren’t automatically strong mentors; they need training
Mentors are typically teachers who have been in the field for several years, but they may not be familiar with adult development or have experience working with a student teacher in their classroom. In order to make mentorship a powerful experience, programs need to provide sustained training to prepare mentor teachers to effectively support residents. Opportunities to reflect and learn with other mentors help them to continually grow their practice throughout the residency year.
2. Mentor training can provide experienced teachers access to the latest professional standards
The field of education moves quickly, with new concepts or philosophies guiding teacher preparation. One of our programs supported new teachers learning how to teach English as a second language. When introducing the concepts of translanguaging, mentors were able to learn alongside residents and deepen their own practice.
3. Mentoring can be designed as a paid leadership pathway to attract and retain highly qualified educators
Mentors should be well-compensated for their work in recognition of their time and the additional work required in the role. This should include paid time for training as well as mentoring hours – aligned with hourly rates for similar work. In addition, the opportunity to mentor a new educator needs to be valued and recognized as a leadership role to attract experienced educators to the role. If done effectively, this can create meaningful responsibilities for educators we want to retain in their teaching roles.
4. Set schedules and routines for mentor-resident engagement and collaboration are critical
Scheduled time during the day for co-planning, reflective discussions, and learning together is essential for mentoring to be impactful.
5. New teachers say a mentoring relationship kept them in the job
For many educators, the first few years of teaching are the most challenging. Given these obstacles, earlier career teachers are more likely to leave the field. Mentorship can support residents and prepare them to be lead teachers by providing them with real world experience. When in formal training programs, mentors can also help residents establish tangible connections between their coursework to experiences working with children.
Early childhood education is a profession that’s all about forging meaningful connections–between the educator and the child, social bonds among the children, bonds to new concepts and connections to communities, values, and new ideas. Mentoring builds those same meaningful connections between new and experienced early childhood educators–cementing lessons learned in coursework so they can be replicated in the classroom.
At a time of strained resources, burnout, and a teacher shortage, now is the time to invest in forging those connections through stronger, more personal approaches to professional development.
Get the latest news on AI in education by visiting eSN’s Digital Learning page
Educators face myriad dilemmas in the wake of ChatGPT’s explosion, with some of the most popular including teaching with ChatGPT and how to address student use of AI chatbots in assignments.
OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has released a new guide to help educators navigate the many ways AI can be used in teaching and learning. The guide contains examples of how some educators are teaching with ChatGPT, along with a series of frequently-asked questions that may help guide teachers as they seek to strike a balance between accepting AI’s presence and an over-reliance on such tools.
As outlined in OpenAI’s guide, here’s how some instructors are teaching with ChatGPT:
Role playing challenging conversations: Dr. Helen Crompton, Professor of Instructional Technology at Old Dominion University, encourages her education graduate students to use ChatGPT as a stand-in for a particular persona—like a debate partner who will point out weaknesses in their arguments, a recruiter who’s interviewing them for a job, or a new boss who might deliver feedback in a specific way. She says exploring information in a conversational setting helps students understand their material with added nuance and new perspective.
Building quizzes, tests, and lesson plans from curriculum materials: Fran Bellas, a professor at Universidade da Coruña in Spain, recommends teachers use ChatGPT as an assistant in crafting quizzes, exams and lesson plans for classes. He says to first share the curriculum to ChatGPT and then ask for things like fresh quiz and lesson plan ideas that use modern or culturally relevant examples. Bellas also turns to ChatGPT to help teachers make sure questions they write themselves are inclusive and accessible for the students’ learning level. “If you go to ChatGPT and ask it to create 5 question exams about electric circuits, the results are very fresh. You can take these ideas and make them your own.”
Reducing friction for non-English speakers: Dr. Anthony Kaziboni, the Head of Research at the University of Johannesburg, teaches students who mostly don’t speak English outside of the classroom. Kaziboni believes that command of English is a tremendous advantage in the academic world, and that misunderstandings of even small details of English grammar can hold back students from recognition and opportunity. He encourages his students to use ChatGPT for translation assistance, to improve their English writing, and to practice conversation.
Teaching students about critical thinking: Geetha Venugopal, a high school computer science teacher at the American International School in Chennai, India, likens teaching students about AI tools to teaching students how to use the internet responsibly. In her classroom, she advises students to remember that the answers that ChatGPT gives may not be credible and accurate all the time, and to think critically about whether they should trust the answer, and then confirm the information through other primary resources. The goal is to help them “understand the importance of constantly working on their original critical thinking, problem solving and creativity skills.”
Get the latest news on student and staff well-being by visiting eSN’s SEL & Well-Being page
Belonging is a fundamental human need. We are all searching for a sense of connection with the people and places in our lives. Students and school staff are no different, so it’s crucial to ensure learning environments foster a sense of belonging.
When students have a strong sense of belonging, they are more likely to be engaged in school and to perform well academically. Unfortunately, new data shows that only 62 percent of high school students feel connected to others at school, and nearly one-third of students experience poor mental health.
In addition, the latest federal data found that 33 percent of school leaders noticed an uptick in violence amongst students and students experiencing anxiety and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder over the last year–many attribute the increase to the pandemic and its lingering effects. There’s simply no time to waste; we must make our schools welcoming, safe spaces for students and staff alike.
Build trusting relationships with students to create a culture of belonging
Trust is the cornerstone of belonging. Students need us to be accessible, dependable, and trustworthy. When students trust us, they’ll be more willing to be honest about their struggles and help us stay in tune with what’s happening in the halls that we don’t see.
Celebrate student backgrounds and cultures
Celebrating cultures is more than just hosting an event; it’s about consistently honoring the ethnicity, background, and experiences of the students we serve. By recognizing the diverse backgrounds and cultural traditions of the school’s communities, we create avenues for students to share and celebrate their experiences openly.
Encouraging open dialogue and allowing students to lead discussions about their cultures fosters a climate of true inclusivity. Celebrating and embracing students’ lived experiences greatly increases students’–and their family’s–feelings of belonging.
Engage the community as a partner
Schools that focus on belonging recognize the power of community engagement. For example, when a community member talks openly about a challenging topic, such as their family’s experience with substance abuse, it can create a sense of belonging and validation for students coping with a similar situation. School advisory councils that involve students, families, and staff as decision-makers influence school operations and bridge the gap between students and their communities.
Empower school counselors through collaborative partnerships
Relationships take time to foster. Students need to be seen, and staff need the time to truly see them. When staff are overburdened, as many are nationwide, it hinders their ability to build meaningful relationships with students. And when a student needs care outside of the scope of school resources, staff are often tasked with finding the care they need. On average, it takes up to 60 phone calls to connect a student, family member, or staff member to the proper mental health resources.
That’s where partners providing mental health care coordination services come into play. Collaborations like this can alleviate the burden on school staff and save them countless hours of tedious work. What’s more, a third-party partner can also provide mental health support to school staff. School staff are the backbone of a school community, and their mental health and well-being are essential to a thriving school culture.
After a prolonged period of disconnection, building strong relationships is more important than ever. Dr. Bruce Perry, in his book The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook says, “Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love. People, not programs, change people.” As you reflect on the practices in your school community, remember that the trusting relationships we cultivate with students and staff members are the most powerful tool we have to create the sense of belonging.
Get the latest news about digital learning by going to eSN’s Digital Learning page
Right now is the perfect time to start a research project with your students, as it will help them develop skills they will use for the rest of their lives. While your students, who have grown up in the Information Age and think they already know everything, any classroom teacher knows that our students need help more than they think.
As a school librarian for the past 11 years, my primary focus has been on helping students become adept navigators of the sea of information they live in. By the time students reach me in high school, they are already juggling multiple social media accounts and unknowingly driving many business and political decisions through their media consumption.
Our students’ belief that everything they need to know is online can, without the right skillset, leave them prey to misinformation. So how do we teach our students to steer through the online ocean of data to be both effective researchers and responsible digital citizens?
Here are 4 must-have resources for teaching high school students how to research:
Digital encyclopedias like Britannica School or Credo Referenceare still important, and vetted, sources of basic information. Each provides students with a credible resource and gives them helpful notation and citation tools. But don’t settle for just one. Take students on a tour of both databases and explore the differences. Britannica School is user-friendly and comprehensive, which makes it an ideal tool for building student confidence in their research skills. Even if your students are literal social media influencers, they may be apprehensive or overwhelmed navigating a database, and we do not want them to give up and turn to Google. They need to develop their research skills before they are ready to evaluate content from across the world wide web. The bold, colorful text features and differentiation of reading levels make Britannica School engaging and easy to use, and it is a trusted source of information.
Although both databases offer similar content, Credo Reference has a unique feature called Visual Exploration that you and your students will love. The database will retrieve your search results in the form of a mind map, which links your search term to related terms that are hyperlinked to vetted content. Articles related to the original search term appear alongside the mind map. Visual Exploration is an effective and interactive tool for teaching students about choosing search terms and narrowing their research topics. Credo Reference also has a series of short research tip videos for students on topics such as “what to do when your topic is too broad.”
Upper-level courses require students to navigate and analyze more complex sources than a standard encyclopedia entry, which can often be just a list of facts. Whether you are teaching U.S. Government or A.P. Language and Composition, your students are learning to evaluate persuasive writing and identify propaganda, because these are key information literacy skills. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints not only provides students with curated sources and all the tools of an online encyclopedia but also introduces students to well-researched writing from various perspectives. A huge part of research is thinking critically about the credibility and intent of the source, and this database provides a safe space to analyze and examine issues from multiple angles. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints is both visually appealing and has a unique feature for visual learners. The Topic Finder retrieves results as your choice of a tile or a wheel that displays terms at various sizes depending on the number of results for that term. For example, a Topic Finder search for “Artificial intelligence” displays “mental health” among the largest clusters of the tile or section of the wheel, which lets me know I can find significant content in the database related to A.I. and mental health. There is a curriculum search and an Educator Resources page with helpful tip sheets and worksheets, including one for students to create their own concept map.
Before you dive into an encyclopedia head first, you may want to go to Discovery Education Experience and gather some tools for teaching research effectively. You do not need to build a lesson from scratch. There’s a wealth of media within the platform to help you activate prior knowledge, develop assignments and create interactive lessons on any topic. The Discover Data channel, which is the result of a partnership between the Nielsen Foundation, Discovery Education, and the National Afterschool Association, has interactive, relevant lessons that you can adapt for your students. One of my favorites is the “Social Media and Misinformation” presentation. You can use it as an introduction to information literacy or assign the presentation as a self-paced lesson for students. In fact, you can use the Build an Activity feature with this or another presentation from Discovery Education to create an assignment and share it directly to Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Schoology or Canvas.
With these essentials in your toolbox, you will be able to equip your students with research skills that will help them unlock success in and out of the classroom.
Get the latest news on K-12 cybersecurity by visiting eSN’s IT Leadership page
In early September, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a voluntary pledge for K-12 education technology software manufacturers to commit to designing products with a greater focus on security. In the announcement, CISA mentioned that six leaders in the education software industry had already committed to the pledge: PowerSchool, ClassLink, Clever, GG4L, Instructure, and D2L.
“We need to address K-12 cybersecurity issues at its foundation by ensuring schools and administrators have access to technology and software that is safe and secure right out of the box,” said CISA director Jen Easterly. “I want to thank ClassLink, Clever, D2L, GG4L, Instructure, and PowerSchool, who have already signed this pledge and for their leadership in this area. We need all K-12 software manufacturers to help us improve cybersecurity for the education sector by committing to prioritize security as a critical element of product development.”
CISA’s principles for K-12 cybersecurity
This action brings a spotlight to the ongoing issue of K-12 cybersecurity. CISA’s goal is to persuade more K-12 software and hardware manufacturers to commit to its pledge. Signing the pledge demonstrates that the manufacturer is committing to three principles:
Taking ownership of customer security outcomes: Includes offering Single Sign On (SSO) and security audit logs and no extra charge
Embracing radical transparency and accountability: Includes publishing a secure by design roadmap, a vulnerability disclosure policy and security-relevant statistics and trends
Leading from the top by making secure technology a key priority for company leadership: Includes naming a C-level leader at the company who is charged with overseeing security
Secure by design explained
What does secure by design mean? In typical software design and manufacturing, the focus is on the product’s reason for being. For example, the developers of reading improvement software are focused on building a product that delivers measurable improvements to student reading speed and comprehension. The security of the software and its user data are an afterthought. Any security considerations are made late in the development process or bolted on afterward.
In contrast, a secure by design approach means that developers bake security into the design of the product from the beginning. This has proven to be a much more effective approach to protecting software than trying to patch security holes after the fact. Secure by design was popularized by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect in May 2018. Today, this is a more common approach to software design, but it is relatively new to K-12 education.
Ongoing K-12 cybersecurity threats
While the K-12 education industry strives for improved protection in its schools, fresh examples of security holes continue to appear on a regular basis. Most recently, Prince George’s County Public Schools was the victim of a ransomware attack on August 14 that impacted about 4,500 user accounts, mostly staff, according to the district. Cybersecurity breaches such as this can have a detrimental impact on K-12 schools, threatening both reputation and financial well-being.
Unfortunately, successful ransomware attacks can hinge on exploiting a single vulnerability hidden among the dozens of software applications running in most school districts. By following CISA’s guidance and committing to a secure by design approach to software development, developers can further reduce potential vulnerabilities and keep staff and student data more secure.
Incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) throughout the school day has risen in popularity over the last few years, especially to counteract the increasing rates of anxiety and depression in students since the COVID-19 pandemic. Lost in the discussion, however, is the importance of before- and after-school programs–the bookends of the school day.
These before- and after-school programs dedicate a significant amount of time to activities that can help students develop social-emotional skills. In fact, a 2021 survey of program providers found that in addition to academic enrichment, 86 percent of programs give young people the time to interact with their peers and build social skills. Plus, students themselves report that 80 percent of the programs give the students time to talk with peers and adults about how they’re feeling. Yet, staff may not approach every interaction with intention to foster social and emotional growth.
Before- and after-school programs offer critical support, including caring and supportive mentors, as well as safe spaces where students build confidence and a sense of belonging. They also provide opportunities to work collaboratively, problem solve, and think critically. SEL skills are not separate from those activities–SEL is not sprinkled on the cupcake; it’s part of the cupcake. Before- and after-school programs must make every interaction more intentional to complement classroom learning.
These programs help children develop strong social skills, gain self-control and confidence, improve work habits and grades, and build healthy relationships with peers–all the things we want young people to have to be successful. But to ensure that these programs are set up for success, there are two essential questions every program coordinator should ask: “How well do I know my students?” and “How can I ensure my program meets their needs?”
Running an effective program
SEL should be embedded throughout every program, starting with students’ arrival. How do you greet students when they show up? When a student hears a caring adult say their name, it instills a sense of belonging, supporting self-awareness.
An overview of the schedule at the beginning of the program is important. Kids need to learn how to self-manage and regulate their emotions. For a young person who is excited for the craft part of the program, understanding what else is on the agenda is key to them mastering the skills of self-management and self-awareness.
The actual activity is when the rubber meets the road. As program directors and administrators, we need to analyze the activities–how much time are they alone, in small groups and in large groups. It is important to outline the program activities so students have an opportunity to participate in all three options and balance between them. As students develop, they must know how to interact at all three levels. If you find that some students don’t perform in large groups, you may have to reevaluate how well you know your students. For example, if behavior problems spike when you do large groups, maybe the answer is that you have too many students in these groups.
Finally, do you have a clearly defined dismissal policy? This is an ideal opportunity to introduce students to social awareness. When your program has an established system of welcoming and dismissing students, it demonstrates consistency. It also helps young people see how their individual behavior fits into the overall success of the program. This is a key component of social awareness, where students understand how they fit into the larger community in various ways. Additionally, it’s a way to model other ways they use social awareness for example while leaving a store or restaurant. It’s a reminder that the SEL skills developed in school are useful in all aspects of life.
For students, SEL is not just limited to the classroom. Before- and after-school programs play an equally important role. With every interaction between staff and students, these bookends to students’ days provide the opportunities to hone these competencies and grow, if there is consistency and intention in programs’ approach.
Study.com released new survey data last month that sheds light on parents’ evolving attitudes towards the role of schools as students head into the third school year post-pandemic. The education platform surveyed parents in California and Texas to understand their perspectives on their children’s education. Notably, 55 percent and 47 percent of parents in California and Texas, respectively, support extending the school year to provide students with increased learning time, and 46 percent of California parents and 43 percent of Texas parents favor the use of A.I. tools like ChatGPT for academic help in schools.
Across both states, a significant number of respondents believe in a shared responsibility between parents and schools to foster academic growth. Over a third assign a major or complete responsibility to schools in this regard. However, a large percentage of parents in California (28 percent) and Texas (27 percent) feel that schools are taking minimal or no responsibility post-pandemic to help their child catch-up academically. A significant number of parents demonstrated dedication to improving their child’s education through the utilization of district and schoolwide resources as well as support in the home:
37 percent of California parents and 41 percent of Texas parents have sought external educational support, such as tutoring or counseling, for their children.
In California, most parents have sought tutoring or study sessions (26 percent), homework help or after-school programs (23 percent), or educational online platforms (20 percent).
In Texas, most parents have sought tutoring or study sessions (31 percent), homework help or after-school programs (19 percent) educational online platforms (16 percent).
The enduring consequences of academic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic underpin the motivations driving parents to seek additional support tools for their children’s education. In both states, more than a third of parents reported a substantial negative impact on their child’s academic performance due to the pandemic and related social-emotional challenges.
46 percent of California parents and 40 percent of Texas parents say their child faced social-emotional challenges impacting their academics.
65 percent of California parents and 69 percent of Texas parents are very or somewhat concerned about the long-term impact of learning loss on their child’s academic, career, and socioeconomic success.
The third school year post-pandemic emerges as a pivotal moment for parents to incorporate effective learning resources into their children’s academic journeys, such as A.I. or tutoring, to help mitigate the wide-ranging negative effects of the pandemic.
“Despite most parents feeling like they have the resources available to assist their child, the majority of them struggle with specific subjects, especially math,” said Rachel Mead, Director of Tutoring at Study.com. “The start of the school year is an ideal time for parents to implement additional learning supports such as supplemental online resources or the formulation of a structured home learning plan.”
Teachers across Canada say it’s time to embrace new teaching models to better align with the realities, opportunities and challenges of today’s classroom and tomorrow’s workplace. In a new survey from Microsoft of over 500 Canadian teachers and school leaders, most said schools need to do more to adapt to the evolving needs of students. Teachers are calling for changes that make classrooms more engaging, inclusive and relevant for a new digital era.
New models for a new era of digital innovation
From AI to interconnected smart devices, teachers recognize that the rapid pace of technological innovation is changing the workforce students will be joining, but few classrooms are teaching the skills students need to succeed in the new digital world. In fact, ninety percent of teachers surveyed agree it’s important to teach students the digital skills they’ll need for modern life, but only half of teachers (52 percent) say students are taught in ways that are relevant to the skills they need for the future.
Strikingly, the survey revealed an overwhelming majority of teachers (79 percent) felt data literacy and digital citizenship were essential skills for today’s students, but these topics were only taught in 22 and 53 percent of classrooms respectively. While teachers have just begun to consider the implications of AI in education, 41 percent of teachers believe that students should learn about generative AI to better equip them for life outside school and in their careers. That number rose to 50 percent among teachers of grades 7-12.
“It’s crucial that we listen to teachers so we can better empower students in their learning and be prepared to contribute to Canada’s economic future” said Elka Walsh, Associate Vice President, Learning & Teaching, at Microsoft Canada. “We have a responsibility to address these gaps, reignite a love of learning, and help students thrive in a digital world.”
Digital tools more prevalent since the pandemic, but not used effectively
For many teachers, the pandemic spurred the adoption of digitally enhanced learning in the classroom. Eighty-two percent of teachers surveyed said their school’s use of digital tools started or increased with the pandemic. But only 35 percent of respondents said most teachers are equipped with the best digital tools to help them teach and a similar number (34 percent) said teachers receive the training needed to use these tools effectively. Six out of ten respondents said teaching methods should change to make the most of these tools. Among the most promising use cases for teachers, according to the survey, was time management. Eighty percent of teachers agree they need more tools to help them manage their time more productively – an unsurprising stat given that 86 percent of teachers rate their workload as high or very high.
The results also indicated a clear difference in approach to technology in the classroom between those schools with an established sustainable digital strategy and those without. When asked if students were more engaged when digital tools are used in the classroom, three quarters of respondents with a digital strategy agreed. Among teachers in schools without a digital strategy, fewer than half agreed technology helped to increase engagement.
Engagement and inclusion need a boost
It is apparent that teachers are struggling to keep students engaged, particularly when faced with the emotional and wellbeing challenges related to the pandemic. Only half of teachers surveyed (51 percent) said students are taught in ways that engage them and keep their interest and only a third (35 percent) agree schools are succeeding in helping to address students mental and emotional wellbeing.
Today’s teachers know inclusion and accessibility is crucial to help every student reach their potential. Ninety-five percent said inclusive and accessible teaching resources are somewhat or very important. But only 48 percent say current teaching methods are inclusive and only 46 percent feel students are taught in ways that are responsive to their individual needs. Teachers also want schools to do more to address the mental and emotional wellbeing of students (74 percent) and feel students are still emotionally challenged by the disruption of the pandemic (72 percent).
“Canada’s teachers are telling us we need revitalized learning models so their students don’t get left behind” said Marc Seaman, Vice President, Education Segment for Microsoft Canada. “New models are critical to improve outcomes for all students and prepare them for the digital future.”
The objective of this report is to inform and inspire the EdTech community – including educators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and investors – by synthesizing the views of innovators who are active across a wide range of EdTech segments and educational institutions.
This report aims to provide insights and guidance for EdTech companies seeking to achieve product-market fit in a post-pandemic blended learning environment. It does so through a combination of qualitative interviews with EdTech leaders and quantitative data analysis to address the challenges and opportunities in the EdTech sector.
The report emphasizes the importance of EdTech in nurturing the intellect and character of future generations and highlights the significant impact it can have when it succeeds in its mission. Achieving product-market fit in EdTech is not just about creating a successful app or platform; it’s about equipping learners with the tools they need to thrive, understand the world critically, and face life’s challenges with resilience.
By providing a holistic understanding of EdTech’s transformative potential and the dynamics of the sector during the pandemic, the report aims to help EdTech companies make informed decisions and execute thoughtful strategies. It underlines the need for strategic planning and execution to ensure that EdTech products are aligned with the needs of learners and educators.
EdTech innovators must also navigate various challenges, including diverse educational needs, institutional norms, and cultural considerations. The education sector operates differently from the tech world, leading to potential tensions among stakeholders. Aligning timing and planning is essential to ensure that EdTech products meet the evolving needs of both learners and the broader community.
Practicality often trumps high-end features in the EdTech industry, as schools seek tools to address everyday challenges like grading and classroom management. As classroom sizes increase, there’s a growing demand for solutions that can manage larger groups and ease teacher workloads. The focus is on technologies that integrate seamlessly into education to enhance the learning process.
The shift to online and blended learning models, accelerated by the pandemic, is likely to continue. Institutions see these models as opportunities to reduce costs, increase enrollment, and provide flexibility to students. However, maintaining the quality of education and socio-emotional skill development remains crucial.
Accessibility, flexibility, and inclusivity are key considerations in EdTech. Accommodating diverse learning styles, facilitating asynchronous learning, and ensuring equitable access to tools are priorities. Personalizing education to individual student needs is a prominent trend.
Collaboration with educational institutions and the public sector is often essential for EdTech growth. Navigating bureaucratic procedures and bridging gaps can lead to successful partnerships.
EdTech should enhance the learning experience rather than replace it. While technology can amplify effective teaching, it cannot compensate for poor teaching. The human element, including social connections and mental well-being, remains vital in education.
Balancing analog and digital content is an ongoing conversation, but the pandemic emphasized digital access as a fundamental right. A surge in funding has led to the launch or expansion of many new platforms and tools, requiring those in the EdTech industry to assess their position in education budgets.
Preparing for profound changes in the EdTech ecosystem is crucial. Supporting educators, upskilling deployment teams, and ensuring organizations have the resources to sustain digital progress are integral to future growth. Additionally, the potential of AI to drive alternative assessment methods could reshape educational practices and outcomes.
This report will provide answers to the following questions:
How can EdTech providers best achieve product-market fit?
What are popular views on blended learning environments?
How has the pandemic impacted the reputation and viability of EdTech?
Which areas of EdTech are being overlooked?
What are the benefits and risks of gamification and other digital trends?
What strategies and trends signify potential growth trajectories for EdTech?
BEAVERTON, Oregon — Vernier Science Education recently launched new resources to help science and STEM educators leverage the two upcoming eclipses—the “Ring of Fire” annular eclipse on October 14, 2023 and the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024—to create engaging learning experiences for students. In addition to sharing tips and best practices for collecting data during the celestial events, the company is offering certified eclipse viewing glasses so educators and students alike can safely observe the eclipses taking place.
“The eclipses provide a perfect—and rare—opportunity for educators to teach students of all ages about real-world, scientific concepts related to light, temperature, electromagnetic radiation, and more,” said David Vernier, Co-Founder of Vernier Science Education. “During the eclipses, educators and students can use our glasses to observe the moon pass between the sun and earth, and they can use our technology to collect data and better understand what is happening in the world around them.”
The CE-certified eclipse viewing glasses can be purchased in class packs of 50 glasses (EC-GL50) on the Vernier website for $25.
Vernier Science Education is offering an array of helpful tips on how to collect data during the eclipse. This includes information on how to use applicable sensors, such as the wireless Go Direct® Light and Color Sensor, Go Direct Weather System, Go Direct PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) Sensor, Go Direct Pyranometer, and Go Direct Surface Temperature Sensor, as well as a number of wired sensors designed specifically for the LabQuest® interface.
Educators are encouraged to share data and pictures from their eclipse experiences on social media using the hashtag #VernierEclipse.
Educators can also access a compilation of reference materials about the eclipse from respected organizations such as NSTA and NASA, as well as safety recommendations and more on the Vernier Science Education website.
For more than 40 years, Vernier Science Education has been committed to using our experience, knowledge, and passion to create the best and most reliable solutions for STEM education. Our comprehensive solutions include hardware, software, content, assessment, professional development, and technical support. At the heart of Vernier is our deep commitment to being an authentic and trusted partner to STEM educators. We are dedicated to partnering with educators and communities to build a STEM-literate society where students grow up to become knowledgeable citizens who can solve problems, fully contribute to their communities, and drive innovation. For more information, visit www.vernier.com.
Ninth-grade English was a paradox for me—both the best and worst year for helping me learn to write.
Every month, my Advanced English teacher, Mr. Johnson, assigned our class one of the classics of English literature and expected us to demonstrate what we had learned with an accompanying essay. He set a high bar for clearly articulated theses, well-structured paragraphs, well-crafted sentences, and supporting quotes from the text. I credit Mr. Johnson’s class for eventually helping me pass the AP Writing exam my senior year without ever taking an AP-level English class.
However, that same 9th-grade English class also planted the seeds of debilitating habits and mindsets in my writing process. Mr. Johnson was willing to provide feedback on drafts. But the demands of all my other classes and activities rarely afforded me the time to take him up on his offer. Consequently, I found myself in a pressure cooker each month, drafting essays in the final days and hours before they were due. The ticking clock and the weight of a looming grade forced me into a mindset where every sentence had to be near-perfect in my desperation to maintain my academic record. Writing became less of an exploration of ideas and more of a high-stakes gamble.
Fortunately, schools and society seem to be entering an era in which AI could completely upend the dysfunctional part of my 9th-grade English experience.
The damaging mindsets forged by conventional grading
The pressure I felt to craft near-perfect drafts on the first attempt is hardly unique to me—it’s symptomatic of a broader issue common across US K–12 education. In most classrooms, students don’t iterate on their work. With all the volumes of content to be covered, there just isn’t time in either the class period or the school year for cycles of feedback. Instead, teachers give assignments, students complete those assignments, teachers grade students’ work, and each assignment grade leaves an indelible impact on a students’ final grade for that class. Grades from individual classes then get averaged together, semester by semester, into GPAs that permanently carry the marks of any prior failures and shortcomings in a students’ learning.
I suspect these norms of practice are major cultivators of what Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck would term a ‘fixed mindset.’ They create a stifling atmosphere where failure is a brand to be avoided rather than an experience to learn from. The binary of ‘success’ and ‘failure’ prevails, leaving little room for trial and error, an invaluable aspect of the learning process. The emphasis on the end product over the process perpetuates the fear of failure, curbing creativity, curiosity, and the potential for new discoveries. The outcome? A learning experience that prioritizes safe choices and known paths over innovative thinking and problem-solving.
Now, more than ever, students’ future success in an ever-changing world requires that they learn how to think critically and creatively while collaborating with others to solve complex problems. But the unwritten curriculum of most schools—instilling process perfectionism through rewarding flawless performance—is probably doing more harm than good.
The threat and opportunity of AI
Against this backdrop, there’s a lurking concern that AI is just going to help students find mindless shortcuts for cheating their way to good grades. But that’s only a risk if schools and teachers hold a low bar for what they expect of their students. Wharton professor, Ethan Mollick, made a compelling argument in his ASU+GSV talk last April that ChatGPT should really mean the end of lousy student writing. “I don’t accept papers that aren’t good anymore because the minimum you can do is turn in a good paper. So, why am I going to force you to write a bad one? … [With AI] we can increase our standards of what we can accomplish.” Knowing the minimum bar that tools like ChatGPT can produce, he expects students to prove that they’ve developed their ideas beyond what the AI can generate.
Journalist Adam Davidson noted on a recent Freakonomics podcast episode that he’s taken to calling ChatGPT “the ‘B-minus at everything’ program.” If schools set low expectations for the quality of students’ essays, then AI will enable those who so desire to cheat their education. But if schools and teachers want to elevate expectations for their students, AI can be a powerful tool for rapid feedback and iterative prototyping.
Breaking 9th-grade writing mindsets and habits
I think my 9th-grade self would have loved having a tool like ChatGPT to help with my essay assignments. But the real reason why is probably not what you’re thinking.
I relish the first part of writing—coming up with ideas worth sharing—and I find satisfaction in the final part of writing—polishing my prose for persuasive power. But the middle part—hammering out a lousy first draft—is a painful process given my bad habit of perfectionistic editing as I write. But over the last few months, I’ve found two amazing things that ChatGPT can do for me as a writer.
First, ChatGPT allows me to do what my colleague, Bob Moesta, calls “rapid prototyping.” I feed the AI my ideas—often through verbal dictation using its mobile app—and then it hands me back an outline for organizing those ideas into a blog post. We do some back and forth on the outline, then I ask it to write me the first draft, one headings-worth at a time. I’m not giving it a topic and then asking it to do the work of coming up with what to say on that topic. I’m doing the thinking, then it’s doing the initial writing.
Are the first drafts written by ChatGPT up to par with what I expect of my own writing? No. They look like they were written by an average high school student following all the formal conventions they’ve been trained to mimic. The structure is so predictable that it’s boring, and the sentences are full of cliche turns of phrase.
But with this leg up from ChatGPT, a process that has typically taken me around four to six hours gets cut down to about an hour. What’s even more important is that this collaboration between me and the machine has been easing my dread of writing the first draft.
Second, ChatGPT gives me quick and convenient access to an outside perspective on my work. When I’m not sure if my structure is working, or I’m struggling to come up with a concise and catchy way to convey my ideas, outside feedback is often the best remedy. Unfortunately, the turnaround time for collegial feedback is typically a day or more, and when my colleagues are pressed for time, asking for feedback can feel like an imposition. Meanwhile, ChatGPT can often give me just what I need: a little bit of new insight to break me out of the rut I’m stuck in. Are its insights as good as those of a colleague? No. But what it lacks in quality it compensates for in on-demand responsiveness.
In short, while AI can handle the ‘how’ of writing, it falls short in understanding the ‘why’ and ‘what’—the substance that gives a piece of writing its rigor and depth. Nonetheless, I’ve experienced first hand how tools like ChatGPT can facilitate cycles of writing, revising, and refining, all while helping me foster low-stress, fail-forward mindsets.
Harnessing AI’s potential to revolutionize educational feedback
I think we’re on the verge of a future where AI dramatically reshapes how students experience learning to write. With the help of AI, students will be able to see more clearly that the most important part of writing isn’t what happens when your fingers hit the keyboard—it’s the learning and the thinking that happens before you ever pull up a blank page. Once they do their thinking, AI can help them translate what they’ve discovered into written text. Then, as they learn to work with that text to hone in on what they really want to communicate, sophisticated algorithms can help them sharpen their intuitions for that medium by providing real-time feedback on not only grammatical errors but also argument coherence, evidence use, and rhetorical strategy.
When schools and educators see AI as an ally rather than an adversary, I suspect they’ll discover an unprecedented opportunity to both raise the bar on what they expect from their students as well as make the learning experience more enjoyable and meaningful. Did I mention that I used AI to write the first draft of this piece?
This post was written with assistance from ChatGPT. For anyone interested in how the post was crafted, here’s a link to the ChatGPT conversation that helped produce this post.
Login
