Alex Barnes (PhD)’s Post

Kindred K-12 helps get inquiry-based learning into middle and high school social studies classrooms, allowing students to explore different perspectives, build critical thinking skills, and develop their own understanding of history. A new report from the American Historical Association (AHA) confirms that history teachers share these priorities, as reported in Education Week: "teachers overwhelmingly say they aim to develop students’ historical thinking skills—teaching them how to think, not what to think—and value presenting multiple sides of every story." Follow Kindred K-12 to stay informed about secondary history education in the United States. For those who wish to learn more, EdWeek’s reporting on the AHA report is linked below: https://lnkd.in/eunYVp-2

“Learning to read and reading to learn should not be two distinct stages…effective teaching aims to teach all skills simultaneously from the earliest years.” Confused about the #ScienceofReading? These new literacy briefs are awesome resources to strengthen your knowledge of evidence-based literacy practices in PK-12 education!

Very proud to share this article highlighting Steilacoom Historical School District and the important work of nurturing and supporting the whole child. "Beyond traditional academic instruction, the district is dedicated to nurturing every individual’s intellectual, social, and emotional growth." https://lnkd.in/gE9zwWmd

This article sums up what we've all seen: young people do not read the way previous generations did and elite colleges are adjusting--though interestingly enough, independent schools maintain the tradition of reading entire works more than most other kinds of schools. #independentschools #schoolleadership https://lnkd.in/dfXiZ7JB

At Indiana University Northwest, evidence-based teaching strategies are making a difference. Inside Higher Ed article by Ashley Mowreader detailing the efforts of Pedagogical Interest Groups (PIGs), in which #faculty collaborate on research-backed methods that are narrowing #equity gaps and boosting #student success. https://lnkd.in/ggi_4D4X #EquityInEducation #HigherEd #StudentSuccess #PedagogicalInnovation #EvidenceBasedTeaching #HigherEdInnovation

Here is an interesting analysis. Take a read and let us know what you think. 'How History Class Can Foster Lifelong Literacy Skills.' https://lnkd.in/e6QpGQ5e

The article discusses the “science of reading,” which encompasses over 50 years of interdisciplinary research on effective literacy instruction. It highlights how some widespread teaching methods, like “balanced literacy,” lack a strong research foundation and can be harmful for some students. The article emphasizes the need for a balanced approach that combines explicit phonics instruction with language and comprehension development. It also addresses common myths and advocates for simultaneous teaching of all reading skills from an early age. For more details, you can read the full article here:

The revolutionary critical educator Paulo Freire believed that the measure of a good education is the extent to which it leads to the self-liberation and empowerment of individuals and communities. Freire taught that a true education is not just about the transferring of knowledge but about fostering critical thinking and political engagement so that students learn to question, understand, and transform their world. This approach to education as “a practice of freedom” challenges us to rethink our teaching methods and curricula by constantly asking: How are we creating learning environments that ask students to critically engage with their surroundings, their history, and their material conditions, so they become agents of change? Freire’s work, most notably “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed” is essential reading for every educator and his message to teachers, to strive to make our classrooms spaces where freedom, critical thinking, and transformative visions are possible is never more needed than today. How can you implement Freire’s ideas in your teaching? #PauloFreire #EducationAsFreedom #CriticalPedagogy #TransformativeLearning #TeachingForChange #EducationalEmpowerment #LiberatingEducation #CriticalThinking #TeachingWithPurpose #EducationReform

“Children from less advantaged backgrounds start school up to 4.5 months behind their contemporaries.” What does that actually mean? What does 4.5 months lol look like for that child? It means that potentially development is almost half a year behind a child of exactly the same age. Brain development means no one can learn more than one new task at a time! We can cook a meal and chat to friends or family because we have carried out multiple steps before but try a new technique or completely new recipe we lose our ability to hold any meaningful conversation or cook an edible meal! So for a child who has not had time to embed preschool abilities and experiences they will start school missing basic skills, so they try to Learn those alongside all the rest that school requires. It is inevitable they will fall further behind, be that child who seems unable to follow instructions or respond appropriately when tackling new task. They will have: - less physical competency lower physical literacy and not yet experienced in key physical skills essential for school; - a smaller vocabulary and more limited comprehension therefore of instructions and tasks and to be able to express questions; - lower confidence in exploring and comprehending new challenges scaffolding themselves, with or without help, based on earlier experience; - a less positive self view based on how they feel they fit into the world and how they relate to others as they will “be behind.” We need to look again at how we prepare children for school #play is the essence of all learning but it is also the platform, the base for development and it has an important role in child development well beyond early years. We need to focus on the development and education of the “Unique Child”. Education should be designed to ensure ALL children the opportunity to develop, to play, to be creative and to find their strengths and their own abilities and to build as they grow through the system. As educators we need demand that the system focuses less on targets which narrow education and more on outcomes in the widest sense. #play #earlyyears #childdevelopment #churchillfellowship https://lnkd.in/e_4Z_WqW

A Classical education prioritizes not only academic achievement but character development as well. Check out how Classical Charter Schools serves its scholars through its Character Education course: https://lnkd.in/egrVGF3u