teach

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

9/11 – What Schools Teach About War On Terror

Jeremy Stoddard, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Diana Hess, University of Wisconsin-Madison The phrase “Never Forget” is often associated with the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But what does this phrase mean for U.S. students who are too young to remember? What are they being asked to never forget? As education researchers in curriculum and instruction, we have studied since 2002 how the events of 9/11 and the global war on terror are integrated into secondary level U.S. classrooms and curricula. What we have found is a relatively consistent narrative that focuses on 9/11 as an unprecedented and shocking attack, the heroism of the firefighters and other first responders and a global community that stood behind the U.S. in its pursuit of terrorists. This narrative is in official...

Having A Chilling Effect On How Educators Teach About Racism – Bans On Critical Race Theory

14Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Having A Chilling Effect On How Educators Teach About Racism – Bans On Critical Race Theory

Nicholas Ensley Mitchell, University of Kansas Perhaps no topic has dominated education news in 2021 like the debate over whether or not critical race theory should be taught – or whether it is even being taught – in America’s schools. Critical race theory is an academic framework that holds that racism is embedded in American society and its institutions. The debate about whether K-12 students should be exposed to this theory has prompted some Republican-controlled state legislatures to pass laws to make sure that never happens. As of early July 2021, six states have passed laws that seek to ban instruction on critical race theory in K-12 schools, although the laws rarely mention critical race theory by name. The new laws in Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, New Hampshire and Tennessee al...

To Teach AI How To Handle New Situations, Change The Rules Of The Game And Embrace The Unexpected

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

AI, TECHNOLOGY

To Teach AI How To Handle New Situations, Change The Rules Of The Game And Embrace The Unexpected

My colleagues and I changed a digital version of Monopoly so that instead of getting US$200 each time a player passes Go, the player is charged a wealth tax. We didn’t do this to gain an advantage or trick anyone. The purpose is to throw a curveball at artificial intelligence agents that play the game. Our aim is to help the agents learn to handle unexpected events, something AIs to date have been decidedly bad at. Giving AIs this kind of adaptability is important for futuristic systems like surgical robots, but also algorithms in the here and now that decide who should get bail, who should get approved for a credit card and whose resume gets through to a hiring manager. Not dealing well with the unexpected in any of those situations can have disastrous consequences. AI agents need the a...

We Asked 6 Education Experts – How Should Schools Teach Kids About What Happened At The US Capitol On Jan. 6?

5Apr

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EDUCATION

We Asked 6 Education Experts – How Should Schools Teach Kids About What Happened At The US Capitol On Jan. 6?

Teachers scrambled to create lesson plans to help students make sense of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol right after it happened. It’s a fraught task. Even the news media wasn’t sure what to call this unprecedented attack on U.S. democracy. Was it a coup? A riot? An act of domestic terrorism? Likewise, it’s not clear where lessons should begin. The Conversation U.S. asked six education experts how teachers – and parents – can help young people comprehend, analyze and process what happened. Don’t avoid the topic Dr. David Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and professor of clinical pediatrics, University of Southern California Educators may worry they don’t know the right thing to say and will unnecessarily ...

Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science – until they learn a different way

18Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science – until they learn a different way

I found that college students who are taking courses to become teachers can change their beliefs of how science and mathematics should be taught to and learned by K-12 students. Most of these future teachers tell me when they start my course, they believe that K-12 students must memorize science and mathematics knowledge to learn it. They also believe that students cannot acquire knowledge through a process used by scientists and mathematicians called problem-solving. Problem-solving asks students to solve engaging and challenging problems that are provided without a strategy or solution. It also involves group work and a time to present and justify their strategies and solutions to the class. To challenge my students’ beliefs, I ask future teachers to teach science and mathematics to st...

Teach police nonviolence, scholars say, and how to work with local residents

24Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Teach police nonviolence, scholars say, and how to work with local residents

Calls to reform, defund or even outright abolish police in the U.S. are coming from many corners of American society. The Conversation asked several scholars who study different aspects of policing to explain what their research has found could help reduce police prejudice and violence. Kirssa Cline Ryckman, Jennifer Earl, Jessica Maves Braithwaite, University of Arizona Police have a saying, “better to be judged by 12 than carried by six,” acknowledging they might face a jury if they use excessive force, but it’s preferable to being killed in the line of duty. Many police oppose civilian oversight of their departments, which could prevent both criminal charges and death. Yet right now, all over the U.S., the public is judging police for how they act. Some police officers question the use...

As Democratic primaries near, educators can teach hope to a polarized citizenry

3Feb

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POLITICS

As Democratic primaries near, educators can teach hope to a polarized citizenry

With the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary approaching many Americans are making their choice, although there are those who are still struggling with who to vote for. Elections often inspire hope, but that hope can quickly turn to political despair when candidates fall short of voters’ expectations. As a philosopher who specializes in citizenship education and political theory, I believe that political hope can be taught in schools and colleges. As I argue in my new open-access book, hope can lay a pathway to help citizens make good choices at the ballot box and sustain political engagement well after the polls close. Despair in democracy A recent study published in the Journal of Democracy found that across the globe citizens have “become more cynical” about the value of a democrati...

How Do We Teach “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Honestly Confront Racism?

9Jul

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Journalism

How Do We Teach “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Honestly Confront Racism?

Harper Lee’s novel is the closest thing America's had to required reading. But the book’s failings in confronting racism are more apparent than ever to White educators—and Black ones wonder what took so long. I am sitting in my eighth-grade civics class learning what it is to be an American. Around me, the cool kids wear Abercrombie & Fitch, and I do too, ever since I persuaded my parents to buy me some. (I cycle relentlessly through my three precious items; one is a dark olive-green “muscle T” whose purpose is entirely lost on my slight frame.) Our textbook cover bears the rippling glory of the stars and stripes. In it, we learn about the three branches of government and major Supreme Court cases. We read and discuss novels like Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mock...

3 Things Schools Should Teach About America’s History of White Supremacy

4Apr

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IN OTHER NEWS

3 Things Schools Should Teach About America’s History of White Supremacy

Lesson plans tend to gloss over the U.S.’s deeply entrenched institutional racism. Here’s what should be added. When it comes to how deeply embedded racism is in American society, Black and White people have sharply different views. For instance, 70 percent of White people believe that individual discrimination is a bigger problem than discrimination built into the nation’s laws and institutions. Only 48 percent of Black people believe that is true. Many Black and White people also fail to see eye to eye regarding the use of blackface, which dominated the news cycle during the early part of 2019 because of a series of scandals that involve the highest elected leaders in Virginia, where I teach. The donning of blackface happens throughout the country, particularly ...

Why I Teach a Course Called “White Racism”

16Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Why I Teach a Course Called “White Racism”

The need for students to learn about racism in American society existed long before I began teaching a course called “White Racism” at Florida Gulf Coast University earlier this year. I chose to title my course “White Racism” because I thought it was scholarly and succinct, precise and powerful. But others saw it differently. Many White Americans (and some people of color) became upset when they learned about this course. Thousands took to social media and far-right news sites and racist blogs to attack the course and me personally. Some 150 of these individuals sent me hateful and threatening messages. It might be tempting to blame the hostility to my course on the current political climate, in which the president of the United States routinely makes overtly racist statements and ...