Learning and Teaching

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How are gender stereotypes developed in the classroom?
Teacher practices and classroom demographics can play a role in delaying the development of gender-based stereotypes and prejudices among young students, some researchers said at a recent conference. Equitable practices in co-ed classrooms can help increase the time boys and girls continue to play together and can have academic and social benefits for members of both genders, they said. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (5/9)

Helping students understand the lessons of failure
The writers of this blog post suggest ways in which educators can help students learn from failure. Daniel E. Slotnick and Katherine Schulten offer key questions to pose to students about failure, and then ask them to consider how failure may play out in particular areas such as education, sports, business, science, politics and the arts. Related activities include creating a case study, developing a timeline and compiling stories of failure that may offer lessons for the future. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/The Learning Network blog (5/7)

School Leadership

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Teaching profession's gender gap widens
The percentage of men in the U.S. teaching force has decreased since 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2011 Current Population Survey. Experts say low pay, gender stereotypes and recent attacks on teachers could be harming recruitment. "The status of the teaching profession, I believe, weighs very heavily right now on men's decision to go into teaching," said Shaun P. Johnson, assistant professor of elementary education at Towson University in Maryland. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (5/9)

A tribute: How do you spell T-E-A-C-H-E-R?
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, education blogger Lisa M. Dabbs shares in this post some reflections on the teachers who have given their time and helped to inspire her along the way. In doing so, she calls attention to qualities -- trusting, enthusiastic, amazing, charismatic, hopeful, extraordinary and resonating -- that together "spell" a great educator. Edutopia.org/Lisa M. Dabbs' blog (5/7)

Other News

• Sally Ride: How teachers can inspire students to study science
  Mashable (5/8)

Technology in the Classroom

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Are iPads helping or harming young students?
Some educators say iPad tablet computers and other mobile technology aid the learning of students as young as those in kindergarten. Other teachers maintain that introducing technology to such students can be harmful. As the technology trend continues, one education consultant says proper communication and strategies must be in place to ensure successful use of the iPad and other mobile devices. GovTech.com (5/7)

N.C. district encourages students to bring devices to school
A North Carolina school district is attempting to create a collegiate feel on its campuses by encouraging students to bring their own technology devices to school. The new policy allows students to use their own laptops, tablet computers and smartphones with the district's wireless Internet connection, and teaches them to be responsible technology users. It also allows the district to overcome funding gaps that prohibit it from providing enough devices for all students. The Fayetteville Observer (N.C.) (5/8)

Managing Budgets

Budget constraints to affect summer-school programs
School districts in Texas and elsewhere are considering the reduction or elimination of summer-school programs because of budget concerns. "What we're seeing across the country is that a lot of districts are scaling back in the summer because of budgets, and it's certainly a concern," said Jeff Smink, vice president of policy for the National Summer Learning Association. "All the research shows kids need more time with such programs not less." Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas) (5/7)

Teachers in Calif. district consider strike
Educators in San Francisco are set to vote Thursday on whether to consider a strike over a school district plan to cut $30 million in salaries and benefits over the next two years. A "yes" vote by a majority of the 6,000 members of the United Educators of San Francisco would mean the union could stage a strike if contract negotiations with the district come to a full halt. Despite five years of budget cuts, California schools face a $5 billion funding loss if voters reject a proposed tax-increase plan in November. San Francisco Chronicle (5/8)

Policy Watch

L.A. adds college-prep courses as graduation requirement
Los Angeles Unified School District's high-school graduating classes of 2016 will be required to pass college-preparatory courses with a D or better. Beginning with the class of 2017, the requirement will be a C. The courses are required to enroll in a four-year state university, but officials said they voted Tuesday to require all graduates to pass the courses to improve competitiveness among students. Critics, however, say the requirement could increase the number of dropouts. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (5/9)

Faculty Lounge

TV watching may affect children's eating habits
Data from 12,642 students from fifth to 10th grades in the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Study showed that those who watch TV were more likely to eat junk food and fast food, more likely to skip breakfast and less likely to eat fruits and vegetables daily. The study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine also found that younger students, girls and white children were more likely to eat fruits and vegetables compared with older students, boys and black and Hispanic children. MyHealthNewsDaily.com (5/7)

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ASCD News

Now that I know what I know
Dan Brown discovered the equation "effort + intelligence + people skills = success" in his student years, and decided it would naturally apply to teaching. What he found in his first year as an educator in the Bronx was that it takes a lot more to be successful. Now, with professional certifications and years of experience under his belt, Brown writes about the "sea of factors" that he's since added to the equation in a recent Educational Leadership article. Read on.

Seven more ways to go from on-task to engaged
"Increasing time on task is pointless if the tasks themselves are not productive," reiterates professional-development director and author Bryan Harris in a guest Inservice blog post. Following up on his popular 2011 post that shared seven strategies for taking students from on-task to engaged, Harris offers seven more. He encourages colleagues to seek student opinions by asking questions that don't have right or wrong answers and suggests using celebrations to emphasize, "if it's worth learning, it's worth celebrating." Read all seven strategies in Inservice.

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