Why do governments and some so-called education leaders ask about how to best help (academically) children from "poor circumstances" in such a way that improving their circumstances is never part of the equation despite it being the immediate root of their problem?

Many developed countries have national curricula and specific teacher-training standards, but the United States does not. Instead decisions on curricular and standards are created and enforced at the state and local levels, often by politically elected figures including governors, mayors, superintendents, and school boards.

This leaves early education in the United States open to a much greater sway of political influence. This can be seen in examples of Texas attempting to legislate the display the ten commandments in school classrooms in 2023, reading science being neglected in the adoption of Culkins' Units of Study curriculum, and other footballs like the supposed suppression of critical race theory in right leaning states.

Beyond this, Gracie also had senses of timing and spatial skills that many also often lack. This is a sort of neurodiversity piece which some are either lifted up or pulled down by within our literacy-focused teaching system.

It may be a skill she's focused on improving, or one which she's naturally gifted and might improve upon to use in a professional career. Focusing on a literacy-only framing for her education is the sort of thing that, instead of amplifying her talents, may have the effect of completely destroying them, and her altogether.

Omicron Inevitability? 55% say they’ll be infected regardless of precautions; two-in-five would end all restrictions. (2022, January 13). Angus Reid Institute. https://angusreid.org/omicron-covid-19-inevitable-back-to-school/

This helps me consider communities of practice, and unpacking the relational aspects - agency within a context, not autonomous, informed by the context and others. Is there a tension with "groupthink", how to value the diversity in a group, and build stronger not weaker, not defaulting or regressing to a mean?. How do we build a group to be more than the sum of the parts. how does the community work to enhance practice.

Online courses have become a great alternative to traditional education. The leading eLearning websites are Coursera and Udemy, which attract millions of users wanting to gain new skills.

So what makes them outstanding examples of educational platforms? How to build a Website Like Udemy or Coursera that can compete with these giants? You will find the answers in this article.

Parrott, J., Armstrong, L. L., Watt, E., Fabes, R., & Timlin, B. (2021). Building Resilience During COVID-19: Recommendations for Adapting the DREAM Program – Live Edition to an Online-Live Hybrid Model for In-Person and Virtual Classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 647420. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647420

Chen, I.-H., Ahorsu, D. K., Ko, N.-Y., Yen, C.-F., Lin, C.-Y., Griffiths, M., & Pakpour, A. (2021). The development and validation of the Motors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale: Psychometric evaluation among mainland Chinese university students. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/abfp6

The COVID-19 crisis mustn’t be used to rationalize hasty education reforms. (2020, May 19). BOLD. https://bold.expert/the-covid-19-crisis-mustnt-be-used-to-rationalize-hasty-education-reforms/

Pandemic may reverse human development for first time in 30 years, UN says. (n.d.). World Economic Forum. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/pandemic-international-human-deveolpment-covid19-coronavirus/

Davies, Catherine, Alexandra Hendry, Shannon P. Gibson, Teodora Gliga, Michelle McGillion, and Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez. ‘Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) during COVID-19 Boosts Growth in Language and Executive Function’. PsyArXiv, 10 March 2021. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/74gkz.

This article looks at yet another new technology that has the potential to revolutionize the adult learning field. It examines the results of teaching educators about digital game design for technology integration. It looked at integrating this technology into science classrooms in particular. 9/10, very interesting new technology with lots of potential implications in the adult learning field.

This article (or at least the section of it presented here) describes one institutions 5-phase model of virtual learning . It examines the state of teacher preparation and professional development in terms of technology and determines that while progress is being made, it is slow and needs to be implemented and focused on more. 4/10, the article itself is not great but it does include an extensive list of references that may be of use later.

This article looks at the gap between teacher efficiency in in-person versus online teaching and the need to effectively build teachers' competencies in the are of technology to ensure teachers are not incompetent at teaching online. This study collected data from 122 English language teachers and used the findings to create a blueprint for other institutions hoping to increases teachers' ability to successfully integrate technology into their lessons. 6/10, the study was too small to be truly persuasive scientifically and the findings were more helpful for institutions rather than individual educators.

Gusso, H., Archer, A. B., Luiz, F. B., Sahão, F. T., de Luca, G. G., Henklain, M., Panosso, M. G., Kienen, N., Beltramello, O., & Gonçalves, V. M. (2020). Higher Education in the Times of Pandemic: University management guidelines [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/by5xj

Velez, G., & Power, S. A. (2020). Teaching students how to think, not what to think: Pedagogy & political psychology [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/yedap

This website outlines digital literacy initiatives provided by the Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS). The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) implements these intitatives to aid adult learners in the successful use of technology in their education and careers. Students have free access to learning material on different subjects under the "LINCS Learner Center" tab. Teachers and tutors also have access to resoruces on implementing educational technology for professional development and effective instruction. Rating 8/10

This website is part of Angelo State University's online teaching training course for faculty members. This section outlines three prominent theories of education-Behaviorism, Social Cognitive Theory, and Constructivism-and applies them to online learning. Instructional Designers and course instructors can use this guide for the construction of meaningful and active learning environment for students. Rating: 10/10

Community of Practice

Faculty Development as Community Building

Article to understand that faculty development is community building

Professional learning expectations in all professions. Evaluations of PD programs and understanding authentic pd

Setting up a Teacher Community Blog

Google Teacher Center for App

How to start a PD community

The disconnected life of a teacher

Facts on PD and its effects on student achievment

Supporting instructors in PD in math

Effective Professors through PD producing impactful student outcomes

This article proves that just in case professional development must now change with new technologies to just in time PD.

Salesforce Chatter for Module 2 DB post and Paper For overall authentic Professional Developement in Higher Education.

This article is about PD for professors in HE that is authentic and complete.

Technology Infused Professional Development by Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education relays information about the best practices for technology to be a large part of professional development. Knowledge base consists of three major domains. They are knowledge of learner, knowledge of content and knowledge of best ways and means to help students learn. Learning is considered both an active and social process. True, deep learning must be applied to new situation and this is not easy with new learning. "If we don't change the direction we are going, we're likely to end up where we are heading"

Rating 10/10

Create is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources for the development and creation of educational technology to enhance the independence and productivity of older adult learners.

The sight includes publications, resources, research, news, social media and information all relevant to aging and technology. It is the consortium of five universities including: Weill Cornell Medicine,University of Miami, Florida State University,Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

RATING: 4/5 (rating based upon a score system 1 to 5, 1= lowest 5=highest in terms of content, veracity, easiness of use etc.)

This article uses librarians at graduate institutions to study the effect of a professional development program. The instruction was designed to teach adult learning theory. The article includes the instruction and assessment of the program.

8/10

Go to Chapter 18

To develop their own "mindsets" in a nurturing environment that values their agency and supports them in seeing and realizing the possibilities in their lives? :-)

Mindfulness training in schools seems to have some major benefits.