by Laura Maniglia | Apr 5, 2022 | academic standing, active learning, cognitive skills, instruction, language, metacognition, public schools, Vocabulary
Critical thinking involves actively analyzing and evaluating information: thinking about a topic in an objective way. These skills are important for success in school and in life. Learning critical thinking can help students to expand their...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 29, 2022 | academic standing, cognitive skills, language, learning, metacognition, testing, writing
The College Board recently announced that the SAT will discontinue the optional essay. Their reason for the change: adapting to the “ new realities and changes to the college admissions process . . . and to reduce demands on students.” Curiously, a 2006 College...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 19, 2022 | academic standing, active learning, attention & focus, classroom management, cognitive skills, instruction, learning, metacognition, retrieval practice, study skills
In order for teachers to evaluate their students’ learning, they usually schedule assessments. However, not all assessments are equally valuable for learning. High stakes testing such as midterms, end-terms, and standardized tests do little to aid either teaching or...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 10, 2022 | attention & focus, Child development, cognitive skills, learning, parents, teachers
Keep those digital devices out of the hands of young children! Exposing children as young as 2 to media including television, tablets, and smartphones can have significant consequences on brain development. The National Institute of Health and the American...
by Laura Maniglia | Mar 6, 2022 | academic standing, active learning, attention & focus, cognitive skills, instruction, learning, note-taking, teachers
Previous blogs centered on strategies that enhance learning, which include interleaving, spacing, and retrieval. These are examples of “desirable difficulties,” the concept that students need tasks that challenge them to the right degree in order to learn best. They...
by Laura Maniglia | Feb 26, 2022 | cognitive skills, creativity, interpersonal relations, learning, non-cognitive skills, reading, SEL, student engagement
People generally read non-fiction to acquire information. Non-fiction encourages questioning and critical thinking and builds vocabulary. Starting children reading non-fiction will prepare them for the type of reading they will do as adults. Non-fiction texts make up...
by Laura Maniglia | Feb 7, 2022 | attention & focus, cognitive skills, learning, non-cognitive skills, parents, SEL, student engagement, students
As discussed in a previous blog, one of the components of executive functioning essential for education is impulse control: being able to think before acting. The ability to delay gratification is critical to self-regulation, or self-control. The ability to...
by Laura Maniglia | Jan 20, 2022 | active learning, attention & focus, cognitive skills, exercise, instruction, learning, parents, public schools, recess, student engagement
According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, executive functions enable individuals to “plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.” Executive functioning has three components: working...
by Laura Maniglia | Jan 14, 2022 | academic standing, attention & focus, differentiation, homeschooling, instruction, learning, parents, public schools, student engagement, teacher effectiveness, teacher training
A previous blog centered on ability grouping and objections to it based on its possible negative impact on struggling students. However, other classroom arrangements such as Skill-based learning can address differing student needs including ability level, interests,...
by Laura Maniglia | Jan 7, 2022 | instruction, language, learning, NAEP, parents, PISA, reading, speech, student engagement, study skills, teacher training, teachers
The controversy about the best method to teach reading has been raging for more than 200 years. Phonics has been around since the 1600s. In the 17th & 18th centuries phonics remained the prevailing method. Children learned the...
