edutopia
@edutopia

Sharing what works in education. 💡 Edutopia is an initiative of the George Lucas Educational Foundation.

 United States
edutopia.org
Joined April 2009
Heads up! We’re no longer posting here, but we’d love to stay connected. You can find us at: 📍 Facebook: facebook.com/edutopia 📍 Instagram: instagram.com/edutopia 📍 Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/edutopia.or
 And, as always, on edutopia.org.
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If you’d rather hear from us in your inbox, check out our email newsletters: 📱 The Intercom: edut.to/3YaDWac 📊 The Research Is In: edut.to/4gMM1cm đŸ’» The Wired Classroom: edut.to/4dBdNGa
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The Edutopia resources you love, delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our email newsletters here: edutopia.org/go/newsletters
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Want accessible, classroom-friendly highlights of this year’s must-read studies? We’ve got you covered. edut.to/3ZKoi6s

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2024

It’s that time again—our yearly review of the research you should read, from the sneaky ways that inattention can spread in your classroom to the promises and perils of AI.

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Explore the science behind student success! 📊🏆 Our popular video series offers practical insights and strategies backed by the latest research. Check it out: edut.to/3ZJ3dcR

How Learning Happens

In this series, we explore how educators can guide all students, regardless of their developmental starting points, to become productive and engaged learners.

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Humans are hardwired to forget. But these research-backed strategies can boost retention! 🧠 📈

5 Ways to Make Learning Stickier

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We know that spicing up a learning activity by adding movement can enhance student memory—pairing the word “airplane” with pretending to be one, for example—but do we know by how much? In a 2022 meta-analysis, researchers combed through 183 studies across the last six decades to find the answer. It’s a larger-than-expected bonus: Acting out a word while saying it has an effect size of 1.23, making it a “reliable and effective mnemonic tool” to promote learning. Inside the brain, cutting-edge neuroimaging technology reveals how combining words and actions generates a more durable network of memory traces in the brain. “As a rule of thumb, the more modalities implicated, the better memory will be,” the researchers conclude.
Did You Know? A recent look at 183 studies conducted over 6 decades revealed that learning through multiple modalities has a big impact on retention. “As a rule of thumb,” concluded the researchers, “the more modalities implicated, the better memory will be.” Keep integrating movement, drawing, dancing, and music in your classrooms! Source: Roberts, MacLeod, & Fernandes, 2022

ALT Did You Know? A recent look at 183 studies conducted over 6 decades revealed that learning through multiple modalities has a big impact on retention. “As a rule of thumb,” concluded the researchers, “the more modalities implicated, the better memory will be.” Keep integrating movement, drawing, dancing, and music in your classrooms! Source: Roberts, MacLeod, & Fernandes, 2022

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This simple tactic can help you manage all the student requests during a project or independent activity. 🙌 Watch all of our 60-second strategies in *one* place: edut.to/3YmpZ8b

Teacher Queue

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Staff at this New Jersey high school have been working to improve attendance rates—and they’re seeing success. ⭐ Here are the strategies they’re using: edut.to/41vJyy6

How Tiered Supports Reduced Chronic Absenteeism at a New Jersey High School

A new leadership team cut down on absences by trying a variety of outreach strategies, including a targeted mentorship program.

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How can we better prepare future teachers? Educators shared their thoughts on how to improve teacher prep programs—what things would you add to the list? đŸ« edut.to/3VGZr0H

Preparing Future Educators for Their Careers

Student teaching advisers and students share ideas for making teacher preparation programs more relevant.

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What Works For Me! “Two years ago, I was saying ‘Do you have any questions?’ Last year, I switched to ‘What questions do you have?’ It made a difference. Today, I tried ‘Ask me two questions.’ And they did! And those questions led to more questions. It amazes me that the littlest things have such a big impact!” —AndrĂ© Sasser, Math Teacher

ALT What Works For Me! “Two years ago, I was saying ‘Do you have any questions?’ Last year, I switched to ‘What questions do you have?’ It made a difference. Today, I tried ‘Ask me two questions.’ And they did! And those questions led to more questions. It amazes me that the littlest things have such a big impact!” —AndrĂ© Sasser, Math Teacher

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Our community of educators raised big questions, surprising solutions, and inspiring insights in 2024. We’re reflecting on them. đŸȘž edut.to/3ZsQsBe
2024 in Review, From Your Point of View, surrounded by illustrations representing different parts of the article. They include a backpack wrapped in yellow "Fragile" tape, a teacher standing over a student who's laying their head down on their desk, a basketball wrapped in vines and flowers, and a person carrying a huge bookmark.

ALT 2024 in Review, From Your Point of View, surrounded by illustrations representing different parts of the article. They include a backpack wrapped in yellow "Fragile" tape, a teacher standing over a student who's laying their head down on their desk, a basketball wrapped in vines and flowers, and a person carrying a huge bookmark.
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You can build community *and* promote literacy at the same time! đŸ€đŸ“– Explore practical ways to forge relationships—using the community-focused and cultural nature of literacy. edut.to/4iyXe10

How to Build a Literacy-Focused Community

Schools can support relationships among students, staff, and the wider community through engaging opportunities that promote literacy.

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Administrators: A schoolwide #PBL initiative has many moving parts, but you can keep 3 key steps in mind to help ensure success. 🌟 edut.to/49xUlty

Essential Steps for Setting Up Schoolwide PBL

Implementing any new initiative is tough, but school leaders can use these ideas to work with teachers in rolling out project-based learning across the school.

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Grading is not as accurate, as motivating, or as sustainable as it’s cracked up to be, the research suggests. Explore some alternatives: edut.to/3YY3Eiz

Why Teachers Should Grade Less Frequently

Excessive grading stresses out kids and teachers, stifles innovative teaching, and fails to deliver as a true measurement of learning.

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A high school teacher found he could build a stronger classroom community in less than one minute each day—with a simple activity called Daily Dedications. 🧡

Building Classroom Community Through Daily Dedications

When students share stories about those who have inspired and impacted them, the whole classroom feels more connected.

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The downfall of whole-book reading, pushing back on AI in the classroom, and glimmers of hope for student mental health—here are the trends that sparked passionate debates among educators this year. 💬 edut.to/3ZsQsBe

2024 in Review, From Your Point of View

The inspiring debates and powerful ideas that energized, worried, and motivated you—our readers—this year.

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How can districts and states support new school leaders? Structured opportunities for professional learning lead to long-term success. 🏆 edut.to/3ZPFqaP

5 Ways to Support New School Leaders

Structured opportunities for professional learning go a long way to help ensure the long-term success of new administrators.

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Students make these common mistakes in their college applications—and ChatGPT will probably make them a lot worse. Here’s how to avoid them and write personal, moving essays. 📝 edut.to/49Fmvms

3 Common College Application Essay Mistakes That ChatGPT Actually Makes Worse

College applicants stand to benefit from leaning on their own humanness, rather than generic and uninspiring responses aided by AI.

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Think-Pair-Share: It’s a classic for a reason. These twists can keep it effective and engaging—never boring. đŸ’­âœŒïžđŸ’Ź edut.to/3OKtQaM

16 Variations on Think-Pair-Share to Keep Students Engaged

Teachers and students use this classic learning strategy often. To keep it from getting stale, try these tweaks.

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