Category: Learning

How Did Our Christian School Students Perform Through the COVID-19 Era?

The Nation’s Report Card has revealed the unfortunate consequences of lengthy school closures and insufficient online instruction throughout the COVID-19 period. Findings reported by the NAEP are so historically dismal that some are calling the situation a national crisis. For the first time in 50 years, mathematics scores have dropped 7 points. Declines in reading are the worst since 1990. These findings will not shock many parents who foresaw the consequences of lengthy school closures […]

A Response to the N&O/WRAL Criticism of Opportunity Scholarship

Stronger government control of our children’s education will not improve the learning gap, despite the objections of those who believe that government knows best. In Ned Barnett’s “Admit it. NC School Voucher Program Is a Failure,” more government oversight of religious and private schools is the prescribed anecdote for an alleged lack of accountability. He complains that private Christian schools have no government oversight of their curricular standards and, therefore, are not up to par; […]

Ponder How to Progress from “Support” to “Elevate”

In an explanation about the most common type of leader and the most effective type of leader, John Eades reflected on the findings of the research team at LearnLoft*.  Most leaders exhibit both love and discipline with subordinates, and that type of leadership places in them in the category that researchers label “Support”. These leaders are described as good, but they’re not necessarily great. The next level (and highest level) of leadership is the “Elevate” […]

Quiz Frequently and Provide Feedback

Whether quizzing is a graded assessment or looks more like a fun activity makes little difference. The key is to quiz the students several times before the unit test or exam. But quizzing is only half of the task. There must be corrective feedback if you want the review activities to improve their grades. Researchers, in a study* among seventh graders, found that quizzing students several times throughout the unit improved their grades when they […]

The Best Practice is a Diversified Practice

Variety makes everything a little more fun and a little less boring, but it also enhances memory. When it’s time for your students to focus on practicing skills or reviewing material for mastery, mix the content rather than blocking the content. Blocking content involves concentrating on one type of skill, rather than practicing multiple skills together. But when practice lessons intermingle assorted skills, the students have to engage in thinking that goes deeper* than activities […]