Race in schools, data in education, misinformation, early childhood education, assessment, extracurricular activities, and education technology. These are just a few of the topics that captured readers’ attention in 2021. These 10 articles were our most read articles of the year. Was your favorite included?
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1. The fear of multiple truths: On teaching about racism in a predominately white school.
By Antony Farag
Why have so many K-12 educators been so resistant to the idea that students should understand multiple perspectives on history and current events?
2. What early childhood educators know about developmentally appropriate practice
By Josh Thompson & Zlata Stanković-Ramirez
Teaching young children requires an understanding of the interactions among typical patterns of child development, children’s individual characteristics, and their social and cultural contexts.
3. H_NGM_N: What one says, and doesn’t say, to white educators
By Lois Beardslee
A lot of educators turn out to be uneducable, especially when the person doing the educating doesn’t look like them.
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4. How data-driven reform can drive deficit thinking
By Melanie Bertrand and & Julie Marsh
When examining data on student performance, be careful of ways it can be used to reinforce bias rather than improve instruction.
5. Who’s assessing the assessment? The cautionary tale of the edPTA
By Drew H Gitomer, Jose Felipe, & Dan Battey
What will it take to hold test developers accountable for their practices?
6. Taking a reasoned stance against misinformation
By Wayne Journell
Teachers need a framework to help them determine what issues are open for discussion and what evidence is worthy of consideration in the classroom.
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7. The silence of the ellipses: Why history can’t be about telling our children lies
By Sam Wineburg
History textbooks often tell sanitized versions of the past when a more complete story will enable us to know who we are as a country — and become even better.
8. Extracurricular activities can play a central role in K-12 education
By Chad Lang
Schools seeking to improve should make sure their extracurricular programming is incorporated into their strategic plan, not left on the sidelines.
9. The importance and emergence of K-12 data science
By Tanya LaMar & Jo Boaler
Expanding the mathematics pathway to include data science will expand access to mathematics while preparing students to answer important and relevant questions.
10. Ed tech’s failure during the pandemic, and what comes after
By Justin Reich
Why didn’t the shift to remote learning bring about significant transformations in teaching and learning?
Stay tuned for more on these and other topics in 2022. Upcoming issues will examine interpersonal connections in school, special education, family engagement, and literacy instruction. To support our work and make sure you don’t miss an issue, consider joining PDK!
