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Primary Education

Three things parents need for kindergarten prep
Kindergartner wearing a mask waves goodbye to parent in front of school gate.

Three things parents need for kindergarten prep

For parents with children getting ready to start kindergarten, focus on three things: reading, playing, and encouraging.

From Penn GSE

A post-pandemic wave of teachers leaving the workforce, and other trends
Teacher wearing face mask standing alone in a school hallway.

A post-pandemic wave of teachers leaving the workforce, and other trends

Penn GSE’s Richard Ingersoll has published a new report looking at who is at work in America’s classrooms, and finds that many trends he has tracked since publishing his first study continue to hold true, and in some ways have deepened.

From Penn GSE

Five tips for talking to young children about COVID-19 today
A person in a face mask giving hand sanitizer to a child also wearing a face mask.

Five tips for talking to young children about COVID-19 today

Many vaccinated adults have started going maskless, but most children still cannot. Some states are now fully open. Psychologist Caroline Watts offers parents language they can use to talk openly as a family about this newest phase of the pandemic.

Michele W. Berger

How project-based learning can prepare students for the 21st century
A group of educators in training work on a project building a tower of wooden sticks on a table.

Students in a project-based learning certificate program class collaborate to find a solution to a problem. (Image: Courtesy of Penn GSE)

How project-based learning can prepare students for the 21st century

Penn GSE dean Pam Grossman and peers argue in a new book that project-based learning, a method of instruction that identifies a project or problem that students work on, should be at the center of American public education.

From Penn GSE

How to get even better at supporting your LGBTQ+ students
Many rainbow-colored umbrellas hanging from overhead strung lighting.

How to get even better at supporting your LGBTQ+ students

Teachers, school counselors, and administrators owe it to their LGBTQ+ students, along with the rest of the student body, to provide an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable.

From Penn GSE

Pivoting to middle school teacher from bank teller to stay ahead of disruption

Pivoting to middle school teacher from bank teller to stay ahead of disruption

Dean Pam Grossman of the Graduate School of Education said technology has yet to significantly disrupt education or replace the need for teachers. “Teaching and learning are fundamentally relational processes, and without the relationship, it’s hard to engage learners, particularly those that aren’t motivated,” she said.

Study: Teaching force grew at more than double the enrollment rate

Study: Teaching force grew at more than double the enrollment rate

Richard Ingersoll of the Graduate School of Education and School of Arts & Sciences spoke about how schools and school boards are working to meet demands from parents and lawmakers. “All these demands by parents are very understandable, such as lower class size,” said Ingersoll. “Who wouldn’t want their child to be in a class of 18? And, yes, let’s teach Mandarin and, yes, let’s bring back Latin. There are so many demands but very little recognition of the costs.”

Want to improve learning outcomes? Give students more time

Want to improve learning outcomes? Give students more time

Pam Grossman, dean of the Graduate School of Education, wrote an op-ed that proposing rethinking schooling to give students more time to learn. “Let’s use the pandemic to rethink how we expand and enrich learning time for children, especially those most impacted by COVID-19-related disruption,” she wrote.

Schools face a substitute teacher crisis. These districts are getting creative to fix it

Schools face a substitute teacher crisis. These districts are getting creative to fix it

Richard Ingersoll of the Graduate School of Education and the School of Arts & Sciences commented on how some states and school districts have lessened requirements for substitute teachers in order to meet demand. "When there's difficulty filling classrooms, often the reaction is let's lower the bar, let's widen the gate," he said. "That's disastrous to do that. Basically, you're sacrificing qualifications because you think it's an emergency."