Math skills are critical for students’ success in other subjects and later in life, yet far too many teacher prep programs fail to give aspiring teachers the essential knowledge they need to be effective math teachers—undermining student learning before the first lesson even begins.
What can California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. teach us about how to diversify the teacher workforce?
Nationally, the diversification of the teacher workforce is slowing compared to the diversification of college-educated adults, but California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. are bucking that trend. Explore what factors contribute to their relatively high rates of teacher diversity and how their policies and practices will likely affect teacher quality.
Districts are facing hard choices: How can teacher evaluation help?
Teacher evaluation systems—if implemented well—can help districts make better workforce decisions. We examine whether large districts’ policies align with the research on what will likely make for effective and impactful evaluation systems.
Black History Month: Learning to read is a civil right
Parents in Massachusetts are stirring up “some good trouble” by suing the authors and publishing companies who “peddled a raft of products and curricula that sought to diminish and even exclude systematic and daily phonics instruction.”
As the field of neuroscience advances, so does our understanding of what works in teaching and learning. The best recent example of this? The reading movement. Our knowledge of how children’s brains learn to read has increased, and it has led to a revolution in how to teach children to read.
Outdated models won’t drive future success: Six reasons to reimagine the teaching role
The Ford Model T: revolutionary 100+ years ago, impractical now. Similarly, our outdated classroom model doesn’t meet the needs of today’s students and teachers. We explore the evidence driving schools to reimagine the teaching role.
The bigger picture: Why we need better reading instruction across all grades
How much does reading policy work its way into classrooms? A new study exploring the state of reading across the U.S. underscores the need for consistent support and monitoring of reading policy implementation to make waves in classrooms.
What the teaching profession can learn from Netflix
What can the education field learn from Netflix? How to revolutionize staffing to better meet the needs of those you serve. Our outdated model of teaching makes it hard for schools to hire and keep great teachers.
AI coaching for teachers: Does it work, and do teachers trust it?
New research suggests that targeted and timely AI feedback on teachers’ instruction is possible and can improve instruction—but teachers still have their doubts.
In the eye of the beholder: What happens when teachers think the curriculum is too tough for students?
A new report explores why some teachers don’t use standards-aligned curriculum materials. Here’s what states and districts should do to ensure teachers feel empowered and supported to use high-quality materials.
No need to beg, borrow, and steal: A road map for how states can implement and sustain reading policies
State education leaders shouldn’t work alone to enact teacher-focused reading policies, writes NCTQ President Heather Peske. Instead, they can look to states that have already blazed the trail and laid down clear markers to follow. Our State Reading Policy Action Guide outlines what policy actions leaders should take to revamp reading instruction and highlights examples of states leading the way.
What’s resonating with school district leaders and staff in 2023
Explore the most popular District Trendline posts of 2023, spotlighting topics like paid parental leave benefits, housing costs in relation to teaching salaries, the diversification of the teacher workforce, and more.
Precious little time: How to make teachers’ professional learning worthwhile
How do you balance teachers’ need for professional development with the time it takes away from their students? And do you make sure that time is well spent?
Teacher Professional Development: What works and what might surprise you
Teachers need to be constant learners to keep up with an ever-changing landscape. But professional development can vary a lot, which makes it hard to know what will ultimately help students.
Investing in new teacher orientation and mentoring can produce long-term benefits
Giving teachers a strong start through mentoring and induction programs has been identified as a successful approach to keeping more novice teachers in the profession.
Teachers and students win from video-based professional coaching
Providing teachers with feedback—through a medium that allows them to explicitly see how they responded to various scenarios—could help teachers become more effective.
