News

Lecturer in Literacy Studies Jessica Whitelaw, a literacy coach and former middle school teacher, shares how to combine art with texts to maximize critical inquiry and the imagination.

Professor of Practice Anne Pomerantz, an applied linguist, teacher educator, and longtime language teacher, provides advice on how best to employ AI in teaching languages—and when human instruction works best.

Artificial intelligence tools can generate lesson plans in an instant—but that doesn’t ensure high-quality, enriching, and contextually relevant instruction. Bodong Chen provides advice on how to create engaging, effective, and contemporary lesson plans using AI.

Professor of Practice Andrea Kane emphasizes the importance of educators and school leaders engaging with themselves, each other, and their school communities to navigate district policies, state laws, and complex or controversial topics in the classroom.

Howard Stevenson shares his tool to help individuals, especially young people, cope with insults and threatening language while managing stress in divisive debates or tense situations.

Resilience helps students persevere through loss and struggle, but recent natural disasters like the LA wildfires are testing that grit. Diana Wildermuth provides tips for school counselors on the front lines.

Sometimes student interactions turn contentious. Sarah Kavanagh explains how teachers can guide students in setting their own rules and norms for class discussions and enforcing those rules.

Last year’s rollout of the redesigned FAFSA form was disastrous. Laura Perna offers advice to help you get through it this year.

Educators face mounting challenges navigating political and social discourse, and this fall will test them. Abby Reisman offers four ways to open classroom conversations.

Topics like the upcoming presidential election may lead to difficult discussions in communities and classrooms. Jonathan Zimmerman offers advice on how to facilitate constructive dialogue among your students.

Diana Wildermuth provides some pointers for parents and caregivers to help their student athletes navigate the college recruiting process.

Helping students who feel under threat is one of the hardest things a teacher or administrator can do. Howard Stevenson offers some ideas for creating safer spaces for students and educators alike.

According to a 2022 Gallup poll, teaching is among the most stressful occupations. Kandi Wiens, a researcher who studies burnout and emotional intelligence, shares some advice to help educators prioritize self-care and stress management.

Marsha Richardson shares her insights on how parents and teachers can help children process the complex thoughts and emotions of watching war unfold.

Embrace your students’ diversity with these tips from María Cioè-Peña, an ed linguistics professor and former bilingual special education teacher.

When students miss school, it negatively impacts their learning and social skills. Michael Gottfried says the ripple effects also interrupt learning for peers and strain teachers.

Betty Chandy gives us five ways teachers can effectively and quickly use tools like ChatGPT today without compromising student learning.

Penn GSE’s Michael Gottfried shares four ways in which communities can lower absenteeism rates and increase student engagement.

Penn GSE’s Dr. Marsha Richardson shares her insights on how parents and teachers can help children process the complex thoughts and emotions associated with watching war unfold.

Renowned edtech expert Ryan Baker talks about what we’ve learned — and how educators can put that knowledge to work.

The history of the September 11 attacks is important. But Penn GSE’s Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher says we should show students how 9/11 has shaped our world.

To help children prepare to start school, Katie Barghaus and Casey Henderson from the Penn Child Research Center’s Conquering Kindergarten initiative offer some tips.

Penn GSE’s Caroline Watts shares what educators can do to take care of themselves with less time to recharge this summer.

Follow your child's lead. Be ready to do some work on your own.

Culturally competent educators set the tone for positive learning environments, which creates space for all people, regardless of how they identify.

Techniques and games from theater can be fun tools for building classroom engagement and tackling content in new ways.

Parents can help their kids prepare to go back to school in person. Focus on sleep. Talk about fears. And maybe get a new outfit.

Deans Pam Grossman and Erika James argue that to be prepared leaders need to consider the necessary crisis leadership practices that should occur before, during, and after a crisis happens.

Whether tutoring your child yourself or hiring someone to help, Anne Pomerantz explains what makes tutoring effective.

Sigal Ben-Porath, an expert in civic education, says teachers need to be prepared for these important conversations.

Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher says to start by listening and use clear language.

In a hard year, these stories offered a hopeful vision of a more inclusive and just world.

After a contentious election, educators need a plan for discussing the results—especially if they aren’t clear.

Hint: What you do is more important than what you say.

Michael Nakkula and Andy Danilchick have suggestions for how parents can navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 era.

In their new guide, Michael Nakkula and Andy Danilchick show educators how to cultivate an "uncertainty mindset."

These will help parents build these literacy skills with their children and have fun in the process.

Jonathan Supovotiz and John D'Auria have ideas to help leaders collaborate within their districts, schools, and teams to address questions of equity, access, technology, pedagogy, and social-emotional support.

Effective teams have the same characteristics that teachers are striving toward: a strong sense of connection, support, purpose, and accountability.

Abby Reisman says historical inquiry gives students a space to think deeply about the past and consider how it connects to and shapes the present.

Sigal Ben-Porath asks teachers not to pretend protests about institutional racism and police brutality don’t exist.

College instructors have moved their courses online, but Penn GSE's Sharon Ravitch says they need to do more to meet their students' needs during this pandemic. Here, she gives ideas for instructors to consider.

Advice on dealing with short tempers, screen time, and what to do when your child wants to get a dog during lockdown.

You can use a chalkboard, a spreadsheet, or paper. But don't forget a timer.

You have already built a classroom culture that can carry you and your students through the year, with a few adaptations.

Set norms. Check emotional health. And remember that your students might already be pretty good at this.

Caroline Watts says parents can help kids feel stable, safe, and secure while also taking the outbreak very seriously.

Christine Cunningham, winner of the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, shares ideas for teaching engineering to students of any age.

Restorative justice has the potential to transform school cultures across the intersections of race, class, gender, ability, and sexuality to better serve all our communities.

This month, five Penn GSE doctoral students tell us the Black history they wish someone had taught them in school.