Around the Web: Best Of

Around the Web is going on summer break. As I reflect back on a year’s worth of stories, arguments, and ideas in education, there are a few that have really stayed with me. In no particular order, here they are:

“In Which Tenured Radical Ponders The Twists of Fate That Can Mean Everything To An Untogether Student”: Claire Potter (aka Tenured Radical) on her undergrad self and the kind words, exciting ideas, and professorial honesty that helped her become an adult.

“Groupthink“: Jonah Lehrer on how creativity works. (The New Yorker.)

“Screening Out the Introverts“: William Pannapacker on how academics have to alternate between extreme introversion and extreme extroversion. (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)

“The ‘Undue Weight’ of Truth on Wikipedia“: Timothy Messer-Kruse on Wikipedia’s mission to represent consensus rather than truth. (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)

“Teaching the Teachers“: June Kronholz on a program that coaches teachers to use standardized test questions effectively. (Education Next.)

“A Test Worth Teaching To“: Susan Headden on how a good test can drive a good curriculum. (Washington Monthly)

“Learning Theory“: Tina Stavredes’s handy overview of the major trends in the last half-century of learning theory. (Tomorrow’s Professor)

“Research chat: Information scientist Alison Head on student habits“: Alison Head on the surprising obstacles students face when first trying to do research. (Journalist’s Resource)

“Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time“: Karim Kai Ani’s critique of the Khan Academy’s pedagogy. (Mathalicious)

“What Students Don’t Know“: Steve Kolowich on the sobering findings of the Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries project. (Inside Higher Ed)

“Teaching and Human Memory” Parts I and II: James M. Lang on how memory really works and how we can adapt our pedagogy to help our students retain knowledge. (Chronicle of Higher Ed)

“I’m Relatable, You’re Relatable“: Lucy Ferriss on how the rise of “relatable” betrays students’ sense of themselves as consumers. (Chronicle of Higher Ed)

“Teaching Student-Athletes“: Nate Kreuter and Eric Dieter remind us all about the dangers of stereotyping our students. (Inside Higher Ed)

“Don’t Lecture Me“: Emily Hanford’s series on alternatives to the lecture. (American RadioWorks)