Parent Cortical Mass

Week's Top Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

Carol Dweck wrote an article for Scientific American this week. Every parent needs to know her research on the growth mindset. Her book, Mindset, is on our list of Top Books for Parents. If you’ve not read it, this don’t-miss article will get you up-to-speed. 1 You know that ‘learning styles’ are a myth, right? Good. But even if you do, Christian Jarret’s article in Wired this week is uber-informing. He promises that in 2 minutes you'll know all you need to know. 2 Research on the 30 Million Word Gap has inspired new initiatives and polices. Read Sara Neufeld’s article and learn how closing the word gap might also close the achievement gap. 3 Games from your childhood are now online and free to play. Remember Oregon Trail, Sim City, Prince of Persia? Spend some quality time with your kids sharing your favorites. Besides the fun, it’s a history lesson! 4

Parenting

1 The Secret to Raising Smart Kids - Carol Dweck, Scientific American

10 things Not Enough Kids Know Before Going to College - Christopher Blattman, Vox

‘Redshirting’ Kindergarten-Age Kids Can Lead to Regrets - Sharon Holbrook, New York Times

What Happens to a Woman's Brain When She Becomes a Mother - A. LaFrance, The Atlantic

Does Chilly Weather Really Cause a Cold? - Monte Morin, L.A. Times

Learning

Talking to Babies Boosts Their Ability to Make Friends and Learn -Sarah Griffiths, Daily Mail

Daniel Kahneman: The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory [Video] - Ted Talk

2 All You Need to Know About the ‘Learning Styles’ Myth, in 2 Minutes - Christian Jarrett, Wired

Education

3 Can the Achievement Gap be Closed Through Parent-Child Talk? - Sara Neufeld, Hechinger Report

Should Schools Teach Personality? - Anna North, New York Times

Colleges Turn to Personality Assessments to Find Successful Students - Douglas Belkin, WSJ

The Case for Annual Testing - G. Whitehurst, M. West, M. Chingos, M. Dynarski, Brookings

Beyond Standardized Tests - Anya Kamenetz, Mind/Shift

Parents Challenge President to Dig Deeper on Ed Tech - Natasha Singer, New York Times

The Roots of Obama’s Ambitious College Plan - David Leonhardt, New York Times

Despite Contrary Reports, New Teachers Are Staying in Their Jobs Longer - Hanna & Pennington, CAP

Meet The Classroom Of The Future - William Huntsberry, nprEd

Resources

The Book with No Pictures - by B.J Novak

The Connected Baby – Gadgets for the Little Ones - Kevin Lisota, GeekWire

The Question Game: A Playful Way to Teach Critical Thinking - TeachThought

4 Play 'Oregon Trail,' 'Sim City,' and 2,000+ games In Your Browser -J. Dornbush, EW

Read a few articles each week, and gain parent cortical mass! If you enjoy our weekly article roundup, please email it to a friend, or share on social media. Thank you!

Week's Best Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

“A growth mindset is the best gift we can give our children,” says Jessica Lahey. Read her smart tips on helping kids deal with criticism. This is an all-important parenting skill. Get informed. 1 You’ve seen those diagrams of brain scans with colorful patches. But what do they mean? Watch the TED Talk by Nancy Kanwisher, a prominent MIT neuroscientist, and learn the basics of brain scan research. Her engaging 17-minute talk makes it completely understandable! Really. 2 Recent studies have shed light on the 10,000 Hour Rule. This week's article discussing deliberate practice, meritocracy, and equality and inequality in capacities, is a must-read. 3 Common core math continues to vex parents. Stay current. 4 5 6 Do you enjoy taking pictures of the family during the holidays? Check out this project from the Library of Congress. Could be a fun family project! 7

Parenting

1 Helping Kids Take Criticism Constructively - Jessica Lahey, New York Times

Parenting as a Gen Xer: We're the 1st Parents in the Age of iEverthing - Allison Slater Tate, Wash Post

Kids and Screen Time: Cutting Through the Static - Cory Turner, NPR Ed

In Defense of Screen Time - Heather Hopp-Gruce, Boston Globe

The Recession's Baby Bust - Olga Khazan, The Atlantic

Preparing Your Child for Common Core Tests - Kenneth Chang, New York Times

This Is the First Weekend in America With No Saturday Morning Cartoons - Robert Sorokanich, Gizmodo

Learning

2 The Brain is Like a Swiss Army Knife - Nancy Kanwisher, TED Talk

3 Practice Does Not Make Perfect - D. Hambrick, F. Ferreira, & J. Henderson, Slate

Curiosity Prepares the Brain for Better Learning - Daisy Yuhas, Scientific American

Q&A: Plumbing the Mysteries of the Teenage Brain - Anya Kamenetz, NPR Ed

How Siblings Teach One Another About the World - ScienceDaily

Why Daydreaming is Critical to Effective Learning - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift

Playing Tag Keeps Children More Focused in Class - Kathryn Baron, Education Week

Education

4 Common Core Makes Simple Math More Complicated. Here's Why - Libby Nelson, Vox

5 Newer New Math - Erick Erickson, RealClearPolitics

6 Teaching Math to People Who Think They Hate It - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

Is the New AP US History Really Anti-American? - Emmanuel Felton, Hechinger Report

Public Schooling: War Without End - Neal McCluskey, Townhall.com

Why Finland's Schools Are Top Notch - Pasi Sahlberg, CNN

If Massachusetts Were a Country, It's Students Would Rank 9th in the World - James Crotty, Forbes

Report Finds 'Deeper Learning' Model Improves Outcomes for All Students - K. Schwartz, Mind/Shift

Where Did 'Race to the Top' Lead? - Stephen Brill, Reuters

Resources

Comics: A Candy Alternative for Halloween - Jenn Fujikawa, GeekMom

NASA's Space Racers App - Coolmomtech

10 Things Parents Should Know About Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS - Z, GeekDad

7 The Library of Congress Wants Your Holiday Pictures - Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

AP U.S. History Practice Test -College Board

Read a few articles each week, and gain parent cortical mass! If you enjoy our weekly article roundup, please email it to a friend, or share on social media. Thank you!

Week's Best Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

The big news this week is a policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The story was widely covered by mainstream media, so maybe you've heard. Pediatricians are telling education leaders that the science of learning about sleep and the teen brain is too significant to ignore. Will this impact high school start times across America? 6 7 Several weeks ago Hillary Clinton started an initiative on the “word gap,” one of our top learning concepts. Now Sal Khan, the celebrated founder of Khan Academy, started a campaign to spread the word about growth mindsets. We're thrilled because these initiatives are sure to help parents gain cortical mass! 1 3 5 Learn more this week about PCM topics such as informal learning 2, the 10,000 Hour Rule 4, the common core 8 9, teacher effectiveness 10, and charter schools. 11 12 Parents, it's fall. The question will come up. Please, don’t spread bad science about what causes the leaves to change color. Really. Let's fix this! 13

Parenting

1 The Learning Myth: Why I'll Never Tell My Son He's Smart - Sal Khan, Khan Academy

2 Informal Ed: What Students Are Learning Outside the Classroom - Annie Murphy Paul, Hechinger Rpt

Kids and Screen Time: What Does the Research Say? - Juana Summers, NPR Ed

What Are Schools Doing with Your Kids' Data? - Dan Tynan, Yahoo! Tech

5 Ways to Help Your Kids Have a Great School Yr (Hint: Don't Help) - Adrienne Wichard-Edds, WP

Don't Just Pay for Chores, Pay for Performance - Ron Lieber, Motherlode, NYT

Taking on the Myth of the Spoiled Child - Jill Suttie, Greater Good Science Center

Learning

Your IQ Isn't Constant: It Changes Over Time - Bryan Roche, Quartz

3 Pretending to Understand What Babies Say Can Make Them Smarter - Cari Romm, The Atlantic

Toddlers Are Really Good at Probability - Adam Epstein, Quartz

4 The 10,000 Hour Rule is Not Real - Rachel Nuwer, Smithsonian

How a Bigger Purpose Can Motivate Students to Learn - Ingfei Chen, Mind/Shift

5 You Can Learn Anything [Videos] - Khan Academy

Uncram: 'How We Learn' by Benedict Carey - Dan Hurley, New York Times

Education

6 The Case for Letting High School Students Sleep In - Libby Nelson, Vox

7 Report from American Academy of Pediatrics: School Starts Too Early - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

8 Buyer's Remorse on Common Core for Policymakers? - K. Hefling & J. Carr Smyth, Real Clear Politics

9 A Tale of Two Polls - Cory Turner, NPR Ed

Making Sense of the Ed Reform Backlash - Michael Petrilli, Flypaper

10 Education is Not 'Moneyball': Why Teachers Can't Trust Value-Add Yet - William Eger, EdWeek

11 What Charter Schools Are Getting Right - Conor P. Williams, The Daily Beast

Resources

Who Stole the Cookie? A Quick Game of Deduction - Jonathan Liu, GeekDad

8 Great Games That Will Make Your Kids Smarter - Dan Tynan, Yahoo! Tech

Back-to-School Game Playlists, by Subject, by Grade - PowerMyLearning

12 America's Top High Schools 2014 - The Daily Beast

How to Criticize with Kindness: 4 Steps to Arguing Intelligently - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

40 Maps that Explain the Internet - Timothy B. Lee, Vox

13 The Cool Summer is Not Causing Early Fall Colors - Angela Fritz, Washington Post

Read a few articles each week, and gain parent cortical mass! If you enjoy our weekly article roundup, please email it to a friend, or share on social media. Thank you!