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

For many parents with seniors in high school the college application season is ramping up. This week the cost of a college education is in the news. 1 2 The article from Phillip Levine at Brookings explains why figuring out the cost is so difficult. It could help. 3 There’s an opportunity this week to get a little smarter about testing and accountability. Read Anya Kamenetz for a good overview. 5 Read Alicia Caldwell to hear the argument for why overtesting is a myth. 6 To understand what the science of learning says about testing, read Benedict Carey’s article. 4 And, if you have apprehensions about America's performance on international tests, read Yong Zhao’s warnings about China’s harmful test prep culture. 7 The holiday weekend is coming. What will you do with that extended family time? Suggestion: learn how to make the best paper airplane! It's about life skills, people. 8

Parenting

1 Is College Worth the Cost? - Andrew Rossi, CNN

2 Student Debt: A Calculator Focused on College Majors - David Leonhardt, New York Times

3 Why Are College Costs So Hard to Figure Out? - Phillip B. Levine, Brookings

The Cult of Kiddie Danger - Lenore Skenazy, Weekly Wonk

Online Safety: What Does It Mean to You? - Sue Scheff, Huffington Post

Children's Books Don't Need Gender-Specific Titles - Glosswitch, New Republic

Learning

4 Studying for the Test by Taking It - Benedict Carey, New York Times

How Your "Working Memory" Makes Sense of the World - Peter Doolittle, TED Talk

Why Highlighting Doesn't Actually Help You Remember - Drake Baer, Business Insider

Does Exercise Really Make Us Smarter? - Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times

Education

5 Testing: How Much Is Too Much? - Anya Kamenetz, nprEd

6 The Myth of Too Much School Testing - Alicia Caldwell, Denver Post

7 Common Core, Don't Copy China's Test-Prep Culture - Yong Zhao, CNN

Why Kids in London do Better in School - Simon Burgess, The Atlantic

How Many K-12 Students Are Illegal Immigrants? - Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

Save the Humanities in Our Public Schools - Helen Vendler, New Republic

Privacy Concerns for ClassDojo and Other Student Tracking Apps - Natasha Singer, New York Times

The Case Against Universal Preschool - Alia Wong, The Atlantic

Resources

8 How to Fold the World's Best Paper Airplane  - Kottke.org

Introducing The Psychology Podcast with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman - Scientific American

Shop Smart: Gift Ideas and Tips for Every Age and Stage - Caroline Knorr, CommonSenseMedia

The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning - Ki Sung, Mind/Shift

The Best Children's Books of 2014 - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

The 20 Hottest Kids' Toys of 2014 - Kristina Martin, Huff Post Parents

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 Top Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

This week several of our top learning concepts are in the spotlight. Researchers have discovered that dads don’t speak as many words around their babies as do moms. Why does this matter? More than ever fathers spend time caring for their babies, so they need to understand the importance of language dancing—a slow-spoken, musical sounding, back-and-forth chatting with babies. (Dads, time to man-up with the baby talk.) 1 If you’re unfamiliar with “executive function” in children, this 5 minute video will get you up to speed. 2 This week Alexandra Ossola writes about kids learning science. Find out the role of genetics, the impact of fixed mindsets, and how play is like science. 3 4 5 Schools have always kept track of students, but much has changed about how it's done. Be informed. 6 You’ve heard: in a vacuum a feather and a bowling ball dropped from the same height land at the same time. But, have you seen it?! 7

Parenting

Parenting as an Introvert/Parenting as an Extrovert - Lindsey Mead & Allison Slater Tate, Brain, Child

Paternity Leave: The Rewards and the Remaining Stigma - Claire Cain Miller, New York Times

1 Dads Are Spending Time on Baby, But Not on Baby Talk - Ellen Galinsky, Jackie Bezos, HuffPost

Our "Mommy" Problem - Heather Havrilesky, New York Times

7 Questions to Ask at Your Parent/Teacher Conference - Judy Dulton, CafeMom

5 Ways to Raise Kids to Be Kind - Amy Joyce, Washington Post

‘Sesame Street’ Is Middle-Aged and Awesome - Emily Shire, Daily Beast

Learning

2 Executive Function: Skills for Life & Learning (5min video) - Harvard Center on the Developing Child

3 Too Many Kids Quit Science Because They Don't Think They're Smart - A. Ossola, The Atlantic

4 Is Being Good at Science a Genetic Trait? - Alexandra Ossola, The Atlantic

5 Helping 3-Year-Olds Master Scientific Concepts - Alexandra Ossola, The Atlantic

Do You Fall for Any of These Habits Myths? - Gretchen Rubin, LinkedIn

Is Practice Overrated? - James M. Lang, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Education

States Listen as Parents Give Rampant Testing an F - Lizette Alvarez, New York Times

GA Court Say Parents Potentially Liable for Son's Social Networking Activities - RealClearEducation

6 Do Parents Even Know How Schools Track Student's Online Behavior? - Taylor Armerding, CSO

High School Graduation Rates Hit All-Time High - Janie Boschma, The Atlantic

More than 6,000 Charter Schools Now Operate in the U.S. - Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report

A Rough Election Day for Teachers Union - Haley Sweetland Edwards, Time

Big High Schools More Likely to Develop Cliques: Study - Molly Mirhashem, New Republic

The Benefits of Character Education - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

The Benefits of Students Teaching Students Through Online Video - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift

Resources

7 Watch: A Bowling Ball & Feather Fall in World's Biggest Vacuum Chamber - BEC Crew, ScienceAlert

Holiday Movie Preview 2014 - Sandie Angulo Chen, CommonSenseMedia

Review: Big Hero 6 - Dana Stevens, Slate

Best New Learning Games for Kids 2014 - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

All About the Abacus - Maanvi Singh, nprEd

Ebola: At a Glance - Khan Academy

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!