Reading Time: 3 minutes Saskatchewan’s new education minister wants a back-to-basics approach to math instruction that would give students much-needed skills
Author: Michael Zwaagstra
Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and author. He has extensive teaching experience at a variety of grade levels and currently teaches high school social studies in Manitoba. Michael received his Bachelor of Education, Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Education and Master of Education degrees from the University of Manitoba where he won numerous academic awards including the A. W. Hogg Undergraduate Scholarship, the Klieforth Prize in American History and the Schoolmasters’ Wives Association Scholarship. He also holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty University and graduated with high distinction.
The no-zero policy finally gets a failing grade
Reading Time: 3 minutes But dumping the misguided practice in Newfoundland and Labrador schools is just the beginning – much more reform is needed
Content knowledge is the foundation of quality education
Reading Time: 3 minutes Content-rich instruction is key to reading comprehension and critical thinking, and it empowers disadvantaged students
Improve teacher working conditions by dumping bad ideas
Reading Time: 3 minutes Even though there’s a wealth of evidence supporting traditional teaching techniques, officials too often push an ideological agenda to teaching
There’s no critical thinking without a base of knowledge
Reading Time: 3 minutes 21st century learning advocates fail to recognize that critical thinking cannot take place when you know nothing about a subject
Memorization, practise and critical thinking go hand-in-hand
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s unreasonable to assume that students can practise critical thinking without first acquiring substantial background knowledge
Good teachers matter more than small class size
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reducing class sizes is a costly initiative with little payback
Meaningless education fads have got to go
Reading Time: 3 minutes Schools need to instead focus on producing a coherent curriculum, sound lessons and purposeful reading and writing in every discipline
Technology alone should not drive education reform
Reading Time: 3 minutes Hopefully a new report from the OECD slows down the mad rush to equip students of all ages with the latest computer gadgets
Distractions are sometimes good for learning
Reading Time: 3 minutes Even interruptions may not be as bad as previously thought