learning | Joanne Jacobs

Joanne Jacobs

Dec 13 min read

AI tutoring: The smart get smarter

AI tutoring can help motivated, capable students learn faster, but is worse than a human tutor for most students.

1 comment

Too much tech: Devices distract students, don't support learning

Joanne Jacobs

Oct 212 min read

Too much tech: Devices distract students, don't support learning

Schools are wasting time and money on ed-tech that doesn't improve learning and distracts students.

3 comments

Learning is hard, and cheating is easier than ever: What can teachers do?

Joanne Jacobs

Oct 32 min read

Learning is hard, and cheating is easier than ever: What can teachers do?

Teachers can't turn every student into an eager learner, but they can make it harder to cheat.

4 comments

The solution to apathy is to help students learn

Joanne Jacobs

Aug 291 min read

The solution to apathy is to help students learn

Learning is motivating , writes math teacher Dylan Kane on Five Twelve Thirteen. Many schools are modifying the curriculum to cater to...

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'Mad minutes' don't cause math anxiety -- and kids learn more

Joanne Jacobs

Aug 92 min read

'Mad minutes' don't cause math anxiety -- and kids learn more

New research shows timed math tests don't worsen math anxiety.

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Why top college students don't read or go to class: Resume polishing is #1

Joanne Jacobs

May 292 min read

Why top college students don't read or go to class: Resume polishing is #1

At Harvard and other elite universities, students spend more time and energy on resume-polishing extracurriculars than classwork.

6 comments

Present and paying attention: Smartphone detox is worth it

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 142 min read

Present and paying attention: Smartphone detox is worth it

Smartphone detox is difficult, but worth it, writes Seth Lavin, principal of a Chicago middle school. After his school equipped...

2 comments

Ban phones in school: The experiment with kids' minds has failed

Joanne Jacobs

Dec 23, 20232 min read

Ban phones in school: The experiment with kids' minds has failed

Smart phones are making students less smart, writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic. Student achievement has been falling around the world...

6 comments

Blame diversity-crats for turning humanities into decolonial, anti-racist 'beards'

Joanne Jacobs

Dec 22, 20232 min read

Blame diversity-crats for turning humanities into decolonial, anti-racist 'beards'

Humanities professors, under heavy pressure to prove their discipline is "useful," have gone political, writes Tyler Austin Harper in The...

2 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Dec 1, 20231 min read

Practice makes better

How do get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! It's the same for math, writes Holly Korbey on Edutopia. “They are considered dirty words, but...

3 comments

AI tutors will help motivated students, but . . .

Joanne Jacobs

Nov 24, 20232 min read

AI tutors will help motivated students, but . . .

"Motivated learners" will be able to "substitute AI for human tutors and teachers," predict Sean Geraghty and Mike Goldstein, co-leaders...

2 comments

What is the right balance between ingredients and cake?

Joanne Jacobs

Nov 14, 20232 min read

What is the right balance between ingredients and cake?

What's the right balance between teaching knowledge and teaching skills? That's the wrong question, writes Daisy Christodoulou on No More...

0 comments

To help left-behind students, get 'butts in seats'

Joanne Jacobs

Oct 23, 20232 min read

To help left-behind students, get 'butts in seats'

You can't win if you don't play. The only way to improve student achievement is to "get butts in seats," writes Jessica Grose in the New...

5 comments

Easy come, easy go: Googling is bad for learning

Joanne Jacobs

Aug 12, 20232 min read

Easy come, easy go: Googling is bad for learning

Students don't need to learn facts, educators have been saying since the Cro-Magnon first learned to search the Internet. "They can just...

2 comments

AI can be a teaching and learning tool -- or a crutch

Joanne Jacobs

Aug 11, 20233 min read

AI can be a teaching and learning tool -- or a crutch

Bots powered by artificial intelligence are getting smarter and smarter. Will people get dumb and dumber? Rick Hess of the American...

2 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jun 16, 20231 min read

Students give their schools a B-

The good news is that two-thirds of students give their schools an A or B grade in a Gallup/Walton survey of students in grades 5 to 12....

1 comment

Roblox goes to school: Plan a Mars mission or join the Pathogen Patrol

Joanne Jacobs

May 21, 20232 min read

Roblox goes to school: Plan a Mars mission or join the Pathogen Patrol

Roblox is going to school, reports Benjamin Herold in Education Week. The popular gaming platform is adding immersive online “learning...

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Joanne Jacobs

May 2, 20232 min read

AI can be an equalizer

Educators can personalize teaching and equalize education opportunities, if they learn how to use artificial intelligence intelligently,...

1 comment

Joanne Jacobs

Apr 3, 20231 min read

Students learn more from tough graders

Students learn more when their teachers have high expectations, concludes a study in North Carolina, reports Kevin Mahnken. Algebra...

4 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Feb 23, 20231 min read

Mediocrity for all isn't equity

In Culver City (CA), ninth- and tenth-grade honors classes were eliminated, reports Sara Randazzo in the Wall Street Journal. Officials...

2 comments