App uses songs to help students retain lessons
Shawn Duff, a California high-school geography teacher, uses a mobile app to help students learn academic subjects through songs. In this commentary, Duff describes using the Studytracks app, which has a catalog of more than 1,300 songs, to help students better retain information.
Georgia middle-school teacher Michelle Clarke replaced the furniture in her classroom last year with a “nondirectional” seating design, which allows students to move and get rid of excess energy without disrupting others. The “Ruckus Chair” has been tested in nine schools of different grade levels.
N.J. students identify causes of absenteeism
High-school students from Newark, N.J., are working with students from Rutgers University-Newark to research the causes of — and possible solutions to — absenteeism in the city’s schools. About 33% of Newark’s students were chronically absent last year, which the research team attributed to various reasons, such as health appointments, transportation and gang violence.
Opinion: Principals should balance work, self-care
School leaders should establish support systems and take time for self-care, writes Jessica Cabeen, a middle-school principal in Minnesota. In this blog post, she describes how her support system and routines help her meet the challenges of her job.
Audrey Altmann is an editorial assistant at SmartBrief.
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