To give a sense of what was high on our readers’ priority lists in 2012, the editors at Education Week compiled a list of our ten most-viewed articles. Below, those stories are ordered by the number of online page views they generated. Take a look at what other readers saw as the most interesting pieces of the year, and catch up on news you may have missed in 2012.
1. Scientists Find Learning Is Not ‘Hard-Wired’
Discovering the brain’s power to change may be neuroscience’s biggest—and most promising—contribution to education. (June 4, 2012)
2. Educators in Search of Common-Core Resources
Teachers and curriculum developers find materials reflecting the English/language arts and math standards in short supply. (February 24, 2012)
3. Consortia Provide Preview of Common Assessments
Experts suggest test-makers will be challenged to write items that will measure the depth of knowledge expected. (August 14, 2012)
4. Research Links ‘Responsive’ Teaching to Academic Gains
A new study adds to the growing body of research showing that social-emotional learning can positively influence academic, as well as behavioral, results. (September 13, 2012)
5. U.S. Education Pressured by International Comparisons
Concern over U.S. students’ middling test scores vies with caution about cultural and other factors that shape school improvement. (January 9, 2012)
6. Studies Link Students’ Boredom to Stress
Students may say a teacher’s lesson is boring, a researcher says, when frustration is really what they feel. (October 9, 2012)
7. Summit to Make a Case for Teaching Handwriting
Educators and experts say students still need to learn penmanship, even in a digital age. (January 23, 2012)
8. Common Core Thrusts Librarians Into Leadership Role
Already equipped with inquiry-based skills, librarians are helping teachers acquire the instructional methods they need to adopt. (September 11, 2012)
9. Equipping U.S. Schools for the Global Fast Lane
American educators comb the data from school systems in other countries for clues to what might work closer to home. (January 9, 2012)
10. Public Gets Glimpse of Science Standards
An ambitious effort to refocus K-12 science education across the nation enters a new phase today with the release of the first public draft of voluntary, “next generation” standards in the subject. (May 11, 2012)