Of the four core academic subjects, science education suffers most from a lack of ambition about its own relevance. We explore how science education could become more relevant—and why it matters for all of us.
In education, critical thinking is a popular idea but an elusive reality. We discuss the steps we take to achieve critical thinking in our classrooms, including selecting powerful concepts and sources, making connections between the classroom and the world, using discussion to deepen thinking, and finally, moving from isolated concepts to the bigger picture.
Why are we learning this? It’s the most commonly asked question in classrooms.
When asked, teachers generally reach for an instrumental answer. There isn’t always one in easy grasp, but it’s the reflex.
Today we consider a different, deeper ‘why’ thanks to help from Margaret Atwood. In the 2004 Kesterton Lecture at the Carleton School of Journalism, Atwood does what great writers do best: reveals a deep truth that both makes me feel something and makes me want to be a better person.
2022 was a year of growth and experimentation for Kaleidoscope. We discuss the biggest changes we made this year, including scaling our approach to teach larger classes; experimenting with interactive async learning and workshop modules; investigating the links between education, democracy, and dynamism; and honing our approach to curriculum design.
We discuss 10 curriculum changes we made in 2022 in service of our biggest goal: that student learning will continue to compound after a course ends. Overall, we’ve worked to create more streamlined, engaging and tightly woven curricula that better support students & teachers and reflect our organizational commitments.
Of the four core subjects, high school math has the highest ambitions—but also the most misplaced. The result of our default sequence is that students graduate high school unable to apply math to help them make better decisions across a range of contexts, both personal and professional. In this piece we contemplate what math could be—and why it matters for us all.
High school history has a yawning gap between its ambition and its execution.
Ask people what the point of history education is, and they will give you big idea answers like understanding the American story, motivating civic participation, and safeguarding our democracy.
But then show up to a typical high school history class, and it's just textbooks, lectures, and temporary memorization. There’s a fundamental mismatch between aims and means.
In this piece we explore what history education is today, what it could be, and how it can change.
