Fourth Graders Are Now Being Assessed by AI. Some Parents Want It to Stop.
Fourth graders are already using AI to explain their reasoning and receive instant scores and feedback. Some parents are now asking whether schools are moving too quickly.
Latest
Can Technology Help Students Become Better Learners? What 33 Studies Found
A new meta-analysis found that technology can support students’ ability to plan, monitor and reflect on learning, but most of the evidence still relies on what students say rather than what they demonstrably do.
AI Is Making School Laptops More Expensive
The AI boom is consuming so much computer memory that school laptops are getting significantly more expensive. Some districts are now reconsidering how often devices need replacing and even whether every student still needs one.
Do Teachers’ Social-Emotional Skills Affect Students? What 65 Studies Found
A new meta-analysis of 65 studies found a moderate relationship between teachers’ and students’ social-emotional skills, suggesting that students may learn as much from how teachers respond as from what they explicitly teach.
Should Schools Move Exams Because It’s Getting Too Hot?
With classroom temperatures exceeding 40°C and hundreds of thousands of students missing school during heatwaves, UK educators are asking whether exam dates and school hours need to change.
ChatGPT Has a Teen Mode. But Is It Actually Safe Enough?
A new report says ChatGPT’s teen safeguards can still miss unsafe interactions, raising a bigger question about what “safe for teens” should actually mean.
Should Schools Ban Phones for the Entire Day?
A new bipartisan U.S. bill would encourage full school-day cellphone bans. The evidence suggests stricter bans may work better, but removing phones does not automatically remove digital distraction.
Does Teacher Well-Being Affect Students? What 186 Studies Found
A new meta-analysis of 186 articles found that teacher well-being is consistently associated with student motivation and achievement, although the effects are modest and mostly correlational.
“Pencils, Not Prompts”: Students Are Starting to Push Back on AI in School
More than 100 students at a Washington high school walked out of class demanding clearer AI rules. Their slogan: “Pencils, not prompts.”
What Happens When AI Starts Rating the Teacher?
A UK training company is using AI to review every instructor session. The company says it improves coaching quality. Some teachers say it feels like constant surveillance.
What Makes Homework Actually Useful? What 29 Studies Found
A 2026 meta-analysis of 29 studies found that homework quality, useful feedback and autonomy support matter more consistently than simply giving students more feedback.
AI Can Write a Worksheet in Seconds. But Is It Actually Good?
AI can generate classroom materials instantly. A new open platform is trying to solve the harder problem: making sure those materials are actually appropriate, accurate and aligned to learning goals.
Teaching Ideas
Not All Student Engagement Is the Same. What 62 Studies Found
A 2025 meta-analysis of 62 studies found that different kinds of student engagement appear to serve different purposes, from achievement and motivation to social support and well-being.
News
Napster Is Back. This Time It Wants to Clone Teachers.
Napster has partnered with GEMS Education to build AI “digital twins” of teachers, giving students access to teacher-informed support outside school hours.
Digital Tools
Netboard.me for Teachers: Two Classroom Spaces You Can Explore
Explore Netboard.me through two classroom examples: an interactive Ancient Egypt resource hub and a collaborative climate project for students.
Teaching Ideas
Does Online Teacher Training Actually Work? What 102 Studies Found
A 2025 meta-analysis of 102 studies found that online professional development can meaningfully improve teacher knowledge and classroom practice, but the effect on students is much smaller.
News
Microsoft Agrees to New AI Privacy Rules for Schools
Microsoft and major U.S. teacher unions have agreed on enforceable AI privacy rules for schools, including a ban on using student data to train AI models.
Teaching Ideas
Can You Really Learn a Language Just by Reading More? What 73 Studies Found
Language learning often comes with a long list of activities. Vocabulary exercises. Grammar drills. Listening practice. Speaking tasks. Writing assignments. But there is a much simpler approach that has been around for decades: Read a lot. Not difficult texts that need to be translated sentence by sentence. Not short passages
Digital Tools
Does Technology Actually Improve Learning? What 28 Meta-Analyses Found
Schools and universities have spent decades adding technology to learning. Laptops replaced notebooks. Videos replaced some lectures. Digital quizzes replaced paper tests. Interactive platforms replaced static worksheets. But there is a surprisingly important question underneath all of this: Does adding technology actually improve learning? A large research synthesis tried to
News
The New PISA Results Are Out. Here’s What They Say About AI, Reading and Learning
The latest PISA results are out, and the headline is not encouraging. Across OECD countries, average performance in reading and mathematics has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded by PISA. Reading scores are now 28 points lower than in 2015, which the OECD describes as roughly one and a
News
Which Books Should Every School Teach?
Every school has books that students are expected to read. Some become lifelong favourites. Some are remembered mainly because there was a test afterwards. This week, The Guardian asked a group of leading authors a deceptively simple question: Which novel should every school teach? Their answers were varied, personal and
Teaching Ideas
What Makes Multimedia Learning Work? What 181 Studies Actually Found
Add a diagram. Break the lesson into smaller sections. Highlight important words. Add narration. Use animation. Turn it into a simulation. Make it interactive. Teachers and instructional designers have been given advice like this for decades. But which of these changes actually help students learn? A 2025 meta-analysis revisited
News
Badges, Flashing Lights and AI: When EdTech Looks Better Than It Teaches
A student is clicking, earning badges and completing levels. The app says they are engaged. But are they actually learning? A new report from the American Psychological Association says schools and families should be careful not to confuse the two. Published on September 3, the report argues that educational technology
Teaching Ideas
Media Multitasking and Learning: What 66 Studies Actually Found
A review of 66 studies found that media multitasking is usually associated with slightly worse academic performance, but also revealed a major gap in what we know about younger students.