Learning Styles

Is It Just a Game? Debunking 10 Common Myths about Game-Based Learning

You’ve heard it before, “I have no time to teach this fluffy stuff.” Is game time in class wasted time? Students will tell you they learn best when instruction is “fun,” but many educators still feel that games take up too much valuable instructional time and require too much planning and effort. Research in possibilities

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The Struggle is Real

The Struggle is Real

Creating Opportunities for Productive Struggle in Math, ELA, Social Studies, and Science While productive struggle has been the focus of much research for the past two decades (e.g., Ewing et al., 2019; Hiebert and Grouws, 2007; Townsend et al., 2018), much of that research centered on mathematics content. Here we posit that productive struggle can,

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In Defense of the Graphic Novel: Fighting the Forces of Anti-Graphica

In a recent tweet, a popular author argued that their book would never be adapted into graphic novel form, calling the process of reading such a visual story merely “flipping pages.” The author drew a range of attention for this Tweet, and has since recanted and apologized. Contained within this Tweet, as well as in

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Erik Francis

Erik M. Francis, M.Ed., M.S. is an author, educator, and speaker who specializes in teaching and learning that promotes cognitive rigor and postsecondary (college and career) readiness. He is the author of Now THAT’S a Good Question! How to Promote Cognitive Rigor Through Classroom Questioning (ASCD). He is also the owner of Maverik Education LLC, providing academic

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