By Mark Dynarski and Kirsten Kainz. Achievement gaps between disadvantaged students and their better-off peers are large and have existed for decades. Narrowing these gaps will mean investing more in research to identify effective approaches, or increasing Title I spending by five to eight times more per student, or both. Focusing effective interventions on the neediest students may provide a way forward that is consistent with fiscal realities. More...
What colleges do for local economies: A direct measure based on consumption
By Jonathan Rothwell. Most economists and policymakers know that people who complete a college degree tend to earn more than people who have not attended college. Yet they often overlook the fact that these benefits extend beyond individual workers. The college earnings advantage also leads to greater economic activity, fueling prosperity at the regional and national levels. More...
Ignore the advice and fall head over halls at university
By Mairead Finley. Throwing caution to the wind, and doing exactly what I said I wouldn’t do before I started university, I found myself in a relationship with someone a staircase away within three months of starting university. More...
How to be a brilliant conference chair
By Joanne Begiato, Lorna Campbell, Steven Gray and Isaac Land. When you’re in the hot seat, don’t yawn or shoehorn in your own research. And for goodness sake, get speakers’ names right. More...
Universities should benefit the public, not just the public purse
By Joshua Forstenzer and Matthew Flinders. The higher education green paper is a radical document, explicitly designed to change universities. But beyond the debates about metrics, funding structures and social mobility is a far more fundamental reframing – of the very concept of higher education. More...
The legal education system may soon be overhauled – here's how
By Max Harris. The training route to becoming a solicitor has been criticised for providing inconsistent results. Could a more centralised system be the answer. More...
Teaching at a university means constant pressure - for about £5 an hour
By Anonymous academic. I care about my students, but poor pay, discrimination and unrealistic workloads are making me want to quit. More...
Campus political correctness is no threat, it’s a wish for a better future
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Campus political correctness is no threat, it’s a wish for a better future
Kate Groetzinger, Quartz, 2015/12/09
I am in agreement with the argument in this article. Opponents of 'political correctness' argue that it censors freedom of speech and embraces victimhood. More...
Converging Forces
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Converging Forces
Paul Stacey, Musings on the Ed Tech Frontier, 2015/12/09
It's an upda Paul Stacey on the Open Business Models project, with an extra bit on Creative Commons statistics. In the first part he looks at "using the open business model canvas and questions as a tool for depicting and designing open business models. More...
Edcamp with Students - Finally!
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Edcamp with Students - Finally!
Liz B Davis, The Power of Educational Innovation, 2015/12/07
We know that EduCamps (as I know them) are quite useful for teachers, but what about offering them to students themselves? Sure, why not! But in the school system you have to tie everything to a lesson, so in this case, it's... Benjamin Franklin. More...