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Write for ASCD Express
Published every two weeks, ASCD Express, launched in fall 2005, seeks to give a new generation of educators in the United States and around the world the practical information they need to be the best-informed in the field.
Because of the nature of the Web and the demands made on typical educators—too much information and too little time to read it—ASCD Express seeks short, practical articles (about 600 words).
We welcome research-based articles as well as your own examples from the classroom and advice about how to adapt successful strategies or overcome challenges whether as a teacher, administrator, or specialist.
Read our list of upcoming themes, and consider submitting your article. If you are interested in writing a longer piece on an EL-linked theme, you can submit an article to EL.
Calling for New Voices
Want your innovative ideas, perceptions, or insight about education to be heard in a forum recognized locally, nationally, and around the world? Write for ASCD Express's New Voices column!
ASCD Express seeks to feature a 200- to 300- word opinion column from up-and-coming educators with diverse viewpoints. Check out our list of themes to the left, and submit your column idea or completed column by the listed due date for consideration to Rick Allen. Please include biographical information.
Submissions
E-mail your article as an attachment, or mail it to
Rick Allen
Lead Editor
ASCD Express
1703 North Beauregard St.
Alexandria, VA 22311–1714 USA
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2008–09 Themes
denotes a theme that corresponds to that month's issue of Educational Leadership.
October 16: Expecting Excellence
As U.S. schools respond to pressure to get all students to "proficiency," educators worldwide are equally concerned about enabling individual students to reach their highest potential. This issue will look at school programs and practices that go beyond proficiency to foster excellence. What does excellence in education mean? How can we measure it? How do schools differ in their approaches to excellence? How do content standards, ability grouping, and intensified course requirements promote—or discourage—high achievement for all? How are schools challenging their most able students?
Submissions Due: August 28, 2008
October 30: Getting On with 21st Century Learning
The first decade of the 21st century is nearly over. How well are schools embracing the challenge of remaking schools to serve a changing world so that students will have the depth of knowledge, know-how, and skills to thrive in an economy and society that increasingly depend on the latest information, globalization, and technology? This issue will feature innovative schools or classrooms from around the world that have confronted the new century by changing teaching and learning practices to meet the challenges of life, society, and the global workplace.
Submissions Due: August 28, 2008
November 13: Giving Students Ownership of Learning
Today's successful learners are not just recipients of knowledge—they are active thinkers who know how to obtain knowledge and what to do with it. Schools can cultivate such learners by giving students responsibility for their own learning. What role should students have in shaping curriculum, setting standards and learning goals, and designing the format of classes? What active role can they play in school reform? In shaping their own assessments? How can schools give students more say in what and how they learn while still meeting mandated curriculum and testing requirements?
Submissions Due: September 2, 2008
November 25: The Brain and Reading
"Brain-based" teaching—which has made a variety of claims—has been around for more than a decade, but what are its implications for reading and the teaching of reading? As new research in neuroscience parses out how the human brain processes text, sound, and meaning to enable us to read, what are the implications of such studies for educators in the classroom? How can teachers apply the preliminary work in this field to struggling readers, whether they have learning disabilities or are unmotivated to read for other reasons?
Submissions Due: September 16, 2008
December 11: Building Positive Classrooms
New teachers entering the classroom often have the least preparation when it comes to classroom management. But do such skills have to be acquired only after years of painful on-the-job learning? What approaches should new (and experienced) teachers use to engage and direct students in a positive atmosphere that lays the groundwork for student achievement? This issue will discuss best practices for planning and organization and, more important, for fostering understanding and meeting the needs of children and teens to create positive classrooms that inspire student learning.
Submissions Due: September 30, 2008
December 23: Data, Now What?
Test scores, dropout rates, attendance numbers, opinion survey data, gap analysis, demographic statistics, performance growth—educators have access to great amounts of data. But are we learning how to use data effectively? How are schools using data to identify and communicate areas of need? To establish accountability? To identify the underlying causes of students' learning problems? To improve instruction? To make positive change?
Submissions Due: October 13, 2008
January 8: Detracking for Excellence and Equity
School districts, like Rockville Centre in New York, did away with tracking in their schools. It was a key move that, along with a lot of hard work, forced their schools to be more accountable to educate all students to their highest potential. What challenges do districts face when "detracking" their students, and how do they overcome them? How does detracking assist efforts to close the achievement gap between various racial or ethnic groups?
Submissions Due: October 24, 2008
January 22: Collaboration to Support Instruction
When teachers can rely on instructional leaders in the school for support and guidance, they can improve their classroom practice significantly. But how should such collegial relationships be structured for professional success, which means maximum influence on student learning? This issue will look at collaborative models that encourage mutual sharing of classroom practice and insight among educators with different levels of experience in an atmosphere of trust.
Submissions Due: November 11, 2008
February 5: How Teachers Learn
How do adults learn? From sharing knowledge and improving practices in teacher learning communities, to getting the most from professional development, to engaging in action research, to learning new technologies, how can teachers keep up with best practices and continue to grow as professionals? How can they deepen their content knowledge in the disciplines and reflect on their practice? What orientation, retention, and evaluation approaches promote teacher learning?
Submissions Due: November 24, 2008
February 19: An Education for the Whole Child
In 2007, ASCD called on educators, policy makers, and the wider community to broaden their understanding of what schools and society need to do to support the development of well-rounded students ready to thrive in the modern world. Educating the whole child includes not only fostering academic achievement, but also promoting physical and emotional health, offering a personalized education by qualified adults, strengthening students' engagement with school and the wider community, and preparing them for success in postsecondary study and work. This issue will explore aspects of educating the whole child through classroom, school, district, or community initiatives and curricula.
Submissions Due: December 8, 2008
March 5: Literacy 2.0
Students are more plugged in to technology than ever before—through smartphones, iPods, laptops, social networks, and electronic games. This issue will explore the role of literacy in our ever-evolving digital environment. How can we help students learn and transfer traditional literacy skills? What new literacy skills are called for, and how can students guide teachers in acquiring these key skills? How can we teach students to judge the reliability, accuracy, and quality of information? Articles will look at how wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, and portals of streaming media have affected how students read, write, speak, think, and work.
Submissions Due: December 22, 2008
March 19: Learning Beyond Boundaries
"Learning Beyond Boundaries," the theme of this year's ASCD Annual Conference, will explore how to push the envelope beyond conventional learning to challenge students to think more critically and understand content with greater depth, looking at new roles for leadership, stretching schools to ensure the success of each student, and preparing student learning to flourish in a digital world. This issue will examine classroom, school, and district innovations that signal fresh approaches to engaging learners through supporting the whole child, acting on diversity, and using technology.
Submissions Due: January 9, 2009
April 2: Supporting English Language Learners
The population of English language learners (ELLs) continues to grow, and educators face the challenge of effectively meeting the needs of these students and closing achievement gaps. What are the learning needs of this heterogeneous population, which ranges from longtime U.S. residents who have been learning English for several years to recent arrivals with limited schooling? This issue will define practices and strategies across the curriculum that have proven effective with ELLs, including ways to connect to students' families and cultures.
Submissions Due: January 19, 2009
April 16: Reading, Writing, and Learning in Different Subject Areas
Do school kids really need to pay attention to differences in how they approach learning in different subject areas? Research says that science, history, literature, and other subjects each have specialized vocabulary and tools of the knowledge trade. It becomes especially important for students to understand these differences at the secondary level. What does research say about how we learn in different subjects? What are some practical ways to apply such research in the classroom?
Submissions Due: February 5, 2009
April 30: Developing Math Lovers
Math is beautiful, say those who should know, like math professor and ASCD author Alfred S. Posamentier. It follows logically that, attracted by the natural beauty of numbers, we should all fall in love with math. How can teachers of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or advanced math lead their students to a deep understanding and appreciation of math? This issue will explore instruction that takes advantage of multimodal approaches, technology, real-world applications, and a teacher's knowledge and enthusiasm for math to get students to connect to a field that can open their minds to a new view of the world.
Submissions Due: February 19, 2009
May 14: Teaching Social Responsibility
The many challenges the world faces in the 21st century—such as global warming, social inequity, world conflict, and technological innovation—demand that schools prepare students to participate as informed, productive members of society. How can we prepare students to be responsible citizens and wisely use the freedoms their society offers? This issue will also explore programs that teach ethics and social responsibility, prepare students for active participation in the democratic process, and encourage development of character.
Submissions Due: March 2, 2009
May 28: Creativity's Crucial Role in Schools
China wants to learn from U.S. schools because its education officials believe the latter promote creativity. Do U.S. schools promote creative thinking? Do other countries do it better? Can creativity even be taught? What does creativity in schools mean, and which schools do it best? This issue will offer practical examples of how schools encourage creativity in curriculum. Examples will include writing, art, dramatic and musical arts, technology, or other subjects as drivers of the creative impulse of students and teachers.
Submissions Due: March 16, 2009
June 11: Questioning Strategies
There is an art to asking good questions and understanding the purpose for each question. How can teachers use questioning techniques to engage students, assess what they know, challenge them to go deeper into content, or strengthen their grasp of a concept by seeing it in a new light? This issue will offer strategies and techniques for asking good questions that solicit solid answers, whether written and oral, so that those students convey what they know and better understand what they still need to find out.
Submissions Due: March 30, 2009
June 25: Science on the Bleeding Edge
Considering that the space age began with the launch of Sputnik just over 50 years ago, what should a "post-space age" science curriculum look like? As students hone their 21st century skills of critical thinking, problem solving, and innovation, how are they being prepared to use them in the crucible where science, technology, society, and economics meet in the world beyond school? How are schools exploring the challenges of science and society, and are these spurring innovations in how science is being taught? What role are private and public organizations playing in improving and influencing school science to prepare students to lead and live with science and technology in the years ahead?
Submissions Due: April 14, 2009
July 9: Becoming a Master Teacher
Being the best in any field takes talent, vision, patience, and much hard work; and for those in education, it's no different. Master teachers—whether nationally board-certified, five-star rated for educator quality, or recognized by peers and community—are invited talk about what it took to reach the top. Articles will cover the role of teacher evaluations, merit pay systems, and other innovations that encourage high-quality teaching.
Submissions Due: April 28, 2009
July 23: Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom
Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner believes that all people have nine intelligences—ranging from verbal-linguistic intelligence to musical intelligence; bodily intelligence; and existential intelligence, or the capacity to tackle the deep questions of human existence and the meaning of life. How can teachers use Gardner's insights into human intelligence to help their students approach content through a variety of lenses? What kinds of lessons and learning activities can help students recognize and value their intelligences, manage their learning, or strengthen a particular intelligence that may be underused?
Submissions Due: May 11, 2009
August 6: The Transformational Media Center
The school library has been the "media center" for years now, but what kinds of media, access, and support do the best centers offer students and teachers? How do librarians or media resource experts build working relationships with teachers to benefit students? How are media specialists leading the charge to help students negotiate the new literacies they'll need to cope with the ever-growing sea of digital information?
Submissions Due: May 25, 2009
August 20: Preventing Dropouts
The high dropout rate of high school students—hovering around 50 percent in the hardest-hit urban schools—concerns educators, state officials, and the federal government. Research shows that when students feel connected to their schools, they're more likely to persevere to graduation. What can secondary schools do to ensure that students stay engaged in their learning and remain connected to their school communities despite the challenges that beset them at home, in class, or within the wider community? What can school leaders do to improve instruction and overall school culture so that students not only understand the value of education but also feel valued as people whose contributions to society will increase over time?
Submissions Due: June 9, 2009
September 3: Charter Schools: Education's New Wave
These publicly-funded schools are exempt from certain state rules and regulations but still must meet a state's accountability standards. Why do many charter schools spring up, falter, and fail miserably, while others capture national attention? What's inherently difficult about launching and maintaining a charter school? Are charter schools a cure-all for what ails public education? This issue will include stories of successful charter schools or tales about confronting current challenges at charter schools.
Submissions Due: June 23, 2009
September 17: Establishing and Managing a Differentiated Classroom
Teachers who match their instructional approaches to meet the needs and interests of every student are engaging in the practice of differentiation. It's challenging but possible, says University of Virginia professor Carol Ann Tomlinson, who has written extensively on differentiated instruction. What are the essential principles that support the differentiated classroom, and how can educators overcome the initial challenges? What strategies and tools do teachers use to make this theory a reality?
Submissions Due: July 9, 2009
October 1: Designing Effective Homework
Impassioned arguments for and against homework started early in the 20th century and continue to the present. Yet research shows that homework that's well-structured to ensure completion positively correlates with academic achievement. How does one kind of homework work better than others? How should homework for primary students differ from homework for secondary students? This issue will look at the essential elements of well-designed homework and offer tips for varying homework to address different learning needs and objectives.
Submissions Due: July 20, 2009