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ASCD Express is the association's free e-newsletter. Published two to three times a month, this resource seeks to give educators practical, actionable strategies and information from the most reputable sources—the colleagues and experts working in the education field. ASCD Express content is developed and curated for brevity and relevance to the real experiences of working educators.
ASCD Express seeks brief, practical content. Article submissions typically range from 600 to 1,000 words, and multimedia submissions should be no longer than 10 minutes. Please send submissions to express@ascd.org.
We welcome research-based submissions 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 publishing in ASCD Express. When submitting articles, please write the issue theme in the subject line of your e-mail to express@ascd.org.
As we learn more about what drives and supports students, social-emotional learning (SEL) has become a growing area of interest in K–12 education. But what does SEL look like in real-life schools? How are educators and schools integrating SEL into the curriculum, and what changes does this involve in instructional practice and support? What effect does SEL have, and how are schools measuring it?
Submissions closed
This issue extends our exploration of strategies for effective writing instruction with a focus on the connections between writing, reading, and thinking. How can schools integrate meaningful writing opportunities across the curriculum? What are the most effective ways to motivate reluctant writers and support students who struggle with writing, including English language learners and students with disabilities?
This issue will explore the rise of job-embedded, teacher-led professional development—and the challenges and opportunities it presents to schools. We’ll look at how teachers are taking professional learning into their own hands through professional learning communities (PLCs), Edcamps, microcredentialing, video study, and social media. What works in creating and supporting such practices in schools?
From Henrietta Lacks to Flint's water crisis and back, science and social justice have always gone hand in hand. Teachers can make this connection clearer, and help students find their passion for scientific inquiry, through purposeful investigations that are rooted in community problems. How do you help students see the science behind every headline and issue that matters to them? How can students find science problems that pique their interest? What are your strategies for planning purposeful STEM activities that align content, the scientific practices outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards, and relevance for your student population? How do you remove barriers to STEM access for students of color, girls, or multilingual students?
Every student deserves challenging work to grapple with. Productive struggle helps students build perseverance; metacognition about which strategies are working and which aren't; and intrinsic motivation to pursue learning, not just easy answers. Orchestrating these types of learning environments requires a keen eye for differentiation and the ability to step back and let students drive their own learning. How do you create tasks that have challenging access points for all students? How do you help students see the value in, and level up their skills for, engaging in productive struggle? How have you learned to "do less" as a teacher so that students own their learning?
Submissions due: October 1
Revisit the most liked, clicked, and shared ideas we published in 2018. We hope this collection energizes your work in the New Year.
The arts hold tremendous potential to foster students’ creativity, improve academic performance, and boost social-emotional development. This issue will explore how schools can bring visual arts, music, theater, dance, creative writing, and other arts into the content areas and use the arts to engage marginalized students.
Submissions due: October 15, 2018
Coaches are an essential lever for improvement in any field. Yet, in education, coaches are often solely assigned to new or struggling teachers. How can schools shift away from a deficit mindset toward a culture of coaching where every educator has opportunities for growth, improvement, and learning from one another? What are the essentials for establishing and sustaining a school-based coaching program? With a diversity of staff strengths and needs, how do coaches build trust and help every educator set and pursue meaningful goals—ones that are, in the words of instructional coach Jim Knight, "emotionally compelling" and relevant to educators’ everyday work?
Submissions due: November 1, 2018
How does a school become a leader in innovation—one that takes advantage of advancements in digital technology in meaningful and fully integrated ways? This issue will explore how school leaders effectively implement new technology that deepens learning and better supports teachers.
Submissions due: November 15, 2018
Every student has the right to learn in an environment that is physically and emotionally safe. Unfortunately, schools face ongoing threats to student safety, whether it’s violence, bullying, or weather-related disasters. On the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which reignited a national conversation about gun violence and safe schools, questions remain about the best prevention and recovery measures for districts that experience threats or incidents. What measures does your school or district take to keep students safe? What are the shortcomings in current approaches? How can we better involve all community stakeholders in the process to improve school climate and safety?
Submissions due: December 1, 2018
School leaders set the tone and direction for what happens in classrooms. How can they develop the skills, knowledge, and workload balance they need to understand teachers' and students' needs and effectively guide learning?
Submissions due: December 15, 2018
"I'm not a math person." If you've heard or felt this sentiment, you know how hard it can be to change a person's ingrained beliefs about their math aptitude. Past emphasis on speedy computation and rote memorization of formulas reinforced the mindset that you're either born with math skills, or you're not. But even as teachers shift away from teaching isolated math facts and toward conceptual understanding, some students remain hesitant to engage in math class. How can math teachers motivate students to believe in their potential for growth, persist with challenging problems, and embrace mistakes as part of the learning process? How do you assess without adding stress? What are your strategies for making math social and collaborative, fun and relevant to all students? What are the signs of a strong math culture and what can leaders do to support it?
Submissions due: January 15, 2019
As the nation marks the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education in 2019, this issue will examine race in America’s schools today. How can schools and educators work to fulfill the promise of Brown to dismantle segregation and inequity in education?
Submissions due: February 1
"Through others we become ourselves." Vygotsky's theory that we learn through social interaction is visible in classrooms where students successfully work together to discuss ideas, build community, and solve problems. Teachers facilitating collaboration think about student groupings, lesson design, the background skills students will need to work well with others, community norms for collaboration, technology and tools that support partner and group work, as well as how to assess collaborative efforts. This issue taps into teachers' best practices and resources for supporting student collaboration.
Submissions due: February 15
The teenage years are unique, and today’s teens face new challenges as well as opportunities. This issue will explore how schools can work smarter to keep middle and high school students healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. What do today’s teens need most, in terms of both academic and social supports?
Submissions due: March 1
Special educators are differentiation experts, masters of assessing students’ needs and building off their strengths, and fluent in communicating between home and school. How are general educators and school leaders drawing on special educators' knowledge and skills to improve teaching and learning for all students? What are the roadblocks in partnering with special educators, and how can schools improve collaboration among general and special educators? If your school uses a coteaching model, what's working and what's challenging? What can special education and general educators learn from each other?
Submissions due: March 15
The #MeToo movement has shed new light on the prevalence of gender-based harassment and violence, particularly in the workplace. As national conversations about power, patriarchy, and oppression continue to expand, there has been acknowledgement on a smaller scale (including through #MeTooK12) that schools and students are not immune to these issues. But conversations about healthy relationships and dating, gender equality, sexism, and harassment are not easy, which has led to a longstanding culture of silence. How are you and your colleagues grappling with and leading appropriate student and staff discussions about these issues? How has the #MeToo movement affected your school? How can instruction, curricula, and the broader education community pave the way for a healthier climate?
Submissions due: April 1
Are the robots really coming for students' jobs? The role of schools has long been to prepare students for life after graduation, but experts have conflicting views about the best path for schools as students face an unknown job market. Whether it's calls for specialized and cross-disciplinary skills, creative thinking, or STEM training, employers and educators are wrestling with complicated questions about career readiness. How can we make sure students live up to their full potential in the age of artificial intelligence, automation, and globalization? How must schools adjust to teach students the skills they need to develop? How can career technical education and out-of-school industry partnerships foster pathways to employment? What do you predict the future of work will look like, and how does that influence your teaching and leadership today?
Submissions due: April 15
What role should grades play in student assessment? An increasing number of educators are trying out a no-grades classroom, replacing a traditional A–F system with methods that encourage students to take charge of their learning progress. What is your preferred approach to alternative assessment? How can we fairly and accurately gauge and report students' learning without traditional grades? What are the benefits and challenges to alternative measures and reporting methods?
Submissions due: May 1
In the age of information, school libraries are central areas of learning and collaboration. But classroom libraries play an equally important role in nurturing students' love of reading, building comprehension, supporting daily instruction, and making sure students have access to diverse books. When building a personal library, where should classroom teachers across the content areas start? What are the necessary components to make sure your print and digital resources represent a range of backgrounds, interests, reading levels, and genres? What resources can educators turn to for guidance as they create and manage their own collection of books, magazines, and references? How do you design curriculum and learning experiences with your class library in mind?
Submissions due: May 15
We won't mince words: It's a tough time to enter the teaching profession. In the majority of states, more than 10 percent of teachers are in their first or second year in the classroom. They join the ranks of a profession experiencing rampant wage stagnation and pressures to meet academic benchmarks and raise standardized test scores. Support for those just starting out is more important than ever: According to the U.S. Department of Education, 17 percent of new teachers leave the classroom within five years, which takes a big toll on instruction quality and student learning. So, what are leaders doing to support the new teachers in their building? Which school-level factors help retain new teachers of color and those in specialized subjects, who leave the profession at higher rates? How can individual schools make new teachers feel valued and best identify their needs?
Submissions due: June 1
How students learn is an ever-expanding area of research and discovery. From neuroscience to social science, educators need practical examples and guidance on applying research-based practices in the classroom. What are some ways research informs your teaching or leading? How can educators and researchers form better partnerships? How can teachers leverage their own research within their school or the broader education community? In classrooms with a mix of abilities, cultures, and languages, how can research findings help teachers effectively adapt the learning environment and instruction, so that every student has the opportunity to learn? How can educators identify trustworthy and relevant research?
Submissions due: June 15
The students we teach have diverse experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. And despite political challenges to globalism, the problems and possibilities future generations face will depend on their abilities to engage productively in an increasingly interdependent world. That’s why, no matter where you live or who you teach, an integral part of a whole child approach to education involves instilling with the mindsets, knowledge, and skills to live and work as citizens of a global society. What does globally competent education look like in practice? How are you transforming curricula by applying a global lens? Which resources, from community partnerships to emerging technologies, help bring the world and global citizenship to your classroom?
Submissions due: July 15
Young people are no strangers to the online world. Many students spend much of their personal lives using digital platforms—such as Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram—to connect with one another, access information, and share thoughts and opinions. Educators, in turn, also harness social media platforms for teaching and learning. As these technologies become increasingly commonplace in the classroom, how can educators make sure students are using them safely, appropriately, and for deeper learning? How can we help students develop a professional and personal online presence? How has the power of social media changed your teaching?
Submissions due: August 15
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