News & Issues

College freshmen, alcohol, and changes in eating behavior

By Paul Katula •
Tackling the eating woes of college freshmen is not easy, especially given the facts that many increase alcohol consumption and that dorm rooms aren't exactly compatible with good food preparation techniques.

Maryland 3rd-graders at a crime scene camp

By Paul Katula •
Students in Maryland attended a crime scene camp last month, and from this we can see why juries have noticed a "CSI Effect" and why students learn by participating in activities that put information into a context of something that's important to them.

Teachers build robots at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium

By Paul Katula •
Teachers in Freeport, Ill., joined others from across the state at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago to build a talented robot. This robot could even pick up trash around a shipwreck in Lake Michigan. Great learning experience.

Bilingual education gets a boost in Illinois

By Paul Katula •
A new Illinois law, signed by the governor yesterday, which is about 20 years overdue, will try to improve the quality of bilingual education in the state's schools by involving parents in the process. We have high hopes for the new law and hope that detractors of good bilingual education won't tear it down too much.

No evidence of widespread cheating in D.C. schools

By Paul Katula •
A report by a special investigator in Washington DC has found no evidence of widespread cheating on the district's standardized tests in 2010, but suspicions about one teacher held up. We have a few insights on the cheating scandals going around.