Month: July 2018


Peer Tutoring and Gifted Learners – Applying a Critical Thinking Lens

July 31, 2018

“Each year, I have the opportunity to work with preservice teachers to provide a little bit of information for them about gifted education. During that workshop, someone always brings up the idea that one great way to work with advanced learners – particularly the teacher pleasers and ‘fast finishers’ among them – is to have them help the other kids with their work. These developing professionals, along with some of the practicing teachers with whom they work, are secure in their belief that this approach is a win for everyone. Students are kept busy, the struggling student has individual support, and surely the gifted learner will benefit because “we all learn something better when we have to teach it to others,” writes Catherine Little, a professor of educational psychology at UConn’s Neag School of Education.


Teacher Who Led Windrose Program Leaves Greenwich for Fairfield Job

July 29, 2018

The interim administrator who helped to launch the Windrose Program is leaving the Greenwich Public Schools after accepting a position as Pequot housemaster at Fairfield Warde High School. Brian T. Keating was named the interim program administrator after participating in the Alternative High School Design Team during the 2016-17 school year to develop the Windrose Program. He joined Greenwich High School in 2001 as an English teacher with the GHS Community Learning Program and served as Clark House assistant dean.




School Psychologists: In a Class of Their Own

July 24, 2018

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), school psychology has “…evolved as a specialty area with core knowledge rooted in psychology and education.” Graduate students who choose to become school psychologists have two certification options, according to Sandra M. Chafouleas, Ph.D.


Pupils In class using digital tablets. Source: Thinkstock

Issue Brief: The Impact of Undocumented Status on Children’s Learning

July 23, 2018

Undocumented children and families face unique challenges that can affect their schooling experience and require the attention and care of educators. Chelsea Connery ’13 (ED), ’14 MA, a former public school teacher and now a Neag School doctoral student in the Learning, Leadership, and Education Policy program, prepared the following issue brief — in affiliation with the Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) — about the impact of undocumented status on children’s learning. 



The Psychology of Creativity, Prof. James C. Kaufman, Ph.D.

July 17, 2018

Professor, doctor, expert on creativity, whatever you call him, James C. Kaufman, Ph.D., knows the subject of creativity about as well as anyone. As a psychologist, Dr. Kaufman has been studying and writing about creativity for many years, and is currently a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut.


Dealing with Creative Block? A Deck of Cards Might Help

July 12, 2018

James C. Kaufman, a psychologist whose research focuses on creativity, hypothesizes that the power of tarot cards to jumpstart creativity lies in their ability to stimulate “associational thinking.” That’s what happens when the brain tries to synthesize multiple distinct inputs, forming associations between ideas that, at first, seem unrelated.


What Podcasts Can Teach Us About Teaching

July 12, 2018

Podcasts often succeed because they convey authenticity and use vulnerability to create a sense of intimacy with the listener. They also find ways to make sometimes-abstract concepts feel relevant, often by using storytelling techniques. There’s a hook in the beginning, usually the story of a person. “It builds empathy and humanity,” say Kristi Kaeppel, a graduate assistant in the department of educational leadership at UConn.