Deep knowledge and a command of vocabulary about a topic can help support reading comprehension, says education journalist Natalie Wexler, citing research on the cognitive science of reading. Wexler says her research shows that the knowledge gap that exists among students could be driving gaps in reading-comprehension skills and achievement gaps overall.

Teachers can help increase student engagement in lessons by identifying the topics and interests that resonate with students, Rann Miller writes. Miller also suggests teachers can liven up content students perceive as dry by making it culturally relevant or connecting it to real-world scenarios.

Here are eight concrete ideas from principals and other experts that school leaders can use to make their evaluations and observations of teachers meaningful, actionable, and low-stress.

Moving slowly when implementing changes can help education leaders boost the success of new initiatives, writes Miriam Plotinsky, a learning and achievement specialist with Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. In this commentary, she offers guidance on how to methodically implement changes in the classroom, school and professional development.

There’s no need for funding or special training to bring these approaches and strategies into your classroom right away.

Some schools are using artificial intelligence to make predictions about how a teacher might grade students' essays. Experts say, however, that the technology can get those predictions wrong and it's possible a particular data set could be biased.

Design thinking can help deepen learning and build community. Here's a sneak peak of cognitive scientist and ASCD author Lindsay Portnoy's upcoming book on the subject.

High school math teacher and tech integrationist Stacey Roshan has found she needs to deliberately explore the classroom problem she's trying to solve before choosing tech tools.

A new survey shows that gun violence has become one of principals' biggest concerns. Are they taking the right steps to make their schools safer?

A study reveals students prefer low-effort learning strategies—like listening to lectures—despite doing better with active learning.

We asked teachers to share how they most want their principals to show appreciation for the work they do.

Thirty-nine percent of teachers need greater training to effectively use education technology, but administrators assert that tight budgets and competing priorities are preventing them from making such investments, according to a survey from Promethean. The survey also found that teachers want to use more technology in the classroom and expect the use of cloud-based lesson…