geralt / Pixabay

I thought readers might, or might not, find this new regular post useful.

Each week, I highlight several sentences, with links to their sources, that I find interesting/concerning/useful.  And they may, or may not, be directly connected to education.  I may also include my own comments or related links.

This regular post will join my other regular ones on teaching ELLs, education policy, Artificial Intelligence, infographics, and Pinterest highlights, not to mention sharing of my regular Education Week posts.

Here are this week’s sentences:

Kane doesn’t find a strong correlation between states’ reading gains since 2022 and the number of science-of-reading elements they’ve incorporated. See The Best Resources For Learning About Balanced Literacy & The “Reading Wars”

So engagement may not cause a kid to learn more on Tuesday’s quiz. But it may be the reason they show up on Wednesday at all.  See The Best Posts & Articles On Student Engagement

Combining new and historical survey data stretching back to the 1990s, I find that Democratic voters have become wildly more supportive of teachers unions over the past decade. See The Best Resources For Learning Why Teachers Unions Are Important

Perhaps the most striking finding from our survey is how strongly student engagement predicts attendance. Teens who say they care “a lot” about how they do in school miss about 10 fewer days per year than peers who say they care less. See The Best Resources On Student Absenteeism

Ante-ChatGPT, more than ninety-eight per cent of all English-language articles being published on the internet were written by humans. By the fall of 2024, machines were writing around half of such articles.

“94.7 percent of kids’ books are crud.”

Janai Nelson, who as president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund argued the Callais case before the Supreme Court, told me that the court had greenlit a sort of wink-and-nod colorblindness, where majority-Black districts are automatically suspect but a legislative body can create voting maps where no Black people are elected, and as long as they do not say they are doing that for racist reasons, the Constitution is fine with that.

Like J.R.R. Tolkien’s One Ring, AI convinces many of those who use it that they can control its power properly. But can they?

“They are cementing absolute minority control because they do not represent a majority of this country. And when they — if they — get away with the heist, we will be locked out of multiracial democracy for at least a generation.”

Now, online classes are a simulacrum of education: the students pretend to learn, and I have to pretend that I am teaching them something.

People are sick of being told that these technologies are inevitable, particularly when they can see, because they have experienced, the damage they are causing (all while these technologies are generating the wild profits for a small handful of billionaires).

The core spiritual challenge now, Leo writes, is the dehumanization of human beings — by flattening their differences, reducing them to “data and performance,” turning them into means, working endlessly to perfect them.

Are they weaving those relationships together or pulling them apart?

Resort to real-time translation software and what remains is information, not expression.

“The leader knows that people are going to be more likely to be loyal if they don’t have many other career options, so when I say losers, I kind of mean it literally,” she said.

It was time that saved me.

The uncomfortable takeaway:

The loudest complaints about the next generation usually come from the people who most resemble what they’re complaining about.

Not a character flaw. Just a brain bug. But worth knowing.

— Daniel Pink (@DanielPink) May 21, 2026

The best players- in the nba or on the playground- are the ones who want to make their teammates look good https://t.co/tqB8qgiBOU

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) May 22, 2026

if I woke up to a pony playing a keyboard after surgery I would assume I passed away https://t.co/UPqFvQV2aP

— 𝓔𝓿𝓪𝓷 (@Baltlol) May 21, 2026

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— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) May 23, 2026

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 24, 2026 at 12:27 PM

Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here.

You can also see all my “Best” lists on instructional strategies here.

Here are this week’s picks:

Free Decodable Texts for Each Phonics Skill is from Reading Universe. I’m adding it to The Best Articles & Sites For Teachers & Students To Learn About Phonics.

Mind maps are powerful, but students often fall into six common traps that weaken their impact. 🧠 Read more ⬇️https://t.co/fnLbcs7mbr pic.twitter.com/gBfIvMGyAb

— InnerDrive (@Inner_Drive) November 16, 2025

Introduce yourself with five animals you have seen in the wild:
(fun prompt!)

buffalo
scarlet tanager
alligator
harbor seal
piebald deer

Could this be a writing prompt for students? I find each of these animal experiences sparks a specific story in my mind.

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— Brett Vogelsinger (@thevogelman.bsky.social) November 28, 2025 at 7:27 AM

Standards-aligned, Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Open Educational Resources (OER) for New Mexico contains some decent resources.

Cold Calling is from DistillED.

3 Ways to Prime Students’ Brains for Achievement is from Edutopia.

6 Ways to Maximize Turn and Talk is from Edutopia.

The Claims of Close Reading appeared in The Boston Review. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Close Reading” — Help Me Find More.

I’m adding this tweet to The Best Posts & Articles About Asking Good Questions — Help Me Find More:

Not all questions are created equal. A good question has purpose, clarity, and sparks deeper thinking.https://t.co/kv31Y4WUAK pic.twitter.com/MqvmVAWAov

— MindShift (@MindShiftKQED) November 22, 2025

Eight years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention.

You might also be interested in all my Best lists on teaching ELLs.

Also, check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners.

In addition, look for our latest book on teaching ELLs, The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox 2.0.

Here are this week’s choices:

One Simple Shift is from Helping Multilinguals Thrive.

ELL students can watch these videos and then talk/write about what they saw:

Adapting Gradual Release of Responsibility for English Language Learners is from Edutopia.

Tic Tac Toe Writing Challenge, Cristina’s Style is from Blog de Cristina.

.@irina_mcgrath and I are big fans of @NotebookLM. Are you using it to support your #MultilingualLearners?
🔗https://t.co/dLnwUW1VZG pic.twitter.com/iSQ5Cb5slO

— 🌍 Dr. Michelle Shory 💻 (@michelleshory) November 4, 2025

I’m adding this tweet to The Best Resources For Learning About Total Physical Response (TPR):

Three cheers for TPR! Teachers of #MLs, @ColorinColorado‘s primer on #TotalPhysicalResponse is gold. https://t.co/AFRE8sJvZJ

— Seidlitz Education (@Seidlitz_Ed) November 5, 2025

Literacy and Multilingual Learners is a useful Padlet from Valentina Gonzalez.

Persuading the Peculiar: a Speaking Game is from On the Same Page.

Assessing multilingual learners: How to make informed decisions about home language testing is from Teach Learn Grow.

Developing Reading Fluency in the MFL Classroom: What Cutting-Edge Research Tells Us and Implications for GCSE exam preparation is from The Language Gym.

Employing AI in ESL Classrooms: Assumptions, Development, and the Use of AI-Integrated Writing Tasks shares a study using something like I did in the classroom – having students use AI to create and refine videos to develop their writing skills.

Cool History Games is a nice collection of ad-free games students can play with no registration required.

They would be easy to play by projecting them on the front classroom whiteboard and have students divided into groups with mini-whiteboards. Then, just keep track of points.

Then you’ve got a nice way to end class on a Friday!

Ten years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “Ed Tech Digest” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps.

You might also be interested in checking out all my edtech resources.

Here are this week’s choices:

FlashDrop lets you share large files for free.  I’m adding it to THE BEST TOOLS FOR SENDING LARGE FILES.

Mock Social lets you create fake text chats. I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Creating Fake “Stuff” For Learning.

Forty News tells you about major events that took place on each day forty years ago. I’m adding it to The Best “Today In History” Sites.

This is from Recommendo:

MyTaxReceipt shows you a breakdown of how your U.S. federal taxes get spent — enter your Zip code and the amount you paid in Federal taxes (or you can use the default average for your Zip code). It generates a receipt-style summary showing what portion goes to defense, healthcare, interest on debt, and dozens of other categories. It’s eye-opening to see actual dollar amounts. The site also lets you message Congress about your spending priorities with one click. 

I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Taxes.

DeskCap is a free screen recorder. I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Making Screencasts.

I have posted regularly over the years about different goal-setting strategies I used with my students (see Best Posts On Students Setting Goals).

I never did find one that worked very well.

Recently, I read a NY Times piece on “Vision Boards” – I was skeptical of vision boards. A WNBA Hall of Famer changed my mind.

If I was still in the classroom, I’d probably give it a try.  Here are some resources, in addition to the Times article:

Here’s a lesson plan on creating one digitally, along with this one, Student-Created Vision Boards with Google Slides.

Vision Board Ideas for Students: Turning Goals and Dreams Into Reality is from K12.

Vision Board for Goal Setting is from OTAN.

60 Seconds Knowledge seems like it could be a pretty useful YouTube channel for educators.

They create short videos providing the answers to intriguing questions.

I could see teachers showing them followed by a short writing prompt.

For example, students could be shown this video and asked to write about times in their own lives and in other points in history where people won the battle but lost the war, and reflect on why that might have happened:

I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see older Best Posts of the Month at Websites Of The Month (more recent lists can be found here).

You can also see my all-time favorites here. I’ve also been doing “A Look Back” series reviewing old favorites, too.

Here are some of the posts I personally think are the best, and most helpful, ones I’ve written during this past month (not in any order of preference) – also note that I group many updates on the Trump administration’s current attack on education and democracy in weekly posts you can find here):

Google Translate’s “Practice” Feature Finally Makes Itself A Useful Tool For Language Learning – It Now Assesses Your Pronunciation!

Inductive Teaching Has Always Been An Effective Strategy, Perhaps Even More So In The AI Era

UCLA Unveils Free Online Multimedia High School Textbook About Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders

No Sh_T Sherlock, Another Study Finds That Just Because Your Students Do Well At Advantaged School Doesn’t Mean You’ll Have The Same Success At A Low-Income One

Yes, A Big Study Came Out Today Highlighting Plummeting Test Scores But, No, I Don’t Think It Tells The Whole Story

Yet Another Study Finds Reasons To Be Very Cautious When Using Value Added Measurements To Evaluate Teachers

Google Unveils A Hub Of Tons Of Resources Related To The 250th Anniversary Of The U.S.

More Research Shows What Most Educators Know: Teachers Get Better As They Gain More Experience

The “Birth Lottery” Shows Your Possible Life Trajectory If You Were Born In A Different Country

I Like This Ideas Of Language “Upgrading” Instead Of Language “Correction”

A Key Issue Often Overlooked In Efforts To Reduce Use Of Laptops In Class – It’s Going To Make More Work For Teachers

Study Identified A Long Overlooked Aspect Of Student Achievement – The Impact Of Student Mobility

I’m Not Sure Show How Important It Is To Use This Strategy In Teacher Credentialing Classes, But It’s A “Must-Do” When Working In Class With Student Teachers

What I Do As A Volunteer Tutor In Our County’s Juvenile Facility

“Twin Pics” Looks Like A Good Classroom Game To Support ELL Writing

Check Out The “Open FactBook”

The NY Times Tiny Memoir Contest Is The BEST – & You Can Use Their Materials & Models Anytime Of The Year

“Storybuilder” Is An Easy Tool For Creating “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories

“How to Use Artificial Intelligence With English Learners—According to Teachers”

“12 Ways Administrators Can Support Teachers”

“To Teach (and Reach) English Learners, Center Their Identity”

One of the best methods is to make student thinking visible.

Here are some excerpts:

geralt / Pixabay

At least, for now, I’m going to make this a weekly feature which will highlight additions to THE BEST NEW – & FREE – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS THAT COULD BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM:

Loqui and Lingually AI are both new language-learning tools.

SPIQ lets you speak about anything, and then provides feedback on how you can say it better.

Questas lets you use AI to create a choose-your-own-adventure text/video/image story. It’s not free, but it looks neat. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories.

Books.sv offers AI-generated book recommendations. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Get Blog, Website, , Book, Movie, & Music Recommendations.

I believe AI can be very useful for English Language Learners, but I’m not convinced that the strategy illustrated in this video really provides a valued-added benefit to them over pen & paper.I think it’s much more useful for speaking applications. What do u think? www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7te…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) November 13, 2025 at 6:30 PM

What is Pangram and How Can Teachers Use The AI Detection Tool? is from Tech & Learning.

Another reason: I don’t think we really know what we’re doing when it comes to teaching automation-assisted document production. See this piece from Justin Reich. www.chronicle.com/article/stop…

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— John Warner (@biblioracle.bsky.social) November 17, 2025 at 12:58 PM

How does AI affect how we learn? A cognitive psychologist explains why you learn when the work is hard is from The Conversation.

Genaraera and Infografa both use AI to create infographics, though they’re not free. I’m adding them to The Best AI Tools For Creating Visuals & Infographics.

Yes. I get so many emails from vendors selling roughly the same AI tool for teachers with a subtly different wrapper.

They don’t like it when I mention not wanting to pay for moderately well-written prompts, and they get flummoxed when I mention our open-source project.
psd401.ai/aistudio

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— James Cantonwine (@jcantonw.bsky.social) November 19, 2025 at 10:27 AM

FinnPetersenSH / Pixabay

Education Week ran an article by a professor in a teacher credentialing program titled I Adapted a Hospital Practice for Teacher Prep. It Was Transformative.

In it, she describes how she models instructional strategies when teaching her classes, and then provides time for her students to “huddle” and identify which strategies she used.

That sounds okay, though I can think of a bunch of other more important ways to improve credentialing programs, like getting active K-12 educators to teach them and have university professors actually spend time in K-12 classrooms teaching.

However, her idea is a “must use” strategy by collaborating teachers to use with their student teachers.  It’s one that I used for twenty years with all my student teachers, and I assume a zillion other teachers do the same.

Especially during the first months I had a student teacher, everyday I asked them to note what “teacher moves” I used during the class.  At the end of the class, I asked them to share what they saw (how I did student grouping, how I handled a student conflict, etc.), reviewed them quickly and added the ones they missed.

My student teachers, and I had at least fifteen of them during my career, all told me they found this process invaluable.

I’m adding this info to The Best Advice For Student Teachers & Their Collaborating Teachers.

I’ve begun this weekly post where I’ll be sharing resources I’m adding to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources or other related “Best” lists.

Also, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources.

Here are this week’s picks:

I was benched in the NFL. It taught me three valuable lessons is from The NY Times.

Arsenal’s ‘Make it happen’ scarves and what they say about Mikel Arteta and psychology is also from The NY Times.

Lack of Motivation is from The Talent Lab. I’m adding it to Best Posts On “Motivating” Students.

Intrinsic Vs Extrinsic is from Evidence Snacks. I’m adding it to the same list.

The Success Loop is also from Evidence Snacks. I’m adding it to the same list.

When Autonomy Works and When It Doesn’t: Why TIMSS and Motivation Studies Seem to Disagree is from Experience To Meaning.  I’m adding it to the same list.

Our Favorite Management Tips About Showing Gratitude at Work is from The Harvard Business Review, and its recommendations can certainly be applied to school. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Gratitude”

padrinan / Pixabay

You will find more infographics at Statista

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay

I’ve previously posted about some sites/tools I’ve been using with toddler grandkids:

I’ve written and created lots of hardcopy books for them (see  “BookBildr” Lets You Easily Create PDF & Paper Children’s Books – Do You Know Of Other Similar Tools?).

And every week we do online video conferences  (they live far away from us) where we read books together – Readeo is our favorite (see The Best Tools For Reading With Children From A Distance).  We’ve also used this one: “My Story Steps” Has Potential For Long-Distance Grandparents Like Me

When they’re visiting, we mostly do reading and learning with hardcopy books and toys, but sometimes, for a change of pace, we do something online for very limited periods.  On my desktop, we might go to PBS Kids or Turtle Diary.

I have a couple of apps on my phone that we sometimes use:

Khan Academy Kids

I’ve just downloaded Poio, but haven’t tried it out with the kids yet.

Let me know if you have other suggestions.

I’ve previously shared How I’m Using AI Art Generation To Teach English To Newcomers, and the Twin Pics game sort of builds on that kind of instructional strategy.

First off, it’s free for teachers to create virtual classrooms and free for students to play!

In it, students are shown an AI-generated image (teachers can create an already-created one or make a new one) and compete to see who can write a prompt that will create an images closest to the one shown.

I’m adding this info to:

THE BEST RESOURCES FOR TEACHING & LEARNING WITH AI ART GENERATION TOOLS

The Best Websites For Creating Online Learning Games

THE BEST USES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN LEARNING GAMES

THE BEST POSTS ABOUT USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH ELLS

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay

The United Nations has declared May 31st to be World No-Tobacco Day.

You might be interested in The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About The Dangers Of Smoking.

Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here):

I’m adding this post to The Best Resources On Recent Trump Administration Moves On ELL Policies:

As Trump Demands English-Only, He Guts Federal Support for English Learners www.the74million.org/article/as-t… Another great piece by @conorpwilliams.bsky.social

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 10:11 AM

Education Secretary Linda McMahon: “The Education Department will have to be voted on by Congress to close, but we are on the right path to do that”

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 18, 2026 at 6:06 AM

Over 100,000 Family Separations in Deportation Push, Report Estimates www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 5:04 AM

Former assistant principal in Virginia set for trial 3 years after 6-year-old student shot teacher
apnews.com/article/newp…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM

I think the administration at the school started by John Dewey needs to read a little “Democracy and Education” before they decide to implement a teacher neutrality rule in their school. They seem to completely misunderstand Dewey’s view of inquiry (and what is for). 😉 www.wbez.org/education/20…

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— Christopher Martell (@chrismartell.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 6:22 AM

Nearly half of teens are losing critical sleep to phone use after midnight www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/20…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 4:02 AM

Arizona college skips several graduates after an AI malfunction at commencement www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 4:47 PM

Longest-serving D.C. schools chancellor to leave for education nonprofit www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 4:44 PM

An assistant principal at a Virginia elementary school shook off repeated warnings that a 6-year-old student had a gun that was later used to shoot his teacher, a prosecutor says.

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— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) May 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM

It’s pretty remarkable how quickly i-Ready has become public enemy #1 in the ed-tech backlash. It’s also remarkable how quickly their product has spread in schools. The company says one in three (!) students use it

bsky.app/profile/lily…

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— Matt Barnum (@mattbarnum.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 6:24 AM

Slain mosque security guard had warned teachers to lock doors, imam says www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 7:32 AM

My high school math teacher was the first person who helped me realize I liked math and was pretty good at it. That’s what public schools do. But Trump’s voucher program will drain them of the resources they need. I’m fighting for every kid to have what I had. pic.twitter.com/VHghMBZ9Eh

— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) May 20, 2026

I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning Why Teachers Unions Are Important:

“Combining new and historical survey data stretching back to the 1990s, I find that Democratic voters have become wildly more supportive of teachers unions over the past decade.” ———How Democrats Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Teachers Unions www.the74million.org/article/how-…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 11:26 AM

Following the shooting at a San Diego mosque, a teacher’s assistant who was in the classroom with students reflects on how they responded in the moment and the bravery they showed.

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— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) May 21, 2026 at 3:40 AM

The Education Department is hiring — while it’s being dismantled www.npr.org/2026/05/21/n…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 5:18 AM

Tom Kane has tracked years of U.S. test scores. Here’s what he’s learned — and still can’t explain. is from Chalkbeat.

To solve chronic absenteeism, let’s make school a place where students really want to be is from The Hechinger Report. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Student Absenteeism.

A Deep Exploration of Chronic Absenteeism is from USC. I’m adding it to the same list.

In education, everyone thinks they’re an expert because they attended school for at least twelve years https://t.co/wkVASsg9yT

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) May 22, 2026

Reminds me of most school district ‘new initiatives’ that come from the central office https://t.co/rJXicTB43W

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) May 22, 2026

Meta Settles a School District’s Social Media Addiction Lawsuit www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/t…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:52 AM

Social media companies including Meta have settled the first of many lawsuits brought by hundreds of school districts seeking compensation for costs they say they incurred dealing with harms to children’s mental health from social media addiction.

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— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) May 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM

How One State’s Efforts to Limit Undocumented Students’ Rights Failed Again www.edweek.org/policy-polit…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 1:30 PM

Sacramento City Unified schools are losing students. See the trend at your neighborhood school

It’s not just redistricting, state Republicans are also taking over the MEMPHIS school board.

Here are @GovBillLee’s MEMPHIS school board takeover appointees: www.actionnews5.com/2026/05/23/g…

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 10:49 AM

Disgusting www.haaretz.com/israel-news/…

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— Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 (@rweingarten.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 9:02 AM

Trump Administration Offers Conflicting Views of Civil Rights Cuts to Education Dept. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 4:58 PM

Education technology vendors have long promised to optimize student learning and eliminate the busywork of teaching, but a growing cohort of parents is seeing through the industry’s gauzy promises. https://t.co/wK1GGtbAL4

— Jacobin (@jacobin) May 24, 2026

English Learners Need More Federal Support to Succeed, Not Less is from New America. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Recent Trump Administration Moves On ELL Policies.

Introduction to Plyler v. Doe is from Bellwether. I’m adding it to THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE PLYLER DECISION NOW THAT RIGHT-WINGERS ARE PLANNING A PUSH TO MAKE MIGRANT CHILDREN PAY TO ATTEND SCHOOL.

Why Curricular Changes Are often Confused with School Reform is from Larry Cuban.

Mohamed_hassan / Pixabay

I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature.

You can see all my “Best” lists related to education research here.

Here are some new useful studies (and related resources):

I’m adding The Four-Hour Grading Scale: Motivation, Self-Determination, and Academic Achievement in Raising Graduation Rates to  Best Posts On “Motivating” Students.

Emotional Intelligence and Language Learning Performance of ESL Learners: Mediating Effects of L2 Grit and L2 Motivation

I’m adding The Handbook of Translanguaging to THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT TRANSLANGUAGING.

Did you know recruitment and retention of #SpecialEducation teachers varies widely by school contexts, including by poverty level, enrollment demographics, and location?

🔎Explore more with our data visualizer: sparccenter.org/data-explore…

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— SPARC Center (@sparccenter.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 10:39 AM

I’m adding The Effectiveness of Interactive Jigsaw on Students’ Reading Ability and Motivation to THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE JIGSAW INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY.

Active language learning strategies in Chinese university English education: Effects on proficiency, motivation, and teacher engagement

Teachers’ Experiences Using Scaffolding Strategy on Spanish-Speaking Latino English Language Learners (ELL) to Increase Academic Performance

You may remember that earlier this year the CIA stopped updating and publishing its World FactBook that provided info on all the countries in the world (see CIA ends publication of its popular World Factbook reference tool).

Now, an organization has created the OpenFactBook as its successor:

OpenFactBook provides free, comprehensive, and accurate information about every country in the world. We believe geographic and demographic data should be accessible to everyone—students, researchers, journalists, developers, and curious minds alike.

I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries.

Register here!