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Education We've been to school. We know how education works. Right? In fact, many aspects of learning — in homes, at schools, at work and elsewhere — are evolving rapidly, along with our understanding of learning. Join us as we explore how learning happens.

Education

Sunday

Online Education Grows Up, And For Now, It's Free

Coursera founders Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller are computer science professors at Stanford University. Jeff Chiu/AP hide caption

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Jeff Chiu/AP

Online Education Grows Up, And For Now, It's Free

Top universities are embracing free online education. Dozens of schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania, are now offering classes to thousands of people across the world. But what will this mean for the future of the classroom, and the brand of the universities involved?

Online Education Grows Up, And For Now, It's Free

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Friday

New Wave Of School Integration In Birmingham, Ala.

First-grade teacher Euginia Miller reads to her class at Avondale Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala. In this crucible of the civil rights movement, the city's schools are being reintegrated, as a handful of middle-class parents ignore the school district's poor reputation and enroll their kids in the city's public schools. Dan Carsen/WBHM hide caption

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Dan Carsen/WBHM

New Wave Of School Integration In Birmingham, Ala.

WBHM

As a handful of middle-class, white families send their kids to Birmingham's public schools, where students are predominantly black and poor, the uncommon trend raises issues about diversity, integration and gentrification.

New Wave Of School Integration In Birmingham, Ala.

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Parsing Fact From Fiction In 'Won't Back Down'

Nona Alberts (Viola Davis) and Jamie Fitzpatrick (Maggie Gyllenhaal) share a triumphant moment with Nona's son Cody (Dante Brown) and Jamie's daughter Malia (Emily Alyn Lind). Kerry Hayes/20th Century Fox hide caption

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Kerry Hayes/20th Century Fox

Parsing Fact From Fiction In 'Won't Back Down'

With a star-studded cast and a catchy title, Won't Back Down tells a powerful story that champions charter schools, vilifies teachers unions and lionizes parents who organize to take over a bad school. But how much of the movie is accurate and how much is fiction?

Parsing Fact From Fiction In 'Won't Back Down'

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Thursday

Parent-Trigger Laws: A Bold Plan To Save Schools

Several states have passed what are known as parent-trigger laws, which give parents a path to make operational changes in failing schools. Education Week reporter Sean Cavanagh talks about where parent-trigger laws are in place and what we know about whether or not they are working.

Parent-Trigger Laws: A Bold Plan To Save Schools

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Healthier School Lunches May Leave Kids Hungry

In school cafeterias across the country, students are seeing big changes on their lunch trays. Responding to the growing childhood obesity epidemic, the USDA approved new rules for the federal school lunch program, the first such changes to student lunches in more than a decade.

Healthier School Lunches May Leave Kids Hungry

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Wednesday

National

'Wanna Go To The Dance?' Is SO Passe. Try YouTube

The school year's in full swing, and the pressure's on to land a date for the homecoming dance. But where a simple, subtle "ask" was once the norm, more and more teens are going to extreme lengths to make their "promposals" stand out — from elaborate videos to helicopter flyovers.

'Wanna Go To The Dance?' Is SO Passe. Try YouTube

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UC OKs $1 Million Settlement In Pepper-Spray Suit

Nov. 18, 2011: Occupy protesters get sprayed at University of California Davis. Thomas K. Fowler/AP hide caption

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Thomas K. Fowler/AP

The Two-Way

UC OKs $1 Million Settlement In Pepper-Spray Suit

Under a preliminary settlement filed in district court, the sum includes $730,000 to the named plaintiffs and others who were arrested or pepper-sprayed on Nov. 18, 2011, at the University of California, Davis. A federal judge must approve the agreement, and parties have the right to appeal.

Sunday

National

At School, Overweight Children Carry A Heavy Burden

WAMU

The number of overweight and obese children is rising. Many of those kids struggle to manage medical conditions at school, but they also face practical challenges, like frequent bathroom breaks and difficulty moving between classes. Obesity can also take a toll on kids' emotional health — and their test scores.

At School, Overweight Children Carry A Heavy Burden

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Friday

College Student Recalls High School Homelessness

John Horan was dean at the charter school where Tierra Jackson was a struggling student. Part of the reason she struggled: Jackson was homeless. StoryCorps hide caption

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StoryCorps

Opinion

StoryCorps

College Student Recalls High School Homelessness

High school was tough for Tierra Jackson. She shared a single room in a Chicago homeless shelter with six other family members, and her mom was in and out of prison. But today, the college junior says school is her ticket out.

College Student Recalls High School Homelessness

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Wednesday

FAMU Adjusts To Games Without Marching Band
Don Juan Moore/AP

National

FAMU Adjusts To Games Without Marching Band

For the first time in decades, the historically black college in Tallahassee played its first home game of the season without its famous Marching 100 band. The band was suspended for the year after drum major Robert Champion died as a result of a hazing incident last November.

FAMU Adjusts To Games Without Marching Band

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What The Chicago Strike Taught Teachers Unions

The strike in Chicago, the nation's third-largest school district, raises questions about teachers unions nationwide. Jane Hannaway, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, and Andrew Rotherham, co-founder of Bellwether Education, explain how different teachers unions work.

What The Chicago Strike Taught Teachers Unions

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Tuesday

Do Scores Go Up When Teachers Return Bonuses?

An incentive system that gave bonuses to teachers upfront, with the threat of having to give the money back if student performance didn't improve, proved effective in one study. David Franklin/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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David Franklin/iStockphoto.com

Hidden Brain

Do Scores Go Up When Teachers Return Bonuses?

How do you turn average teachers into great teachers? One unusual field experiment suggests the answer may lie in giving bonuses to teachers upfront — with a catch: They have to give back the money if student performance doesn't improve.

Do Scores Go Up When Teachers Return Bonuses?

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Monday

What 'The Influencing Machine' Teaches College Kids
W.W. Norton & Co.

Author Interviews

What 'The Influencing Machine' Teaches College Kids

Several colleges and universities have adopted a common read program, in which first-year students read the same book during the summer, then discuss it when they get to campus. Brooke Gladstone, co-host of On The Media, talks about her book, The Influencing Machine, which many freshmen read.

What 'The Influencing Machine' Teaches College Kids

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Chicago's Mayor Emanuel Asks Court To Order Teachers Back To School

Striking Chicago public school teachers outside of George Westinghouse College Prep high school earlier today. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Chicago's Mayor Emanuel Asks Court To Order Teachers Back To School

The city argues that the strike is prohibited by state law. Teachers want more time to consider a tentative contract. One of the key issues concerns an evaluation system that bases much of teachers' pay on students' standardized test scores.

Teachers' Expectations Can Influence How Students Perform

Teachers interact differently with students expected to succeed. But they can be trained to change those classroom behaviors. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Shots - Health News

Teachers' Expectations Can Influence How Students Perform

Teachers' expectations about their students' abilities affect classroom interactions in myriad ways that can impact student performance. Students expected to succeed, for example, get more time to answer questions and more specific feedback. But training aimed at changing teaching behavior can also help change expectations.

Teachers' Expectations Can Influence How Students Perform

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