Links to Interesting Education Articles

There is so much information posted to the Web that it is often difficult to get a handle on even a fraction of it. As this information relates to education, there is more to be found than a humble worker bee (read: me) has the time to explore. With that in mind, let me provide some links to interesting articles I have read in the recent past.

- First up is a New York Times article (registration may be required) on an institutional focus at Harvard University on teaching in the classroom. It is not well known among many propsective college students that not all teaching at colleges and universities is created equal. In fact, teaching at many of the largest research universities (e.g. University of California, Harvard, University of Texas) can be spotty. Professors at these institutions are rewarded for doing research and publishing their findings, not necessarily for teaching. There are many wonderful and dedicated teachers at these institutions. However, it is important to note the orientation of the insitution, which can be different than what one might find at what are seen as traditionally teaching insitutions (e.g. California State University. Amherst, and other small liberal arts institutions).

- A recent article at Inside Higher Ed examines the way in which ranking systems, specifically, US News and World Report, may be miscategorizing colleges and universities. These miscategorized instutitions then get compared to their peer institutions. For example, certain universities get categorized as National Doctoral institutions, but in fact, draw most of thier students from a regional or local area. Is it fair or even informative to students and parents to compare such a regional doctoral institution to one that draws its students from throughout the US, or one that is twice as large?

If readers run across an interesting story related to education, college admissions, or any of the other topics covered in this blog, please post it to the comments section.

Have a great weekend!