Author Archives: Alex C. Pan

About Alex C. Pan

Dr. Alex C. Pan was born in Taiwan and received his master and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He is currently an associate professor at The College of New Jersey, where he teaches a broad spectrum of courses in subjects ranging from future teacher development to the impact of globalization. For over twenty years he has collaborated with public school programs and advised elementary and early childhood student teachers. He has published dozens of articles and given numerous talks and workshops on the topics of globalization, education, and technology-enhanced instruction. Most recently he has focused on teacher’s action research as well as the economic and cultural impact of globalization.

What do teachers need to know about assessment?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

Say you are coming in for an interview as a teacher candidate. I, as the hiring principal, would need to know a few things about assessment. I would want you to answer a few questions as follows: Why should teachers … Continue reading →

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Library Research Tour

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

With the convenient access to the Internet, most people don’t go to the library any more. In fact, the library can still provide great resources and tools for teachers to enhance their teaching. Today we had a library session with … Continue reading →

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How can we commit information to memory?

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

I used to have good memory power. I always believed it’s simply an effort to exercise one’s memory power. As long as you try, your memory power will be strong. Of course, repetition in drill and practice may constitute the … Continue reading →

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God in education

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

Religion is prohibited in public education. I am not either for or against religions in public arenas. However, there are a few incidences that I am not quite sure how to reason to make sense. On the American money bills, … Continue reading →

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Good hooks to induce curiosity in learning

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

How can you get your students hooked to learning, even from the very beginning? Here are a few good hook examples: New Jersey Devils: The teacher started the lesson in a totally dark room. Then there came a weird noise … Continue reading →

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Hints for student behavior modifications and class management

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

For new teachers, the most difficult challenges will be teaching an exciting and engaging lesson as well as managing class successfully. These two are closely related. If your lesson is not engaging enough, you are going to lose your audience, … Continue reading →

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Developing passion about learning

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

I had many “good” teachers who offered good advice and provided a nurturing environment for students to learn. However, I was impacted by a few different kinds of teachers, who were not too nurturing as those “good” teachers They challenged … Continue reading →

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Equality and opportunity in education

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

We had two presentations on school reforms: The first presentation is about the closing school models: close/ turnaround/ restart/ transformation. The models are highlighted in a YouTube video: “It Can Be Done: Turning Around America’s Lowest Achieving Schools (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTiAPwpmLl0) In … Continue reading →

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How are decisions made in education?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

Plenty of decisions are made in education everyday. Some of them are reasonable while others are hard to understand. Oftentimes we are wondering how they came to decisions in education. Here are some examples we have heard: Closing a program … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on drug education

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Alex C. Pan

This winter we had picked a book, entitled “Beautiful Boy” by David Sheff, as the winter reading for the entire Elementary and Early Childhood Education. The book is about the father’s perspectives on his son’s journey of drug addiction/abuse and … Continue reading →

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