Research and Findings launches the new year with a grab-bag of offerings, from checking predictions for educational technology in 2020 as envisioned five years ago, to helping students develop a global mindset, to busting LGBTQ myths in schools.

• 5 Big Ways Education Will Change By 2020 – Your challenge, if you choose to accept it: To evaluate their accuracy based on your experiences to date, review Fastcompany’s year 2015 predictions for 2020, proffered by industrial leaders in educational technology. For example, how has the following quote played out in your experience? “For schools of all types, content or curriculum will not be the core differentiator, but rather they will be judged on how well they coordinate complex offerings into a useful package for their students and graduates.”
• Worldwide Study Rates Best School Techniques for Boosting Global Mindset in Young Canadians – The OECD has concluded that students need to learn more about thriving in our diverse world. The OECD’s  Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has produced a “global competence” test, focused on measuring whether students are sufficiently “open to diversity, concerned for others elsewhere in the world, respectful of other cultures, and able to understand others’ perspectives.” According to chief researcher, Dr. Christina Hinton, “Students will need global competence to engage in international collaborations in fields such as science, health, and technology, navigate an internationally interdependent economic and political landscape, and tackle global issues like climate change.”
• 5 Common Myths about LGBTQ2 Youth in Schools – The CEA’s Edcan website features a concise infographic that dispels the five most common myths about LGBTQ youth in schools. For example, “Being LGBTQ is an identity–not a choice, lifestyle or phase you grow out of,” and “You can’t tell who LGBTQ youth are by simply looking at or listening to them.”
• The Case For Fido In The Classroom – We’ve seen the use of dogs to help victims of PTSD and to comfort people in hospitals and seniors’ homes. No surprise, then, that dogs are making their way into classrooms. Writing for Teachmag, Alex Newman says that there are good arguments for having them there, but, he cautions, “Although having a dog in class is gaining currency, schools are under no obligation to accept them.” According to teacher, Margaret Marsh, dogs can be particularly helpful with autistic students: “Autistic children tend to be runners and a dog prevents that, and that in turn prevents a lot of class disruption. The dog’s job is to stay with the child, so [the] teacher can concentrate on teaching and that can bring calmness into the class.”
• A Little Less Stress for Alberta Students Writing Final Exams – Study Magazine reports that Alberta school boards have thrown their support behind a proposal to reduce the percentage of a grade attributable to an exam, so as to alleviate stress for senior high school students. The Alberta Teachers Association agrees. In the words of its president, Frank Bruseker: “It will motivate the students to work harder and really get into their studies. That, in turn, should help them to improve their mark on the final exam.”
• 5^TH Canadian Conference on Advances in Education, Teaching & Technology 2020 –  As you plan your professional development schedule for 2020, consider the Fifth Canadian Conference on Advances in Education, Teaching & Technology, in Toronto this summer. According to its blurb, “Catch up with Education specialists, Expert  Teachers and Technologists  at one platform and make new contacts, build working relationship to reach the next level.”

For other Research and Findings topics, please go to: http://classroomedition.ca/research-findings/