I got the feedback today that my views on schools were too confident

I will die on this hill; hold to me to it

School closure will be the absolute worst public policy decision for the generation to come

The most discriminatory, net neg & cruel

I've been serving on grad admissions committees at MIT for 5 years - in EECS and Media Lab

If you want to get into a PhD at a place like MIT, here's a thread with some advice based on my observations

1/13

1. Grades do matter, especially in courses that are important for your chosen field

2. Research matters, even more than grades

3. Publications matter, but letters of recommendation matter even more

4. Your statement of purpose should be the cherry on top of the cake

2/13

When I say grades matter, it doesn't mean that you need 100/100 or A+ in every course. It does mean that you are expected to have strong competence (close to straight A/A+/A-) in technical courses relevant to your field of interest

3/13

While grades show competence, a PhD is about research. So, the more your application demonstrates research potential, the higher your chances for acceptance. It's not about the number of papers (if any), but about the quality of research you pursue

4/13

This is why the best evaluation of research potential often comes from letters of recommendation (LoRs)

Letters shed light on technical competence, creativity, work ethic, & personal interaction. All of which are important for a successful PhD

5/13

I’ve compiled 6 tips for the move online based on @AccessTCD & @SchoolofEdTCD research. During #schoolclosures last year we surveyed 1000+ students and 700+ teachers about their experience of #onlinelearning. Although it's difficult to be back here, we have learned so much. (1/N)

1. Prioritise student & staff wellbeing. Connection before content. Everyone is dealing with different circumstances at home often unbeknownst to others. Check-in with students and colleagues. (2/N)

2. A whole-school approach is needed when moving teaching and learning online. Our research suggests that schools who used a whole school approach had higher engagement from students and higher collaboration among teachers. (3/N)

3. Research suggests providing live or recorded lessons for students is important for high student engagement. Connect with each other, students don’t want double the amount of homework, they want to learn from their enthusiastic teachers and see the face behind the screen. (4/N)

4. Teacher feedback means the world to students. It helps them to improve, motivates them to keep up engagement and strengthens student/ teacher relationships. Assign a meaningful amount of work to students that you have the time to respond to. (5/N)

1/9 - “In the second wave we acquired much more evidence that schoolchildren are almost equally, if not more infected by SARS-CoV-2 than others.”

2/9 - “The problem is not that schools are unsafe for children,” Mr. Boris Johnson said last week. “The problem is schools may nonetheless act as vectors for transmission, causing the virus to spread between households.”

3/9 - “An antibody survey conducted by researchers in Geneva in May and December, using thousands of random samples, found that children of age 6 to 18 were getting infected as often as young adults. The study has yet to be peer reviewed.”

4/9 - “One reason for this: The Swiss city’s schools have been open since the summer, while restrictions have been placed on adults, meaning schoolchildren played a bigger role in transmitting the virus during the autumn surge.”

5/9 - “In Austria, a nationwide survey by universities and medical institutes found that children under 10 showed a similar rate of infection to those between 11 and 14, and that the children in general were getting infected as often as teachers.”