Michael Zwaagstra is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre and public high school teacher. He received his Bachelor of Education and Master of Education from the University of Manitoba and Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty University in Virginia. He is the author of A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning, and co-author of What’s Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them. He is a frequent author of education policy research and newspaper columns across Canada. His research mainly focuses on curricula, teaching instruction and public education. Michael’s research and commentary have been featured in radio, television and newspapers across the country. Michael lives with his wife and children in Steinbach, Manitoba.
“Sign here please.” Anyone who has ever accepted a UPS delivery, signed a permission slip for a school field trip, or filled out a legal document has likely seen this phrase. Although it takes only a few seconds to sign a document, our handwritten signature means that...
Finally, provincial governments are loosening public health restrictions. Based on what many health officials are saying, there’s a good chance that our country will be largely free of these restrictions by spring. This is happening not a moment too soon, particularly...
Finally, schools across Canada are starting to reopen. Most provinces had switched to remote learning at the beginning of January to assess the impact of the Omicron variant. But now, thankfully, these remote learning sessions are coming to an end. Students in British...
I learned a lot about Canadian history when I was an elementary school student. However, it had little to do with what happened during class. Rather, I came across an old Canadian history textbook in our school library and started reading it on my own time. What...
The cost of actually building a house does not vary that much across Canada The Ford government’s plan to expand the land supply available for housing has evoked the usual dog whistles about “urban sprawl” by interests apparently unaware of the strong...
Reading is the most important skill taught in school. If students don’t learn how to read, not much else that happens there is going to matter. That’s because being able to read is important in virtually every job. Without the ability to read, life itself will be a...
Education researcher Michael Zwaagstra is in Saskatchewan this week speaking on why what he calls “traditional” instruction of students is a good way to improve learning. What is traditional instruction? Michael Zwaagstra, public high school teacher, education...
Education researcher Michael Zwaagstra is in Saskatchewan this week speaking on why what he calls “traditional” instruction of students is a good way to improve learning. What is traditional instruction? Michael Zwaagstra, public high school teacher, education...
Many progressive educators believe that handwriting is obsolete in the 21st century. It isn’t hard to see how they came to this conclusion. Computers are everywhere and an increasing number of schools expect students, even those in Grade 1, to do their work on...
Many progressive educators believe that handwriting is obsolete in the 21st century. It isn’t hard to see how they came to this conclusion. Computers are everywhere and an increasing number of schools expect students, even those in grade 1, to do their work on...
Michael Zwaagstra is interviewed by Peter Watt on Alberta Morning news about no-zero policies.
Imagine that you are a fly on the wall in a faculty of education classroom or in a teachers’ professional development session. What would you hear? Chances are that you would hear about the need for teachers to establish a student-centred classroom environment in...
The results of Manitoba students on the latest Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) tests are, to say the least, very disappointing. Over the last fifteen years, the reading, math, and science scores have declined from near the Canadian average to the bottom...
Why are we last? It's a question many people are asking after test results showing Manitoba students are getting the lowest grades in the country in math, science and reading. Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher and policy researcher with the Frontier Centre...
The Alberta Teachers’ Association has correctly identified a problem but in doing so it has missed the bigger picture. The ATA is worried about administering the province’s new Student Learning Assessments (SLA) for Grade 3 students. They say that teachers do not have...