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npr Ed We've been to school. We know how education works. Right? In fact, many aspects of learning — in homes, at schools, at work and elsewhere — are evolving rapidly, along with our understanding of learning. Join us as we explore how learning happens.

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HOW LEARNING HAPPENS

Friday

The Plan To Give Pell Grants To Prisoners

Education Secretary Arne Duncan (second from left) speaks with inmate Terrell Johnson, a participant in the Goucher College Prison Education Partnership. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

Higher Ed

The Plan To Give Pell Grants To Prisoners

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The Obama administration unveiled a pilot program Friday morning that will once again give some prisoners access to Pell Grants, a form of federal student aid.

The Plan To Give Pell Grants To Prisoners

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The Play's The Thing — High School Productions Down The Decades
LA Johnson/NPR

K-12

The Play's The Thing — High School Productions Down The Decades

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Bob Mondello looks at the most-produced shows at high schools through seven decades and ponders what the choices made by drama teachers tell us.

The Play's The Thing — High School Productions Down The Decades

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Thursday

Pell Grants For Prisoners: An Old Argument Revisited

President Obama is the first sitting president to visit a federal prison. Kevin Lamarque/Landov hide caption

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Kevin Lamarque/Landov

Higher Ed

Pell Grants For Prisoners: An Old Argument Revisited

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The Obama administration is expected to announce a new program Friday that would once again allow some prisoners access to federal college funding.

Pell Grants For Prisoners: An Old Argument Revisited

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Wednesday

Teaching Students To Use Their Noodles

High school students in the Johns Hopkins University summer program, Engineering Innovation, compete in an annual spaghetti bridge-building competition. Above: The A'hunna Key-Lows push their bridge to the limit. Below: The Key-Lows' winning bridge shatters — but only after holding 53 pounds. Lydia Thompson/NPR hide caption

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Lydia Thompson/NPR

Learning & Tech

Teaching Students To Use Their Noodles

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A summer program at Johns Hopkins University puts high schoolers' ingenuity to the test — building bridges out of nothing but spaghetti and glue.

Teaching Students To Use Their Noodles

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Tuesday

The Struggle To Breathe Life Back Into Empty Schools

Eliot Elementary in St. Louis, Mo., closed 10 years ago. The building remains empty. Tim Lloyd/ St. Louis Public Radio hide caption

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Tim Lloyd/ St. Louis Public Radio

NPR Ed

The Struggle To Breathe Life Back Into Empty Schools

St. Louis Public Radio

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As urban schools across the country continue to lose students, the question districts like St. Louis face is: What to do with all of those empty buildings?

The Struggle To Breathe Life Back Into Empty Schools

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The 'Swim Whisperer' Teaches Kids To Be Water-Safe

Cooper is known as the Swim Whisperer. He's been teaching swimming full-time since 1995. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption

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Elissa Nadworny/NPR

50 Great Teachers

The 'Swim Whisperer' Teaches Kids To Be Water-Safe

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For 20 years, Conrad Cooper has been helping children in Los Angeles learn to swim by earning his young students' unwavering trust.

The 'Swim Whisperer' Teaches Kids To Be Water-Safe

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Monday

Saturday

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

The Test That Can Look Into A Child's (Reading) Future
LA Johnson/NPR

Learning & Tech

The Test That Can Look Into A Child's (Reading) Future

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Researchers say they've come up with a 30-minute test that can predict a child's language skill and diagnose learning disabilities.

The Test That Can Look Into A Child's (Reading) Future

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Friday

Stop Picking On No Child Left Behind (Says One Of Its Parents)

Sandy Kress (right) an attorney from Dallas, listens to Texas Education Agency general counsel David Anderson in 2004. Kress was the chief education consultant to the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind initiative. Harry Cabluck/AP hide caption

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Harry Cabluck/AP

NPR Ed

Stop Picking On No Child Left Behind (Says One Of Its Parents)

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The Senate may have voted to replace NCLB, but one of the old law's chief architects argues that much of it should stay just the way it is.

Thursday