I was a substitute teacher for a while a few years back. Most schools relied on tablets in the classroom, however one I taught at still utilized text books. Comparing 4th graders, the book oriented 4th graders were light years ahead of the tablet kids in reading, math, legible penmanship, spelling--every metric. Kids aren't any dumber than I was 60 years ago. They aren't being educated.
Another "method" I would eliminate immediately is the practice of "pods" in the classroom. 4 to 6 desks are pushed together and children "learn collaboration" on projects. What ALWAYS happens is one kid does all the work, the others screw off and copy that kid's work at the end of the class. Instead of rising individually, they fail colossally as a group.
