10 Reasons Edtech Works Sometimes, But Not All the Time
This article outlines the plans of the EdTech Genome Project, a collaborative effort of more than 100 education research and advocacy organizations, to research the contextual factors that impact education technology (ed-tech) implementation. The organization identified the ten factors hypothesized to have the greatest influence, such as adoption plans and school culture. They are now… Read More ›
Scaling is All the Rage, but How Do You Make It Happen?
It’s fall 2017 in New Hampshire. The state’s Performance Assessment for Competency-based Education (PACE) system is entering its third year. Using this alternative state accountability system, 150 teachers in nine school districts have created 14 performance assessment tasks in mathematics, English language arts (ELA) and science. The tasks have been validated against standardized state tests… Read More ›
Making Powerful Educational Choices for our Children
This article calls on parents to advocate for student-centered learning. Written by a fellow parent, it outlines the advantages of learner-centered education. It could be used as a source of inspiration for any group of parents interested in advocating for changes in the education system. Source Organization: Today Parenting Visit the Resource
Leaders to Learn From Report
This yearly report from Education Week recognizes excellence in school district leadership. The report identifies some of the nation’s most exceptional school district leaders and highlights their impact on the success of educators and students. The report includes short case studies of 12 leaders which include superintendents, principals, teacher leaders and executive directors. They serve… Read More ›
Competency-Based Transformation in Northern Cass School District Series
The three pieces in this series, look at the transformation of Northern Cass School District, a rural district in North Dakota, to a competency education model. The Evolution of Competency-Based Transformation in Northern Cass outlines how the district gained support and prepared to begin the transformation Framing Habits of Work and Capstone Skills in Northern… Read More ›
How Systems of Assessments Aligned with Competency-Based Education Can Support Equity
This report from the Aurora Institute and Center for Assessment looks at ways in which state leaders can build balanced assessment systems that support mastery-based education. In assessment systems aligned with competency education, assessments are coherently linked to target competencies and learning progressions, provide a range of evidence for each student, and monitor progress over… Read More ›
Building Support for Student-Centered Learning: A Toolkit
This toolkit provides strategies, resources, and tools for those who would like to build public understanding and engagement around student-centered learning or other education reform efforts. The toolkit is organized around a theory of change that includes three elements: a compelling public story, deep dialogue and conversation, and real youth engagement. The toolkit draws on… Read More ›
Assessment Resources Bundle
Since the Students at the Center (SATC) research paper Assessing Learning was released, the literature on student-centered assessment practices has continued to grow. More and more, schools, districts, and states are using assessment as an opportunity for growth and learning, as well as a way to elevate student voice and leadership. This selection of resources… Read More ›
Bringing Student Choice to Assessment in Science Classes
An experienced science teacher describes how he uses alternative assessments in this article. He explains the system he developed to let students choose how to show what they know with options ranging from written tests to journaling, oral reports, or artwork. Science teachers will find inspiration in the article, and appreciate this teacher’s discussion around… Read More ›
Exploring the Impact of Personalized Learning on Student Outcomes
We believe in the power of personalized, competency-based learning because we want each and every student to learn and be challenged as individuals. We believe it is the path toward equitable outcomes for ALL students. We intuitively understand that having clear learning targets, meaningful and flexible assessments, personalized student supports, and student ownership of their own… Read More ›
The Blogs You Loved from 2019
Throughout 2019, educators and researchers from across the country have shared blogs about their goals, passions, challenges and triumphs working towards building and sustaining equity-driven and student-centered practices in classrooms, schools and local communities. Here are some of your favorites: 1. The Mastery Collaborative Approach: Student Centered, Culturally Responsive, and Competency-Based “As a community, the… Read More ›
We’re Thankful for our Educators, Researchers and Funders
The end of November is always crunch time. Between finishing projects, producing research, educating students, fighting for social justice and planning for the holidays, it’s never quiet. Recognizing this reality makes the team at KnowledgeWorks’ Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative especially grateful for our inspiring Distinguished Fellows, researchers and funders who came out to New York City to ask and answer some of the biggest questions about student-centered learning. We were lucky… Read More ›