Making Students Partners Rather Than Pawns in the Change Process
What if we had a window into the thoughts and beliefs of students experiencing the transition to a student-centered model? How would the insights inform our strategies to support young people through this paradigm shift? How might students, themselves, be advocates for these changes? Some believe that it is the adults who are reluctant to… Read More ›
What Learning to Code Means for Students
“Coding is the new literacy. To thrive in tomorrow’s society, young people must learn to design, create and express themselves with digital technologies.” –Mitchel Resnick, MIT Media Lab Professor What does “coding is the new literacy” really mean? As programming languages evolve, what students learn today won’t be applicable within a decade or less. Coding… Read More ›
Personalized Learning in Practice: How a Risk-Taker Tailored Learning in Her District
This in-depth article, from EdWeek’s Leaders to Learn from series, features Patricia Deklotz, superintendent of the Kettle Moraine School District in Wales, WI. Over 17 months, Deklotz and a task force of 25 educators transformed the small district of 4,100 students to a personalized learning model. The article shares the process of this transformation, including what motivated her… Read More ›
Black History Month Resources for the Classroom
This compilation brings together 20 lesson plans and resources created by PBS NewsHour Extra to help teachers quickly find high-quality materials for any classroom to engage in authentic student-driven learning about Black History Month. Topics include historical civil rights events and current events. They include descriptions of the targeted grade-level, materials needed, national standards covered,… Read More ›
An Overview of Personalized Learning for Schools, Families & Communities
This report provides an overview of student-centered learning for families and community members, using parent-friendly language, short explanations, and many examples. The report first outlines the need for and the basics of personalized learning. It explores, through five short case studies, personalized learning in action and how it differs from traditional learning environments. It also… Read More ›
Educating the Whole Child in a World of Silos
In this webinar, Ian Fogarty, Chemistry and Physics Teacher at Riverview High School, will highlight how Riverview High School (RHS) became a top finalist for the 2017 FETC STEM Excellence Awards in the High School Division. RHS has found a way to enact research and provide a student-centered personalized learning environment that balances consistency with freedom, and… Read More ›
Research Collaborative: Where the Journey Goes from Here
In my previous post, I wrote about the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative and its goal to break down silos so that educators, researchers, and policymakers can collaboratively examine, apply, and share knowledge about student-centered learning so that we can elevate learning outcomes, particularly for underserved students. Now, let’s talk about how we do this. Our… Read More ›
Five Tips for Getting Blended Learning Right
In this research-driven webinar, Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, will share key findings from her organization’s years of blended learning research, as well as lessons learned from the hundreds of school systems that the Institute has studied. She will cover both essential considerations for systems just… Read More ›
Strategies for Personalized Instruction and Implementation
In this webinar, Lizzie Choi, Chief Program Officer of Summit Learning, and a principal/educator will discuss the journey of developing Summit Learning. Summit Public Schools, a California-based charter school network, believes that personalized learning empowers teachers and helps students build the skills they need to succeed in college, career, and life. Summit has set out… Read More ›
Media Literacy: A Crash Course in 60 Minutes
Fake media is a hot topic in education today. In November 2016, the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) published Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning, a study that revealed concerning results. Because students increasingly turn to online news to meet their research needs, it is more important than ever for educators to help… Read More ›
How Do We Ensure Personalized Learning is a True Equity Initiative?
This article discusses the importance of addressing equity as schools embrace personalization. The authors assert that while personalized learning has great potential, ensuring equity, especially for students with disabilities (SWDs) and English Learners (ELLs), requires a lot of work and an ongoing commitment. The authors pose five questions the field should address including whether adequate teacher training and student support systems… Read More ›
Can Blended Learning Improve Equity in One of Nation’s Most Diverse Districts?
This article details the shift of New Jersey’s Morris School District (MSD) to a blended-learning model in an effort to meet diverse student needs. MSD hopes to increase gains for student populations, such as English Language Learners (ELLs) and low-income students, which continue to see slower growth despite overall district improvement. So far, the district has found results at… Read More ›