What Student Choice and Agency Actually Looks Like
This article features the ways in which schools across the country are building student agency and choice. The article, written by a staff member at The Learning Accelerator, describes strategies used by schools documented in their Practices at Work initiative. These examples of real life school strategies highlight many ways student ownership can be increased… Read More ›
7 Things Teachers Need to Know About Native American Heritage Month
November is National Native American Heritage Month. The article below was originally posted on Indian Country Today on November 12, 2014. It contains tips & best practices that can be used in the classroom throughout the year. Without guidance, too many teachers will celebrate Native American Heritage Month in the only ways they know how:… Read More ›
Student-Centered Learning Course Syllabus
Newsflash: Teachers are learners! Yet, the strategies we use to help teachers innovate their practices often get in the way of learning. It’s as if we’re still operating according to the old, tired adage: “Do as I say, not as I do.” To optimize teacher learning and magnify educators’ impact in the classroom, we need to start with the… Read More ›
Equity at the Center: A Tool for Assessing Communication about Teaching and Learning
This rubric was designed to help schools, districts, and intermediary organizations examine their digital and web-based communications, for example websites, digital resources and classroom tools, to ensure all stakeholders have an equal opportunity to access information. The tool grew out of work conducted by the Students at the Center Hub team to assess its own materials… Read More ›
Why Relationships Matter for Urban Students’ Engagement
This post is a follow-up to “Do I Have a Voice? Student Ownership Drives Engagement Among Urban Youth.” We all want to feel connected to and accepted by others. Research shows that positive relationships with adults in school have motivational and academic benefits for students. Nevertheless, researchers and practitioners both tend to emphasize academic and… Read More ›
Guide for Creating Trusted Learning Environments
The following guidebook was designed to help communities create positive and safe learning environments for students inside and outside of school, on and off-line. The classroom is moving beyond a physical space to include learning networks enabled by technologies. These environments should advance learning and foster innovation without sacrificing the safety of the learner. To achieve this,… Read More ›
How Can We Abolish the Phrase “I’m Just Not a Math Person”?
This blog was originally posted on June 13, 2017 in Education Week’s Learning Deeply Blog Four teachers gather around a laptop to watch videos of their students working in groups to solve math problems. Using a protocol to guide their discussion, they pause the videos at opportune moments and practice providing strategic feedback. Their goal:… Read More ›
18 Digital Tools and Strategies That Support Students’ Reading and Writing
In this article, the Instructional Technology Specialist from Littleton, CO offers a wealth of education technology resources related to literacy development. In a presentation at the 2016 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference she presented an array of digital reading and writing tools teachers and students in her district find helpful. In her district… Read More ›
The State Innovator’s Toolkit: A Guide to Successfully Managing Innovation under ESSA
This guide addresses opportunities under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to drive school improvement, challenging states to rethink older, more traditional approaches and support real innovation. It reviews several principals that can help state leaders support districts’ and schools’ change efforts. It also outlines in detail 6 approaches to spark innovation which states might consider. This… Read More ›
Civics Needs a Makeover NOW. How? Keep It Student-Centered, Stupid!
Originally posted on EdWeek’s Learning Deeply Blog on October 11, 2017. Our current political climate and all it portends about our democracy has alerted many Americans to a striking fact: civic education needs a makeover. Currently, only 23 percent of high school seniors are proficient in civics, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress, and just… Read More ›
Power Poetry
Power Poetry is a website that features poetry written by youth and provides teachers with resources to support students’ writing. The site includes thousands of student poems divided by topics. Resources for teachers include a platform to build safe online classroom groups, a free two hour online course on teaching poetry, lesson plans and classroom… Read More ›
Reading Apprenticeship
This website includes an overview of the Reading Apprenticeship approach to literacy instruction, information on the research base, and details about the professional development services offered, which include teacher institutes, coaching, and online courses. Through this approach to literacy instruction, teachers apprentice students into the ways of reading, writing, thinking, talking, and reasoning in their particular discipline. Students are… Read More ›