Digital Media & Learning Conference 2016
The 7th annual Digital Media and Learning (DML) Conference takes place in Irvine, CA from October 5th through 7th. This international gathering brings together a vibrant and diverse community of innovators, thinkers, and progressive educators to delve into leading-edge topics in digital media and learning. DML builds connections across research, design, and practice in the service… Read More ›
Redesigning School Accountability and Support: Progress in Pioneering States
In a report presented by the Learning Policy Institute and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE), “Redesigning School Accountability and Support: Progress in Pioneering States” examines the variety of ways these 10 states – including New Hampshire and Vermont – have tackled the challenge of redesigning their accountability systems to create educational… Read More ›
The Benefits and Challenges of Student-Designed Learning
Science Leadership Academy students have many opportunities throughout their four years to choose how and what they investigate in their classes, and by senior year they are adept at choosing their own essay topics, meeting deadlines, staying focused while working online, and coming up with creative projects that matter to them personally. But when a… Read More ›
#RealTalk: Providence Students Raise Their Voices
Megan Harrington is a Communications Associate at the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. You can reach her on Twitter at @NellieMaeEdFdn. On a sunny Wednesday afternoon in April, over 100 high school students gathered at the Providence Career and Technical Academy cafeteria, talking with friends, setting up tables with sheets of paper and markers, and… Read More ›
An Open Letter from the Providence Youth Caucus
The Providence Youth Caucus (PYC) unites youth leaders from six of Providence’s strongest youth organizations, including Providence Student Union, New Urban Arts, RIUDL, H20, Young Voices, and Youth In Action. We have been working together for the past year, meeting with the Mayor, Superintendent, and district staff to push for changes in our schools, including… Read More ›
The Importance of High-School Mentors
This article stresses the importance of role models. When it comes to helping young people succeed, education experts and nonprofits are embracing the idea that a broad web of formal and informal role models is key. This video from The Atlantic documents the power that mentors can have at a defining juncture in the lives of… Read More ›
Developing a Sense of Agency
This post explores how giving students a sense of agency can transform the way you impact your classroom. Students’ desire to help solve meaningful problems is too often an untapped resource hidden by the assumption that the teacher needs always to be in control of the classroom. When educators shift the paradigm from controlling to empowering,… Read More ›
Blended, Project-Based, and Social Emotional Learning at Thrive Public Schools
This article explores how Thrive Public Schools in San Diego is creating a student-centered learning environment for its students. Thrive, a 200 student K-8 school, has a makerspace where students build stuff and work out marble trajectories, and gives a glimpse into the future of learning—blended, personalized, and competency-based. The article includes tools, ideas for implementation… Read More ›
Can an Increase in Empathy Lead to a Drop in Suspensions?
This article by EdWeek, takes an in-depth look at the findings of a study by Stanford University researchers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The researchers worked with 31 math teachers in five diverse middle schools spread over three California districts, administering two online professional-development exercises… Read More ›
How do students learn best? — Reflections from Deeper Learning 2016
Last month, a few members of the Students at the Center Hub team attended the Deeper Learning 2016 conference at High Tech High (HTH), located in San Diego, CA. The conference was filled with engaging conversations with a variety of participants from the field of education, including teachers and school leaders. One of the most memorable… Read More ›
Student-Centered Learning Opportunities for Adolescent English Learners in Flipped Classrooms
This study from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation examines how flipped learning can be utilized to improve the language and content acquisition of adolescent English language learners. As schools look to raise standards and close achievement gaps, they need effective strategies for serving English language learners, the fastest-growing segment of… Read More ›
Better Math Teaching Network
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has partnered with the American Institutes for Research to create the Better Math Teaching Network for Algebra I teachers in New England. The NIC (Networked Improvement Community) will work together with researchers and practitioners to use tested best practices to continually improve their craft around teaching student-centered math. They are… Read More ›