Learning Through Teaching: Building Critical Consciousness in My Classroom
Looking back on my time teaching English, I know I didn’t include enough books by Black and Brown authors, or books by women. In film class, I predominantly showed white men telling stories about white men because those were the movies I knew and had watched and studied. I was limited by own life experiences… Read More ›
Educator Competencies: Video Examples of ‘College and Career Access and Success’
By mastering the twelve foundational competencies, educators can build a solid foundation for continued growth. The competencies are a subset of those outlined in the Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Environments, created to empower a growing number of teachers to implement and scale up a transformation of their classrooms into places of personalized, student-centered learning. While… Read More ›
Educator Competencies: Video Examples of ‘Building Strong Relationships’
By mastering the twelve foundational competencies, educators can build a solid foundation for continued growth. The competencies are a subset of those outlined in the Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Environments, created to empower a growing number of teachers to implement and scale up a transformation of their classrooms into places of personalized, student-centered learning. While… Read More ›
Educator Competencies: Video Examples of ‘Promoting Student Agency’
By mastering the twelve foundational competencies, educators can build a solid foundation for continued growth. The competencies are a subset of those outlined in the Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Environments, created to empower a growing number of teachers to implement and scale up a transformation of their classrooms into places of personalized, student-centered learning. While… Read More ›
Resource Round-Up: Honoring Student Voice with Authentic Products
Engagement can be an ongoing struggle in remote and traditional classroom settings, but there are technologies and strategies available that can open the door to many authentic student projects. Blogs, podcasts, digital storytelling, and a variety of non-traditional genres of writing can feel closer to the kind of communication students do out of school. Below… Read More ›
Five Strategies to Support Student-Teacher Relationships for Greater Personalization
We know relationships are the foundation of good teaching and learning. When educators know their students, they are able to personalize their approaches and draw out students’ passions, interests and engagement in their learning. But, in order for meaningful relationship-building to take place, there needs to be time, space and structures for educators and students… Read More ›
For Students, Lived Experience = Expertise
As I watched the youth researchers deliver their project presentations during the conclusion of the YARI Project held in December 2020, I beamed with excitement, awe, inspiration and pride. After a formidably challenging year, to say the least, the youth researchers forged ahead and persisted to successfully complete their research projects. The final event did… Read More ›
2021 Youth Summit
Students and Educators for Equity (SEE) and Youth Restorative Justice (YRJ) aim to bring together a collective of student voices to highlight the effects of disproportionality on students, while providing best practices to address and dismantle disproportionality. The youth-led summit will elevate student perspectives in an effort to foster inclusive, humanizing and critical learning environments… Read More ›
Highlighting the Importance of Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Associate Principal Darius Green sat down to reflect and describe what student-centered learning has been like for his school community during COVID-19. For him, building relationships is the cornerstone of a thriving school community. Leaders and educators must be honest in how they address social injustices to give each student what they need to be… Read More ›
Resource Round-Up: Learner Agency
Learner agency is the initiative and ability to act in a way that produces meaningful change in oneself or the environment. It’s also an important part of student-centered education. Below is a list of resources that can help educators promote learner agency so that students feel empowered to solve problems, make changes and construct the way learning happens in their classrooms and schools.… Read More ›
Maintaining an Equity Focus During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Principal Arria Coburn and classroom teacher, Ellen Foley, sat down with us to reflect and discuss what it’s been like to keep schools and classrooms student-centered and focused on producing and sustaining equitable outcomes. Arria Coburn is a principal of the Springfield Renaissance School, a 6-12 EL Education School in Springfield, Massachusetts. She’s serving her… Read More ›
Sustaining Student-Centered Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Principal Arria Coburn and classroom teacher, Ellen Foley, sat down with us to reflect and discuss what it has been like to ensure schools and classrooms are student-centered, engaging and full of learning. Arria Coburn is a principal of the Springfield Renaissance School, a 6-12 EL Education School in Springfield, Massachusetts. She’s serving her sixth… Read More ›