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 ›
Research Collaborative Seminar: Student-Centered Learning and Reorganizing Education Time
Marisa Saunders and Research Collaborative advisor Jorge Ruiz de Velasco, editors of “Learning Time: in Pursuit of Educational Equity” (Harvard Education Press, 2017), explore the intersections of student-centered learning and expanded learning opportunities. Learn more from this exciting discussion on how education time can be expanded, reimagined, and reorganized as a resource for student-centered learning… 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 ›
The Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium (MAPLE)
The Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium (MAPLE) is an initiative of the LearnLaunch Institute and the Massachusetts Department of of Elementary & Secondary Education. This public-private partnership was launched to encourage exchange between peers and increase implementation of student-centered learning tactics and tools in schools across the state. The program has brought together 15 “catalyst… Read More ›
Looking Back: The First Year of the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative
The Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative launched last November with over 100 researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders coming together to break down silos and advance the field. To celebrate our first birthday, we thought we’d share a run-down of what we’ve been up to since then. Hope you enjoy – and don’t forget to sign up… Read More ›
Charting the Course for the Next Phase of K-12 Competency-Based Education
This webinar will discuss the recent iNACOL report on competency education, Quality and Equity by Design: Charting the Course for the Next Phase of K-12 Competency-Based Education. The report examines four key issues in the field which must be considered to continue to scale up competency education efforts with quality and sustain them over time:… 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 ›
2017 State of the States: Connectivity
This report was compiled by EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit focused on upgrading Internet access in every public school classroom in America to ensure equal access of all students to digital learning opportunities. The report looks at ways to connect the remaining 6.5 million students in 40 states that still have limited access. The authors detail three main… Read More ›
How to Engage with School Partners? Tips for Researchers from One Project in Maine
As education researchers, how do we remain responsive to the needs of our partners while maintaining our role as independent observers? In July 2016, with funding from the Student Centered-Learning Research Collaborative, EDC began a two-year research project looking into student-centered learning with 10 partner school districts in rural Maine. In addition to what we… Read More ›