What is the Current Landscape for Postsecondary Competency-Based Education in the United States?
In State of the Field: Findings From the 2020 National Survey of Postsecondary Competency-Based Education, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) shares data from its third nationwide scan. An overarching takeaway is that despite any setbacks that could have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in postsecondary competency-based education has grown. In Fall 2020, 3,217… Read More ›
Don’t Be Quiet In the Library: Sharing Compelling Data About Student-Centered Learning
“Yeah…but does it work?” I’ll bet every single one of us striving to support and implement student-centered learning has been asked that more times than we can count. Every policymaker, educator, budget-developer, civil rights advocate, funder and parent wants answers. Not being able to answer that question definitively has undoubtably hampered the ability for practices… 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 ›
Promising Practices and Recommendations for Designing Dual Enrollment for Students from Special Populations
In Dual Enrollment for Students from Special Populations: Improving College Transitions for English Learners, Students with Disabilities, Foster Youth and Young People Experiencing Homelessness, JFF explores promising practices and recommendations for designing dual enrollment with the assets and needs of these students at the center. Interest in dual enrollment opportunities in California is at an all-time high, enough… Read More ›
How to Address Educational Equity: Research-Based Recommendations for Educators
In the last several months, public school stakeholders raised questions about how schools, classrooms and communities have responded and adapted to the changing health and political landscapes. Today, these questions underscore an ever-growing sense of urgency. Indeed, the ongoing demonstrations in opposition to systemic violence against Black people and the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic… Read More ›
Key Findings from the Culturally Responsive Mastery-Based Education Research Project
The Culturally Responsive Mastery-Based Education (CR-MBE) project investigated how eight New York City middle and high schools incorporate both culturally responsive education and mastery-based practices. Mastery-based education (MBE) is an approach to education that sets measurable learning goals that students master at their own pace and through personalized pathways to learning. However, on its own,… Read More ›
A Tool for Exploring Plausible, Probable, Possible and Preferred Futures
The future has the potential to unfold in many ways and exploring those possibilities can be overwhelming. The cone of plausibility is one tool that can help guide those explorations. It was first created in 1988 to help explore geopolitical scenarios, but what makes this tool especially useful is that it can be used… Read More ›
Your Struggles are Systemic and Valid: Reflections from a Youth Researcher of Color
Humans have an inherent desire for everything we do to mean something – to be bigger than ourselves. In reflecting on my time with the Youth Action Researchers at the Intersection (YARI) project, I wanted to accurately depict this project in a somewhat professional manner: write down data and draw up organized charts. But in truth, this has been messy,… Read More ›
Enhancing Learning in a Virtual World: Three Tools to Increase Student Engagement and Belonging
The transition to digital learning during the pandemic further dismantled an already fragile education system. Resources that would adequately equip students to thrive in the digital world were scarce, especially for our neediest students. Educators were forced to forge ahead and foster meaningful relationships with students and families, while completely rebuilding our education system. Schools… Read More ›
Student researches how historically marginalized students can pursue meaningful careers after high school
Everitt Price is part of the cohort of youth researchers in the Youth Action Researchers at the Intersection project. He researched the question: How can historically marginalized students pursue meaningful paths and healthy careers after high school?” Meet the Student Researcher Everitt Price (he, him) Family members: Mom, grandma and three sisters Favorite song: Dream On by Aerosmith What would people not know just by looking at you: I can dance. How you… Read More ›
Student and Teacher Agency in Action: the Self-Direction Toolkit Development Process
Researchers tell us and employers confirm that individuals who demonstrate the 21st-century skills of self-direction, communication, creativity and collaboration excel in post-secondary and career experiences. So the more schools can support the development of those crucial skills, the more we’ll be ensuring our graduates are successful in both the workplace and college. Figuring out how… Read More ›