District Conditions for Scale: A Practical Guide for Scaling Personalized Learning
In this toolkit by KnowledgeWorks the authors begin to explore how to move from isolated school models of student-centered learning to whole systems designed around personalized learning. Researchers at KnowledgeWorks examined existing research in the field and conducted primary research through interviews of more than 30 district superintendents and leadership teams from across the country… Read More ›
School Redesign in Action Conference
The 8th annual School Redesign in Action conference will be held on March 27 & 28, 2017 in Hartford, CT. The School Redesign in Action conference is the New England Secondary School Consortium’s annual conference for educators and stakeholders to share success stories, exchange best practices, and continue to build momentum and public support for… Read More ›
Do Teacher Expectations Matter?
In this discussion paper, researchers from the Brookings Institute examine the causal impact of teacher expectations on student outcomes. The study looked at nationally representative data of 6,000 tenth grade students in 2002 and their educational attainment data as of 2012. This data shows that teacher expectations do have an impact on the level of… Read More ›
A Qualitative Study of Student-Centered Learning Practices in New England High Schools
This report offers a comprehensive analysis of student-centered learning (SCL) approaches in 12 schools across the New England region, highlighting the richness and complexity of these practices and the impact they have on students, staff, and schools. It details findings from a study conducted by the UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI) for the Nellie Mae Education… Read More ›
Stanford Experiments with Virtual Reality, Social-Emotional Learning and Oculus Rift
This article describes the experiments conducted by Stanford graduate students at two California schools to harness new virtual reality technology to build student’s social emotional skills (SEL). At San Jose’s Alpha Public Schools, students are testing out Emoti, a virtual reality (VR) mindfulness exercise developed with a grant from inspirED, a partnership between Facebook and… Read More ›
Teaching the Whole Child: Instructional Practices That Support Social-Emotional Learning in Three Teacher Evaluation Frameworks
This research-to-practice brief explores teaching practices that promote social-emotional learning (SEL) and positive learning environments. The author begins with an overview of SEL and discusses action steps policymakers and educators can take to support it. Next, the brief provides an overview of 10 teaching practices that encourage the development of SEL. These practices were identified… Read More ›
Connecting Ed and Tech: Partnering to Drive Student Outcomes
This case study describes the solution one charter school found to help scale up their personalized learning model through a unique partnership. Leadership Public Schools (LPS), a charter school management organization that operates high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, has developed their own technology to support personalized learning which provided students with individual… Read More ›
Making Blended Work
This paper captures conversations on blended learning and presents actionable suggestions for districts to follow on their own paths to blended learning. The Center for Digital Education (CDE) called upon leading chief academic officers (CAOs) from across the country to weigh in on the state of blended learning today, as well as the challenges and… Read More ›
Perspectives on the Current Landscape of Competency-Based Learning Research
Join the Northeast College and Career Readiness Research Alliance (NCCRA) for a researcher, practitioner, and policymaker discussion on competency-based learning in New England and beyond. Paul Leather, deputy commissioner of education for New Hampshire, will discuss the reform in his state and present a case study on the PACE pilot accountability program, which provides alternate… Read More ›
Social Emotional Learning in High School: How Three Urban High Schools Engage, Educate, and Empower Youth
This research series from the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education documents practices at three small urban high schools that effectively leverage a systemic school-wide focus on social and emotional learning to educate and empower their students. These schools work to educate the “whole child” by building their ability to know themselves, grow and… Read More ›
Connecting Learning to Careers
In this article, Hamutal Bernstein, research associate at the Urban Institute, explores the many ways that Connected Learning is a personalized approach to learning that is beneficial to students in today’s classrooms. Young people are living their lives in densely connected, media-saturated contexts, connecting to peers through social media. Connected Learning aims to harness this… Read More ›
Looking Under the Hood of Competency-Based Education
American Institutes for Research (AIR) recently released Looking Under the Hood of Competency-Based Education: The Relationship Between Competency-Based Education Practices and Students’ Learning Skills, Behaviors and Dispositions. This is one of the first valuable studies we have had looking at the impact of competency-based education. The Framework of Learning Skills, Behaviors, and Disposition AIR created… Read More ›