SXSWedu Resource RoundUp
Last week, some of us from the Students at the Center team traveled to SXSWedu, an annual conference that draws thousands from the education and technology fields to discuss education challenges and solutions. Three keynotes and over 20 sessions later, we heard speakers and panelists –educators and education professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and policymakers –bring the… Read More ›
Dealing with a ‘Culture of Fear’—Administrators on PD in the Age of Blended Learning
EdSurge-On-Air staff spoke with school leaders at the EdSurge Tech for Schools Summit about the best approach to teacher PD for education technology. In particular, they offer tips on building a culture that supports ongoing PD that encourages collaboration, hands on practice, and observation of others classrooms. Source Organization: EdSurge Read the Transcript
Engaging Students in Work that Matters
This video, a part of the Deeper Learning video series, features instructors and students from High Tech Middle and High Tech High Media Arts School in San Diego, California. The video illustrates how teachers collaborate across disciplines to engage students in real world projects that capitalize on their passions and foster deep learning. The excellent visuals of students… Read More ›
RI Personalized Learning Initiative
The Rhode Island (RI) Personalized Learning Initiative was launched in September 2016 by the Rhode Island Office of Innovation with the Rhode Island Department of Education, Highlander Institute, and other partners. It supports educators and administrators statewide in the development, piloting, and growth of new models for personalized learning; and facilitates the sharing of best practices and… Read More ›
Maine: Making the Most of High-Leverage Strategies
This article provides an overview of the progress the state of Maine has made towards competency education. It outlines the steps taken to build school capacity and public and policy support for student-centered education. These steps resulted in the 2012 passage of Act LD1422, which requires districts to begin awarding proficiency-based diplomas. It reviews the implementation timeline… Read More ›
Mom, Can You Pleeeease Record Me?
This opinion blog by Lisa Westman, an instructional coach specializing in differentiation for Skokie School District 73.5 in suburban Chicago, discusses ways to harness video recording in the classroom. She asserts that teachers can capitalize on students frequent use of video recording in their personal lives. A graphic outlines several ways teachers can use video to demonstrate learning, track… Read More ›
Women’s History Month Lessons, Activities, Background Reading, and More
The National Education Association (NEA) has assembled a list of lessons and other resources for grades 9-12 to celebrate March 2017 National Women’s History Month “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business”. Resources were gathered from a variety of organizations such as Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute and the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History. They… Read More ›
Maker Ed
The mission of Maker Ed is to provide educators and institutions with the training, resources, and community of support they need to create engaging, inclusive, and motivating learning experiences through maker-centered education, particularly in under-served communities. Maker-centered education encourages students to create, take apart, fix, and tinker. It encourages creativity and a type of thinking… Read More ›
How to Create Higher Performing, Happier Classrooms in 7 Moves: A Playbook for Teachers
This guide, written by Heather Staker, Adjunct Fellow at the Christensen Institute, draws on findings from a pilot study of 7 student-centered practices. Researchers from the Christensen Institute first studied the management principles of companies ranked as great places to work, then translated them into classroom practices that might motivate students. Teachers from three California schools… Read More ›
How to Address Executive Function Skills in the Classroom—and Why You Should
This article, written from a teacher’s perspective, explores the idea that increasing student achievement may lie in teachers awareness of the cognitive processes that enable students to manage information and complete tasks. She asserts that sometimes the best way to approach an instructional challenge is to take a step back to consider how the brain functions… Read More ›
If You’re Serious About Designing Edtech Solutions, Start with the Learners
This article, written from the perspective of a Learning, Design, and Technology graduate student, details a five-step human-centered design process for classroom technology implementation or creation. The author believes this approach could ensure that technology makes learning more equitable, engaging, and relevant for learners of all ages and backgrounds. She asserts that a human-centered design process (where… Read More ›
Deeper Learning—for Teachers
This article discusses project-based learning for teacher professional development. It details the PD project conducted by teachers and coaching teams at Puxi Middle School in Shanghai, China. Together they worked to develop a shared curriculum and better align content with standards. The author shares how they developed protocols to improve units, projects, and performance tasks in their… Read More ›