Finding Voice, Taking Action: Sociopolitical Development for Middle-Schoolers and Beyond
College pennants hang on the walls of a charter middle school and shout the names of academic institutions far from this western US city. “HARVARD,” one reads in big, block letters. “MICHIGAN,” “TEXAS,” “WILLIAM & MARY.” The charter school has gone all-in on college. Students start the day by gathering in a large room the… Read More ›
Assistive Technology Module
Originally created by the Center on Technology and Disability for college and university personnel training programs, this module can help teachers better understand assistive technologies. It brings together a wealth of resources, including a library of videos and webinar recordings, along with a glossary of important terms. It can also be supplemented with Assistive Technology in… Read More ›
Differentiating Instruction: How to Plan Your Lessons
In this video instructional expert Larry Ferlazzo and veteran teacher Katie Hull Sypnieski talk through the kinds of questions they ask themselves when planning a lesson for a multi-ability classroom. They answer teachers most common questions, such as “What will students do if they finish early?” and “How can the materials be modified to… Read More ›
Critical Civic Inquiry: Student-Centered Learning
The study has concluded. Read about their data collection, findings and implications for educators and counselors in the field. Learn More Led by Rowan University and University of Colorado, this study investigated two areas of student-centered learning: “How students can be supported to take “ownership” of their learning” and “How learning can occur anytime, anywhere.”… Read More ›
Culturally Responsive Mastery-Based Education Research Project
The Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools at New York University (NYU Metro) and the Mastery Collaborative are conducting the Culturally Responsive Mastery-Based Education Research Project (CR-MBE) to understand how culturally responsive mastery-based practices influence historically marginalized students’ learning capacities, school engagement and academic outcomes. Learning capacities refer to mindsets,… Read More ›
Developing Assessments for Learning That Lead to Equity
This blog post explores ways in which assessment can become a lever for equity by shifting its purpose from comparing and sorting students to supporting deeper learning. It features the efforts at Del Lago Academy of Applied Sciences (DLA); a small public high school in Escondido, California; to use assessment in a meaningful way to support student’s… Read More ›
Agriculture Students Harness Innovation
This article looks at the reworking of one district’s agricultural program to incorporate more 21st century skills. Across the country instruction in many agricultural classes now emphasizes inquiry, project-based learning, and technology. Students are exposed to the fields of data science, genetics, biotechnology, robotics, veterinary science, and food science to prepare for careers of the… Read More ›
STEM for Social Justice
This issue of ASCDExpress pulls together many articles that look at STEM from a social justice lens. Together the articles provide many ideas for ways to encourage interest and provide more opportunities in STEM for youth typically underrepresented in these fields. Articles look at how to use mentorships and opportunities to explore real world problems to… Read More ›
How Teachers Designed a School Centered On Caring Relationships
This issue of the MindShift podcast and accompanying article features Social Justice Humanitas Academy, a district pilot school in Los Angeles, designed and run by teachers. Teachers identified the practices they knew helped students succeed. Supports include an advisory program, grade-level teaching teams, office hours, a high student-counselor ratio, and a fully integrated model for English… Read More ›
When Equity and Student-Centered Learning Go Hand in Hand
I spent two days at the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative meeting last week. Kudos to the Student at the Center team for integrating equity and student-centered learning so deeply that they were one and the same. I’ll share three highlights of the meeting: First, Eric Toshalis opened up the meeting with an acknowledgment that the meeting was taking place… Read More ›
Center on Technology and Disability
The Center on Technology and Disability (CTD), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is designed to increase the capacity of families and providers to advocate for, acquire, and implement effective assistive and instructional technology (AT/IT) practices, devices, and services. These technologies have the potential to help youth with disabilities better access the general educational curriculum,… Read More ›
Quality and Equity by Design: Charting the Course for the Next Phase of Competency-Based Education
This report seeks to advance K-12 competency education by examining key factors required to bring competency education to scale while ensuring quality and sustainability. Specifically, it looks at four issues: Quality Equity Meeting students where they are Policy The report incorporated feedback and recommendations from stakeholders who attended the National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education. It provides… Read More ›