Del Lago Academy Series
This is a four-part series of articles featuring Del Lago Academy Campus of Applied Science, which was created by community members and staff in Escondido, California to offer a more student-centered learning option to the district’s high school students. The school focuses on competency-based practices, personalization, and authentic interdisciplinary learning projects. Articles in the series… Read More ›
3 Steps to Rethink Failure
This article focuses on the important role failure plays in the creation of future success. It outlines three steps educators can use to help students rethink their negative associations with failure and see its more positive side. The suggestions are general and could be useful to any educator or parent who wants to instill a growth… Read More ›
Culturally Responsive Schools
This issue of ASCD Express focuses on ways to build culturally responsive schools. It features articles on several related topics including the importance of understanding students’ home culture, relevant lessons from the historical study of black academic excellence, and steps school leaders can take to encourage equity school-wide. It also showcases a video on supporting… Read More ›
5 Worthwhile Augmented and Virtual Reality Tools
This article presents 5 free tools teachers can use to integrate AR and VR in the classroom to create engaging learning experiences without the addition of extra equipment or cost. With these tools, students can take a virtual reality tour of a national historic site or make their own VR or AR experience to share… Read More ›
Competency-Based Transformation in Northern Cass School District Series
The three pieces in this series, look at the transformation of Northern Cass School District, a rural district in North Dakota, to a competency education model. The Evolution of Competency-Based Transformation in Northern Cass outlines how the district gained support and prepared to begin the transformation Framing Habits of Work and Capstone Skills in Northern… Read More ›
Better PD through Design Thinking
This article describes Martin County School District’s innovative professional development series, CampTEACH (Technology Empowering Academic Change), which helps teachers more effectively leverage technology to foster learning. During two-day workshops teacher teams redesign a specific lesson plan using a design thinking approach to empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test their ideas. This engaging type of learner-centered… Read More ›
Bringing a Culturally Responsive Lens to Math Class
This article describes how a 7th-grade math teacher created a 3-week unit project to connect math to a real-world issue identified by students. The author outlines a simple 4 step process any math teacher could use to design a similar unit to build student engagement, including tips to ensure all students can demonstrate mastery through… Read More ›
Tapping Students’ Interests to Develop Literary Analysis Skills
This article introduces a strategy for increasing student voice in English Language Arts (ELA) classes. A veteran teacher shares how passion blogging on topics of their choice helped students develop key analytical skills such as argument design, and use of evidence. This exercise provided scaffolding before moving on to analysis of complex literary texts, while… Read More ›
6 Strategies to Support the Development of Self-Directed Learners
This article explores several strategies to help students build the skills needed to be self-directed learners. The author, an experienced teacher, explores the importance of helping students develop skills in 3 categories: executive functioning, metacognition, and social-emotional learning. Teachers in any subject can try out the concrete classroom activities suggested here. Source Organization: Education Reimagined… Read More ›
Advancing Equity by Building Development Relationships
This story looks at the importance of building developmental relationships in which adults and youth share power, especially for students from traditionally underserved communities. Developmental relationships are are purposeful relationships built on trust, designed to help young people: Discover who they are Cultivate the abilities needed for them to shape their own lives Learn how… Read More ›
Teaching Students to Think About Thinking
The articles in this issue of ASCDExpress explore metacognition, the ability to understand ones own mental processes and to monitor and influence them. The authors provide both general suggestions for promoting metacognitive awareness and regulation, as well as specific ideas tailored to particular subject areas. Read as a whole this collection of articles offers many… Read More ›
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Developed by CAST, UDL is a widely recognized framework to guide the design of learning experiences to proactively meet the needs of all learners. The organization conducts research… Read More ›