Want to Set Students Up for Success? Make Room for Vulnerability
This article, written by a student, describes the culture at One Stone school in Boise, Idaho. One Stone is a student-led and directed nonprofit committed to making students better leaders and the world a better place. The school is free and open to any student. Much of the work at One Stone occurs through Design… Read More ›
Golden Ticket
This dynamic case study combines narrative, video, data visuals, and photos to tell the story of a vital component of school reform efforts in the Lawrence, MA Public Schools. The case study provides details on the creation and implementation of Acceleration Academies, week-long opportunities for personalized learning in small class settings held over February and… Read More ›
6 Strategies for Promoting Student Autonomy
This article introduces six concrete strategies teachers can use to foster independence in the classroom. The strategies can be used to support a flexible classroom in which students are working on their own or in small groups on a variety of tasks at one time. Teachers should model the strategies and give students multiple opportunities… Read More ›
ASCD Citizens in the Making Resources
Two resources from the ASCD Express issue Citizens in the Making highlight ideas and resources for teachers who want to incorporate more project-based projects that will allow students to use their voices to inact change in their local communities. Teaching for Active Citizenship: Ideas and Resources describes several active citizen projects in which students take on… Read More ›
A Year Of Love And Struggle In A New High School
Too many young, black men struggle in America’s education system. Washington D.C. is trying to do something about it with a new, boys-only high school. NPR’s Cory Turner and Education Week’s Kavitha Cardoza spent hundreds of hours there, reporting on the birth of a school built on one word: Love. Code Switch, an NPR podcast,… Read More ›
What Student Choice and Agency Actually Looks Like
This article features the ways in which schools across the country are building student agency and choice. The article, written by a staff member at The Learning Accelerator, describes strategies used by schools documented in their Practices at Work initiative. These examples of real life school strategies highlight many ways student ownership can be increased… Read More ›
Learning Accelerator’s Practices at Work: Blended & Personalized Learning
The Blended and Personalized Learning Practices at Work site, managed by The Learning Accelerator, is a collection of free, practical strategies and resources to help schools implement blended and personalized learning. The Learning Accelerator is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing blended learning. The organization works to bring together communities of learners and document and share strategies to… Read More ›
Student-Centered Learning Course Syllabus
Newsflash: Teachers are learners! Yet, the strategies we use to help teachers innovate their practices often get in the way of learning. It’s as if we’re still operating according to the old, tired adage: “Do as I say, not as I do.” To optimize teacher learning and magnify educators’ impact in the classroom, we need to start with the… Read More ›
Equity at the Center: A Tool for Assessing Communication about Teaching and Learning
This rubric was designed to help schools, districts, and intermediary organizations examine their digital and web-based communications, for example websites, digital resources and classroom tools, to ensure all stakeholders have an equal opportunity to access information. The tool grew out of work conducted by the Students at the Center Hub team to assess its own materials… Read More ›
Guide for Creating Trusted Learning Environments
The following guidebook was designed to help communities create positive and safe learning environments for students inside and outside of school, on and off-line. The classroom is moving beyond a physical space to include learning networks enabled by technologies. These environments should advance learning and foster innovation without sacrificing the safety of the learner. To achieve this,… Read More ›
How one Chicago high school turned the corner using full-time internships
This article highlights the intensive internship program at Chicago Technology Academy. The school, which serves predominantly minority students from low-income families, has committed to month-long, full-time internships for all seniors as part of its turnaround efforts focused on project-based learning. The article discusses the academic and social emotional benefits to students who can build confidence,… Read More ›
The Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium (MAPLE)
The Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium (MAPLE) is an initiative of the LearnLaunch Institute and the Massachusetts Department of of Elementary & Secondary Education. This public-private partnership was launched to encourage exchange between peers and increase implementation of student-centered learning tactics and tools in schools across the state. The program has brought together 15 “catalyst… Read More ›