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 ›

Black History Month Resources for the Classroom

This compilation brings together 20 lesson plans and resources created by PBS NewsHour Extra to help teachers quickly find high-quality materials for any classroom to engage in authentic student-driven learning about Black History Month. Topics include historical civil rights events and current events. They include descriptions of the targeted grade-level, materials needed, national standards covered,… Read More ›

An Overview of Personalized Learning for Schools, Families & Communities

This report provides an overview of student-centered learning for families and community members, using parent-friendly language, short explanations, and many examples. The report first outlines the need for and the basics of personalized learning. It explores, through five short case studies, personalized learning in action and how it differs from traditional learning environments. It also… Read More ›

Student Voice in Practice: Burlington High School Help Desk

The Burlington High School (BHS) Help Desk is the heart of the school’s Student Technology Innovation and Integration course. The semester-long course open to students in grades 10-12, provides a hands-on study of technology integration in an educational context. Students are required to assess technology problems submitted by fellow students and teachers and define the… Read More ›

How Do We Ensure Personalized Learning is a True Equity Initiative?

This article discusses the importance of addressing equity as schools embrace personalization. The authors assert that while personalized learning has great potential, ensuring equity, especially for students with disabilities (SWDs) and English Learners (ELLs), requires a lot of work and an ongoing commitment. The authors pose five questions the field should address including whether adequate teacher training and student support systems… Read More ›

Evaluating News and Other Sources

This resource combines the short online course, Evaluating News and Other Sources, designed to help older high school and college students understand and assess bias and evaluate sources, as well as an issue of the ASCD Express newsletter, Critical Literacy in the Age of Clickbait, focused on the same topics. Credo Education released its online micro course… Read More ›

Making Learning Personal for All: The Growing Diversity in Today’s Classroom

The report makes the case for the need to shift to personalized learning to serve growing numbers of diverse learners. It asserts that current models that drive personalization are often overly simplistic and not based on research. The report expresses concern that these over-simplified models risk driving personalization in a way that actually perpetuates achievement gaps… Read More ›

Designing for Equity in Next Generation Learning

This toolkit was created to provide support and inspiration to educators and community members who wish to have more meaningful, transparent and transformative conversations about equitable learning. The toolkit was developed by Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), an initiative of Educause Learning Initiative, a nonprofit community of higher education institutions and organizations committed to the advancement of… Read More ›

Guide to the Competency-based Learning Survey for Students

This guide includes the ‘Competency-based Learning Survey for Students’ and additional instructions to support its implementation. The survey was designed to help schools and districts collect data directly from high school students. It looks at students’ beliefs about, exposure to, and understanding of key elements of competency-based learning. This survey was designed by the Regional Education… Read More ›

Bronx Arena High School Multimedia Monograph

This multimedia monograph features Bronx Arena High School, an innovative, competency-based school serving historically marginalized youth in New York City. The school’s mission is to empower over-age under-credited students to graduate ready for college or a career. The multimedia monograph is an interactive case study that features video interviews with students and staff.  It brings… Read More ›