How Kids Learn Resilience
In this article, author Paul Tough asserts that non-cognitive traits or skills like grit, self regulation, optimism, and resilience cannot be “taught” but are more effectively built through student-centered environments which include both a sense of belonging and academic challenges. The article reviews recent brain-based research which shows development of non-cognitive traits is influenced by… Read More ›
A Qualitative Study of Student-Centered Learning Practices in New England High Schools
This report offers a comprehensive analysis of student-centered learning (SCL) approaches in 12 schools across the New England region, highlighting the richness and complexity of these practices and the impact they have on students, staff, and schools. It details findings from a study conducted by the UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI) for the Nellie Mae Education… Read More ›
Student-Centered Learning Can Modernize Schools
In this commentary, Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) President and CEO, Nicholas Donohue, begins by stating that our education system is not broken, but outdated. He notes the system in fact does just what it was designed to do 100 years ago, cull out the best students and leave the rest to work in factories… Read More ›
How Can Schools Prioritize For The Best Ways Kids Learn?
This video and corresponding article from the former English teacher Will Richardson’s presentation at the 2016 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is on the need to match our beliefs and the research about how kids learn best with the reality of teaching and learning practices. Mr. Richardson looks to the types of learning students do… Read More ›
Can Students Click Their Way to a Better World?
In this article, Chris Berdik, science journalist and author, explores why technology could be the key to better civics education for young people today. He argues the national trend of low levels of civics proficiency is the result of an outdated approach to teaching civics. Instead, teachers should use technology to engage students. The article… Read More ›
Deeper Learning Micro-Credentials
This website allows teachers and educators to earn micro-credentials through submission of their competence. Micro-credentials, an emerging professional development strategy, allow educators to demonstrate and gain recognition for skills developed throughout their careers and used in practice. To earn a micro-credential, a teacher submits evidence of their competence, such as examples of student work and… Read More ›
New Haven Board of Education Reflects on Perceived Success of ‘Student Voice’
This article in the New Haven Register, discusses the impact that Kimberly Sullivan, inaugural student board member, has had on the New Haven Board of Education. Kimberly Sullivan finished her one-year term in June 2016, as the first student member on the New Haven Board of Education to graduate from high school. Sullivan, who was… Read More ›
How Teacher-Created Free Online Resources Are Changing the Classroom
In this blog post, Katrina Schwartz, a San Francisco-based journalist, explores why some teachers are putting down the textbooks and instead opting for teacher-created online resources to create personalized learning experiences in their classrooms. She reports on the work of two schools in California who have been creating teacher-designed curriculum using online open educational resources… Read More ›
Messages Made Simple: Communications Toolkit for Expanded Learning
This messaging toolkit is for organizations that use expanded learning to improve opportunities and outcomes for youth. It builds on a collaborative process conducted by partners with Every Hour Counts, a nonprofit which brings together intermediary leaders and funders in the after-school field to help communities build systems to deliver high-quality expanded learning opportunities for… Read More ›
Rhode Island’s Young Voices for Education Reform
My passion for a good quality education started in middle school. I went to the Gordon School, a small private school in East Providence, Rhode Island, that really focused on putting students in the center of the classroom. As a quiet and timid student, my middle school teachers pushed me to raise my hand in… Read More ›
A Space to Be Heard
Flying for the first time to Orlando, Florida all the way from Portland, Maine was an adventure in education empowerment. I was en route to Big Picture Learning’s (BPL) 2016 Big Bang Conference, where I would be sitting on a panel of fellow students and superintendents to discuss student voice in education decision making. To… Read More ›
International Institute for Restorative Practices and SaferSanerSchools
The International Institute for Restorative Practices is a graduate school that offers professional development opportunities and resources related to restorative practices. They offer a variety of symposia and conferences for graduate and continuing education credit, as well as free webinars. They also feature online learning communities and newsletters, including SaferSanerSchools News, which focuses on restorative… Read More ›