5 Ways to Build Real Teacher-Student Connections for the Year Ahead
In this article, a veteran teacher shares ideas to create meaningful relationships with students. She asserts the importance of personal individual relationships to support students’ engagement. She includes practical tips and suggestions to begin building these relationships from the first day of school. This practical advice will be helpful for teachers of any subject at… Read More ›
Learn Next: A Toolbox for Educators to Transform Practice
Every student deserves access to powerful learning experiences — experiences that help them develop agency, grow their skills and expand their curiosities. Many schools are shifting their practices to be more student-centered in hopes of ultimately developing these qualities in students. We know in transformative environments that the learning and facilitation looks very different. This type of… Read More ›
Five Ways to Help Students Ask Better Questions
In this article, the author explores practical ways to help students learn to generate their own essential questions. It looks at the important role of active inquiry in fostering deep learning and then unpacks 5 strategies to help students develop this important skill. These suggestions can be used by teachers in any subject or grade… Read More ›
Owning the Classroom Together
In this article from ASCD’s Educational Leadership Magazine a professor and veteran teacher, describes her efforts create a positive classroom culture to support learning. She started each year asking students the question: “Do you think we can create a classroom that works for every person here?” From this the class worked to create management routines for starting class,… Read More ›
Reading on Competency-Based Education
This article provides a great overview of key texts to help any educator or education leader better understand competency education. The author provides suggestions for stakeholders at different phases of implementation and understandings, including: Newcomers looking to understand competency education Districts moving to the commitment stage For those looking to anticipate issues and challenges Working… Read More ›
What “Mastery-Based” Can Look Like in the Classroom
This article looks at a competency-based math classroom. It describes how Molly Nealeigh at Piney Grove Elementary School in North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system uses a block period. She teaches new content for the first section and then lets students work individually, using online “pathways” she has designed. This allows students to progress at their… Read More ›
Coming Soon: New Findings from the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative
Leaders in education rarely have the bandwidth to comb through technical studies in order to apply research findings in their classroom. JFF’s Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative is cutting through the clutter to deliver useful research findings presented in actionable ways. If you’re an educator, administrator, district leader, or state-level official interested in using student-centered learning… Read More ›
Six Fixes for Proficiency-Based Learning
This article offers practical advice to schools and districts implementing competency based education. Drawing on the groundbreaking work being done in Maine, the author outlines 6 issues that are often encountered when shifting to a proficiency-based system and details solutions. This would be a great read for any district of school leader at the start… Read More ›
North Dakota School District Ready to Make Bold Changes
This article discusses the shift to a competency-based model underway in the Northern Cass School District in North Dakota. The district plans to eliminate all grade levels, allowing students to build their own academic path to high school graduation. The changes are supported by state education policy allowing districts to apply for waivers from specific… Read More ›
18 Examples of State Policies that Support Competency-Based Programs
This article provides brief examples of state initiatives that support competency education. It includes initiatives identified as exemplars during the course of research conducted by Getting Smart. The examples are organized by features, including: Flexibility from time-based systems Competency-based diplomas Acceptance of competency-based diplomas and credits by higher education Flexible learning State assessments Innovation pilots… Read More ›
How Turning to My Students Made Me a Better Teacher
I was frustrated. My students weren’t completing their homework, and I’d run out of ideas for motivating them. I didn’t know what to do. The books I’d read and strategies I’d tried got me nowhere, and despite dealing with the same problem, my peers had no solutions. So, after days, weeks, and months of frustration,… Read More ›
Want To Get To Know Your Students? Try Learner Profiles
Each year, I am approached by students with the same concern: They don’t feel that their teachers understand who they are, and they often fail to see how what they are learning is necessary or relevant. When reflecting on these concerns with my colleagues, we all agreed that we don’t know our students as well… Read More ›