Learner-Centered Culture Includes Educators, Too
Ask an adult who is not an educator to describe a classroom, and you might still hear something like this: “A teacher is standing in front and lecturing to students seated neatly in rows. Everyone is on the same page of the textbook and doing the same exercises because there’s a quiz tomorrow and everyone… Read More ›
8 Principles to Help You Advance to Flipped Learning 3.0
This short article summarizes tips for school leaders interested in flipped learning provided by pioneer Jon Bergmann at the ISTE 2017 conference. In the flipped learning model direct instruction occurs at home, often through videos or other technology, and class time is reserved for rich interactive activities that expand on the content. This article will… Read More ›
Comparing Good Jobs to Good Classrooms: Essential Elements for Supporting People to Learn, Persist, and Succeed
Originally posted on September 19 on Jobs for the Future Recently, I read an employer profile for the Kentucky-based materials manufacturer Universal Woods, written by Steven Dawson. Universal Woods is a manufacturer of hard surface panels and flooring headquartered in Louisville, KY, with 200 employees, and operations in Ohio, Australia, and Belgium. To many, Universal Woods… Read More ›
Behavior Management Tools Might Not Be Best for Student-Centered Learning
This blog is the first in a series on the practical side of cultivating student ownership of learning, produced by JFF’s Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative. High-quality learning is often messy. It can be noisy and nonlinear and full of surprises. That may be why many of us seek to control it. We establish rules, plans,… Read More ›
Inspire Self-Directed Learning
This article, written by an educator, shares ideas for nurturing self-directed learning in the classroom. It lays out four steps, and related resources, to get ideas and inspiration for trying the Gradual Release of Responsibility approach and Peer-to-Peer Instruction models to build student autonomy. It also includes detailed classroom tips such as relying on context… Read More ›
Pioneering the New Way of Learning: Learner Agency and Opportunity
This article introduces a framework that explores learner agency and student motivation. The article is written by two students from the Leadership Board of GripTape, a youth-led organization that works to build a network and share the message that all youth have the potential and capacity to learn anything they want. The framework discusses the factors… Read More ›
The 2017 Lawrence W. O’Toole Teacher Leadership Awards Winners
As high schoolers around New England return to class for another exciting year, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation is proud to honor the innovative educators who are rethinking how, when and where learning happens to put students at the center of their education. In celebration of their outstanding work to renovate and reinvent learning across… Read More ›
How Maker Mindsets Can Be An Easy Fit For Rural Schools
This article explores how rural schools are adapting to the maker movement in ways that are unique to their rural environments. The blog highlights maker projects – like building air sensors to help assess and ultimately alleviate air pollution in a town in rural Montana–that can be adapted in other schools, or used to spark… Read More ›
How to Artfully Enroll Parents in Learner-Centered Transformation
This article from the Principal of Red Bank Elementary School in South Carolina, shares successes and failures the school faced while building family support for student-centered changes. The author asserts that for successful school transformation, parents must be “artfully enrolled” in the process. This began with challenging parents to grapple with tough questions about traditional schooling.… Read More ›
How to Combine Rigor with Engagement
This article, written by two prominent researchers in the deeper learning world, offers solutions and strategies to the question “How do we go beyond basic skills and infuse instruction with opportunities for authentic investigations and risk taking?” The article highlights that many teachers are yearning to infuse their classrooms with greater rigor and vitality. Based… Read More ›
To Engage Students and Teachers, Treat Core Subjects Like Extracurriculars
This article shares varied examples from schools across the country that have implemented a project-based learning model in which core classes mimic extracurricular projects and activities. Researchers Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine have been observing school systems over six years to try to understand what promotes deeper learning. They found that in many school environments students were… Read More ›
Do I Have a Voice? Student Ownership Drives Engagement Among Urban Youth
Student disengagement is a rampant problem in our schools. It can lead to lack of participation and effort, behavioral problems, disaffection and withdrawal, and failure to invest deeply in learning. According to national studies, more than 50 percent of students show signs of disengagement (Yazzie-Mintz, 2007; Yazzie-Mintz & McCormick, 2012). The consequences are especially severe… Read More ›