16 Tips to Put Your 1:1 Technology to Work
Read part one and two of this series. Portsmouth Middle School in Rhode Island is about to embark on year two of the implementation of a 1:1 technology program. Below, I share some of our teachers’ favorite strategies and applications from the past year to engage students in collaborative learning experiences. Explore these 16 suggestions (and bonus resources) and take… Read More ›
A Practical Guide to Personalization in a Standards-Based World
Often standards in education are seen as a roadblock to personalization. This article offers practical strategies for using essential questions to address standards and create personalization, with examples from varying grade levels and subjects. The author feels essential questions can provide more meaningful and personalized ways to connect students to the content. The article includes specific… Read More ›
View from the Trenches of Implementing A Successful 1:1 Program
Read part one of this series. Technology integration coaches’ responsibilities depend on a district’s vision, access to technology and teacher comfort levels with digital tools. As the technology integration coach at Portsmouth Middle School in Rhode Island, I provide general technology support and professional development trainings for the entire school, although most of my time is spent working… Read More ›
1:1 Implementation: Practical Tips & Insights from a Tech Integration Coach
People are usually surprised when they hear that I am the technology integration coach at Portsmouth Middle School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island because in most school systems, this position doesn’t exist. Although I am hardly an impartial observer, I think that many people who work with coaches like me would agree that we’re integral (pun… Read More ›
Personalized Learning, the Navajo Way
This article, from the perspective of a principal, superintendent and mentor of indigenous schools for over forty years, looks at personalized learning and student choice with the lens of cultural responsiveness. The author describes personalization at STAR (Service To All Relations) School, a K-8 School in Navajo Nation, which is grounded in Navajo values with a keen… Read More ›
How to Design a School That Prioritizes Kindness and Caring
This article shares the success story of Carrollwood Day School in Florida, chronicling the efforts of school leadership and students to make compassion a cornerstone of their educational model. With students at the helm, the school partnered with Harvard’s Making Caring Common project and started a series of small changes, such as a kindness initiative in… Read More ›
Supporting Student Self-Motivation In Online Credit Recovery Classrooms (Part 3 of 3)
Due to the self-directed nature of online learning in many credit recovery settings, fostering student motivation is essential. One teacher that was a part of this study noted, “Most students are in credit recovery because of motivation issues, not cognitive or behavioral issues.” As in traditional classrooms, online credit recovery teachers grapple with how much… Read More ›
7 Questions Principals Should Ask When Hiring Future-Ready Teachers
In this article, Alan November, a long time teacher and education consultant, offers advice for principals on ways to hire teachers who support student agency and understand the role they should play to guide, rather than direct, learning. November proposes seven questions he thinks should be standard in the interviewing and hiring process. Two of which include:… Read More ›
When Personalized Learning Includes Skateboarding: One Suburban District’s Dramatic Transformation
This article, a case study of Vista High School in San Diego, highlights the school’s move to personalized learning. Vista is seen as a high-profile national test run of a personalized-learning approach in a large, comprehensive public high school- the kind most U.S. students still attend. The article shares successes, challenges, and proposed improvements, such as… Read More ›
Supporting Goal-Setting, Time Management, and Self-Regulation in Online Credit Recovery Classrooms (Part 2 of 3)
In addition to traditional study skills, online credit recovery classes require students to develop deeper proficiency in self-directed study skills. Below are five teacher and courseware driven supports that can help students build goal-setting, time management, and other self-regulation skills that are key for success. Check-ins Teachers conduct several types of formal and informal check-ins.… Read More ›
The Importance of Modeling Student-Centered Professional Learning
Creating student-centered learning environments is no easy task. Teachers often do not receive enough quality professional learning to provide them with the time to design student-centered learning environments. The major difficulties are that they lack the opportunity to actively provide choice and voice in their school systems and they are put under too much pressure… Read More ›
Scaffolding Grit
This article makes the case for rethinking ideas about grit and growth mindsets in the classroom. “Grit”, made popular in the education realm by Angela Duckworth’s research, in simple terms means the perseverance of effort over the long-term. The author makes the argument that everyone has the potential to be “gritty”, but it must be cultivated… Read More ›