Can Blended Learning Improve Equity in One of Nation’s Most Diverse Districts?
This article details the shift of New Jersey’s Morris School District (MSD) to a blended-learning model in an effort to meet diverse student needs. MSD hopes to increase gains for student populations, such as English Language Learners (ELLs) and low-income students, which continue to see slower growth despite overall district improvement. So far, the district has found results at… 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 ›
How Personalized Learning Starts with Less Teacher Talk, More Student Voice
This was originally posted on Edsurge on January 25, 2017 as part of the EdSurge Fifty States Project. Two of my students stared at me, and then at each other. Each held up a sheet of graph paper, but their graphs were different. And then, one of them asked the question I knew was coming. “But,… Read More ›
A Model For Student Voice
“When students are encouraged to think and learn outside the box, not only do they become more involved in their education, but they have a learning experience that creates change” — Jodie Woodruff, teacher at the MET School in Providence, RI. The above quote played over and over in my mind as I worked my way… Read More ›
See How States Plan to Approach Equity
This article summarizes recommendations from the report “Leading For Equity: Opportunities for State Education Chiefs”, released by The Council of Chief State School Officers and the Aspen Institute Education and Society Program. The recommendations were created by state chiefs, district leaders, civil rights advocates, and other stakeholders. The article outlines 10 areas state leaders can focus on to… Read More ›
What is Unique About the Researcher’s Role in Measuring Blended Learning Success
In this blog post, Saro Mohammed challenges researchers to go beyond simply gathering evidence. She argues that education researchers, especially those researching personalization and blended learning, are in a unique position to help scale up implementation of evidence-based practices. Because the rapid progress of instructional innovation often outpaces traditional research and dissemination methods, she offers… Read More ›
Ensuring Rhode Island Teachers and Students Thrive
We know from research that investing in the development of teacher leadership results in gains in student learning, increases in their own capacity, and bolsters the culture of their school systems. We also know that teachers have unique insights on what is most effective in their classrooms, schools, and districts but this expertise isn’t always… Read More ›
Three Ways Student Voice Can Elevate Motivation and Engagement
If you spend enough time in middle school or high school classrooms, you know teachers work hard to keep students engaged and motivated. Amplifying student voice is a core strategy to boosting engagement and motivation. The Students at the Center Series report Motivation, Engagement, and Student Voice by Dr. Eric Toshalis and Dr. Michael J.… Read More ›
CTE in High School: Does It Improve Student Outcomes?
In this article, researchers Shaun Dougherty and Dara Zeehandelaar describe results from their study showing positive outcomes for students who participated in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. They note that CTE programs may increase student engagement by connecting learning at school with real world use. The article outlines some of the failures of older… Read More ›
Defining Student-Centered Learning
This two-page overview of student-centered learning was developed by Meriden Public Schools based on the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s, Putting Students at the Center: A Reference Guide. It provides short descriptions of the main tenets of student-centered learning: student-owned, personalized, occurs anytime, anywhere, and is mastery-based. It also details what students and teachers should look… Read More ›
A Close-Up Look at How a Workshop Framework Can Enhance Personalized Learning
Originally posted on CompetencyWorks, January 19, 2017. When I started teaching first grade over twenty-five years ago, I quickly realized that I was going to need additional strategies and support in order to help each of my students become independent readers and writers. The research and work of Donald Graves had a profound impact on… Read More ›
Helping Struggling Students Build a Growth Mindset
This article, written by two veteran researchers of brain and education science, presents five strategies to help struggling students develop positive outlooks on their learning capabilities. The authors outline the potential positive outcomes for students who have developed a growth mindset. The strategies the authors share include, creating student success files (a continually updated collection that… Read More ›