Better Together: How to Leverage School Networks for Smarter Personalized and Project-Based Learning Jossey-Bass This book profiles more than a dozen formal and informal school networks wherein district leaders, principals and teachers have worked together to implement personalized and project-based learning. Educators can find out about transforming schools and navigating these new instructional dynamics with […]
Smart TVs and whiteboards allow even more students to collaborate. Depending on the model, students can interact with a touch screen in 10 to 32 different places simultaneously. Many of these displays come with screen mirroring capabilities and apps that are loaded with learning activities. Other tools include collaborative software that monitors internet use and […]
A student success program at West Valley School District #208 in Yakima, Washington, provides additional support for learners from pre-K through high school graduation. The initiative includes five steps: Collaborations between childcare and district kindergarten teachers that prepare children to start school Small group exercises with a whole-child focus Reading and math interventions in grades […]
Personalized learning for students has long been a priority in K12 education, but for some reason, some districts haven't applied this same approach to teachers. For years, PD has been completely one-dimensional. Teachers sit in district- and state-mandated PowerPoint-driven seminars that fail to encourage collaboration or authentic engagement in the material. Often, teachers leave feeling […]
When Amy Arbogash took the reins of the technology department at Verona Area School District in Wisconsin in 2017, it was in the middle of a multiyear shift to personalized instruction. Students were developing their own learning plans during the rollout of a 1-to-1 iPad program. That is why the district gave Arbogash the title […]
Developers of equity programs offer the following tips for success: You need it first—Equity PD gets the best results when leaders—from superintendents to school board members to principals—are trained before their staff. Dialogue, collaboration and role-play—Kids don't love PowerPoints or lectures, and neither do educators. PD that gets teachers talking, collaborating and even role-playing seems […]
During Noel Petrosky's 12 years at different Saint Marys Area School District elementary schools, she saw assessment data accurately predict student performance on state tests and inform instruction that led to student growth. That wasn't the case at Saint Marys Area Middle School when she became principal two years ago. "I thought, 'I can't go […]
Ware County School District in Georgia has downsized its inventory of assistive technology. Thanks to a slew of technological advances, many of the specialized tools their special education students had used to communicate and learn are now redundant. "We don't need portable keyboards or word processors anymore" says Barbara Sonnier, the district's assistive technology coordinator. […]
Dan Hamlin, a postdoctoral fellow in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and Paul E. Petersen have examined data to see what impact states lowering the bar on academic proficiency have had on student achievement. When they were created, the Common Core standards were intended as consistent benchmarks for student learning across the country. But public opinion […]
Teachers in the Susquehanna Township School District are finding success with their new curriculum mapping program using Chalk. With it, they can easily locate and align state standards with lesson plans, and if they have any questions, they can get live technical assistance through "Mr. Chalk" an online chat feature operated by company employees. Mr. […]
