An increasing number of educators use elements of the design-thinking process—empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test—to find solutions to and think analytically about the many ails plaguing the world around them. Michael Cohen, printmaking and design expert turned educator, says district leaders can use design thinking to address systemic educational issues such as high dropout […]

In August, Woodbrook Elementary School in Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia completed a renovation and expansion that features much larger classrooms to facilitate multiage learning. Each family at Woodbrook can choose whether to place their child in a traditional, single-grade classroom or in a multiage classroom with two grade levels combined. With the new, […]

When school leaders want to bring innovative practices to classrooms, what’s the greatest challenge that stands in their way? Lack of funding? Inadequate in-house expertise? According to a recent SpeakUp survey (DAmag.me/su), 46 percent of administrators point to one key factor above most others: teacher motivation. This finding makes intuitive sense. Teaching children is no […]

Matthew Joseph led the first 1-to-1 device rollout in a public school in Massachusetts more than a decade ago, and also spent 11 years as an elementary school principal. Now director of digital learning and innovation for Milford Public Schools, he is overseeing implementation of the district’s 1-to-1 Chromebook program in grades 3 through 12. […]