A new teaching model that's gaining traction in classrooms bases instruction on how different areas of the brain function. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) consists of three primary principles to leverage the what, how and why stages of learning. UDL's guidelines also encourage educators to create flexible learning environments to meet the needs of […]
Many students at Oxnard Elementary School District in Southern California have a dual challenge in gaining reading proficiency. Not only do they struggle with developing literacy skills, but over 56 percent of Oxnard's 17,000 pre-k through 8 students are learning English as a second language. To help these students overcome their literacy deficiency, in 2014 […]
Many districts teach formal keyboarding instruction as early as second grade—a shift that requires new approaches to a skill that was once taught only in high school. Today's software feature gamification, captivating graphics and extensive reporting components. Many districts teach formal keyboarding instruction as early as second grade—a shift that requires new approaches to a skill […]
Recommended books offer ideas for makerspace activities, insight into online teaching, a behind-the-scenes look at reform and philanthropy, and methods for teaching steam in elementary school. Meaningful Making:Projects and Inspirations for Fab Labs and Makerspaces Constructing Modern Knowledge Press From the Transformative Learning Technologies Lab at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education comes this compendium […]
At Napa Valley USD in northern California, classroom technology integration has been a priority since 1997, when the district opened the country's first New Technology High School. So bringing in digital books in order to provide easily accessible content to the 18,000 students and faculty in 34 schools was a natural—and important—step. "The challenge was […]
Historic schools in Boston, built before World War II, are finally receiving a facelift. On the other side of the country, Carmel USD in California found that controlling and maintaining lighting in nine sites spread over 600 square miles can save energy and maintenance hours.And a 10-year deferred maintenance plan in Sycamore Community Schools in […]
More than five years after many states implemented Common Core, the impact on student achievement remains unclear—though some states show small academic gains, with persistent achievement gaps. "Common Core is alive and well" says Adam Ezring, policy director of the Collaborative For Student Success, a nonprofit that supports use of the standards. "While it's still […]
Few teachers receive individualized professional development, though many are expected to personalize learning for students. Microcredentials—digital badges that teachers earn by learning a skill and demonstrating mastery through student results—offer a PD pathway designed to be highly differentiated and engaging. The microcredentialing process starts with teachers choosing a skill they want to develop. They take […]
Students in a Spanish 3 class at Bethlehem Central High School may live in upstate New York, but they look for new homes in Spanish-speaking countries around the globe. After discovering her students were fans of HGTV's 'House Hunters International,' Bethlehem Central School District Spanish teacher Jessica Westervelt developed a lesson in which her class […]
Literacy changes taking hold in schools recognize the subject's expansion from traditional textbooks to online readings, images and audio. New learning standards ask students to read more closely and write more analytically, meaning teachers must adapt curriculum to get students reading earlier, says Jennifer Serravallo, International Literacy Association speaker and author of The Reading Strategies […]
