Archive: 2018
Because Being a “Good School” Isn’t Good Enough
By: Andrew Rubin. We instinctively tend to think that schools with big problems require major turnarounds, and that schools that operate smoothly and successfully - the typical “good school” - only need minor course corrections each year. The first part may be true. The second part isn’t.
Reggio Emilia: An Inspiring Approach to Early Learning
In Reggio Emilia, an early childhood approach that has evolved over the past 50 years, schooling is based on the pedagogies of listening and relationships. A great deal of children’s work is done in small groups, grounded in meaningful projects. Learn more here.
A Thank You to Teachers Everywhere
By: Michael Crawford. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week -- an opportunity for all of us to thank and celebrate the educators in our lives. For me, this week always inspires me to take stock of the teachers I know who are moving the needle for young people and show these professionals some love.
Social Emotional Learning and the Future of Education
By: Giancarlo Brotto. Core development skills such as conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability, openness, and agreeableness can be equally or even more important than cognitive skills in determining future employment. Despite these skills being related to consequential life outcomes, many teachers struggle to find effective ways to prioritize, teach and assess social and emotional skills and thus, we see related challenges.
Venture University: A Trade School for the Innovation Economy
A look at Venture University, a new MBA alternative, that lets students learn venture investing on the job and even earn back their tuition.
School Design that Combats Nature Deficit Disorder
By: Ashley Flores & Lida Lewis. There can be a healthy balance struck between media intake and real-world engagement. This balance is much more likely to happen through intentional design. The good news is that there’s a simple design prescription for what ails: nature. “Biophilic design” focuses on bringing elements of nature—from literal plant and water features to more analogous and referential approaches—into our built environments.
Rethinking the High School Credential
Most American youth don’t get what they need from high school. There are lots of reasons, but two root problems are how we’ve defined the finish line and how we communicate success. Here, we look at the current high school credentialing system and the questions we think need to be answered to drive progress.
How We Increased Teachers’ Data Use Without Data Overload
By: Debbie Clark and Stephanie Williamson. The problem is not that schools aren’t collecting enough information about student performance. It’s that teachers have too much data. It’s overwhelming for them. They don’t know what data points to focus on—and they don’t have time to be combing through massive amounts of data to figure out what students need.
Investing in a More Inclusive Tech Sector
The tech industry is deluding itself if it thinks it can make the world a better place without representing women equally. Here’s how three women are changing tech venture capital funding to be more inclusive and bring more women to the table.
South Carolina’s Statewide Movement to Personalize Learning
Across South Carolina, there is a movement to personalize learning for all students. Some districts in the state have even spearheaded their own initiatives, and the state is working to use them as "learning labs" for others. Here, we take a detailed look at their progress so far.