parents
Personalized Learning

Power of Play: Applied Knowledge, Engaged Learning

Guest Author

By: Greg Young. Learning starts early, and for this father of two, Greg Young, an experienced educator, writes that he and his wife are considering various education options for their two sons based on the foundations of student-centered learning. Greg also highlights the importance of play and the role of technology in the learning process and that both help to direct highly personalized learning experiences focused on the child's interests.
Personalized Learning

10 Strategies to Help Children Define Success for Themselves

Guest Author

By: Ryan Mahkani. In this article for our Smart Parents blog series, Ryan offers parents some strategies to help children learn to define the word "success." Asking questions, listening to the answers, and getting to know your child's unique passions are some of the suggested tips.
Personalized Learning

The Power of Parenting with Social and Emotional Learning

Guest Author

By: Jennifer Miller. As part of our Smart Parents series, Jennifer shares personal stories about her son and provides information about ensuring children develop social and emotional learning skills. Recommendations include strategies for building social and emotional learning at home, advocating for children at school, and partnering with schools.
Personalized Learning

10 Ways To Inspire A Love Of Learning

Carri Schneider

Instead of “sneaking learning” inside of educational games and activities, what if instead we had conversations with our kids about what piqued their curiosity, what they wanted to know more about, what they wanted to experience and how they could share what they had learned? Here are 10 recommendations for being intentional about inspiring lifelong learners, based on experiences from our family.
Personalized Learning

I Am “That” Parent

Guest Author

By: Karen Copeland. In this article, Karen Copeland talks about the challenges she has experienced in supporting her son through his educational journey. She writes that she is "that" parent who is doing whatever she can to help navigate systems to ensure her son has access to high quality learning experiences.
Personalized Learning

In Defense of Liberal Arts AND Employability

Tom Vander Ark

A liberal arts degree can be a great foundation for work and life. Students pursuing a liberal arts degree should build a portfolio of work based learning evidence and have a first job in mind approach graduation. Likewise, students aiming for technical employment shouldn’t be shortchanged when it comes to skills that will power lifelong learning and opportunity.
Personalized Learning

What Relationships Drive Learning? Try Fathers

Guest Author

By: Patrick Riccards. As part of our Smart Parents series, Patrick Riccards, author of the memoir Dadprovement, writes about the roles that fathers can play in learning and parental engagement more generally. He makes a strong case for active parenting, and writes that seeing fathers in the classroom (and learning alongside their kids) should be the norm, not the exception.
Personalized Learning

Parenting for Powerful Learning: 35 Tips

Tom Vander Ark

We can turn our parenting interactions into learning opportunities at home, on field trips, and during weekends to help our kids learn while with us. From making dinner together to turning old cardboard boxes into whatever the kids' imagine, here are 35 tips for creating powerful learning experiences for all ages.
Personalized Learning

How to Turn Screen Time into Family Time

Guest Author

By: Michelle Miller. Michelle brings her expertise from working in early childhood and technology at Joan Ganz Cooney Center to this article about ways parents can decide what to download and how to use technology as a learning tool. She includes questions parents can ask themselves about screen time including what tech they allow and also advice for how parents can set predictable routines for tech at home.