Place Based Education
school culture
Leadership
SmartStart: Starting the School Year Off Right
If we focus on anything but academics to start the school year - such as culture, opportunity, creativity, relationships and the “why” - we may actually produce a more academically successful student and school year. This post explores how to make that happen.
SEL & Mindset
Letting Students Lead School Culture
If school leaders and classroom teachers recognize the collective power of their students, then it makes sense for them to give their students the chance to identify needs, challenges, and issues within their school's culture, and develop potential means of addressing them.
Project-Based Learning
Rightly Seeing Students: Takeaways from SXSW EDU
If we want to expect more from our students, then we ought to view them as more than “just” students. These four paradigms can serve as a foundation for making this cultural shift a reality in your school or district.
Project-Based Learning
How to Create & Cultivate a PBL Culture
Transitioning to a more project-based pedagogy can be challenging and overwhelming, but there is one simple factor in particular that will affect your success: culture. Learn more about how to build a PBL culture here.
SEL & Mindset
Why Well-Being Matters in the Classroom, and How to Encourage It
A robust educational environment cannot exist without a foundation based on student well-being, but the lifelong happiness of our children is reason enough to make well-being a foundational part of every school’s curriculum. Learn more here.
SEL & Mindset
How To Get Students Talking About Their Own Social-Emotional Learning
Getting students talking about their learning is a valuable strategy across all disciplines, and social-emotional learning is no different. Here's how you can get started today.
SEL & Mindset
Is Bullying an Issue at Your School? Find Out By Asking Students.
By: Hannah Bartlebaugh. Understanding the most common reasons that students believe they are being targeted for bullying can help educators guide conversations and interventions.
Leadership
The Value of Establishing a Culture of Thinking in the Classroom
Strategies focused on ingraining cultures of thinking have been game changers in many of today’s classrooms. In this post, we look at what that means for you and your classroom.
Personalized Learning
8 Things to Look For in a Student-Centered Learning Environment
From years of teaching in the classroom and countless school visits and interactions with excellent educators worldwide, I’ve created a list of things I commonly observe in great student-centered learning environments. Here are eight that stand out.
Personalized Learning
Teaching Core Values
Bailey Thomson, Director of School Operations for SPARK Schools, spoke at TEDxJohannesburg about the significance of teaching core values to students. Here are SPARKS five core values and what they mean.