Archive
component:how.learning-experiences
Q&A: It’s About Time For Proficiency-Based Learning
Diane Smith for the Business Education Compact (BEC) released "It's About Time: A Framework For Proficiency-Based Teaching & Learning" this year in response to a need expressed by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), which identifies the ways that eliminating seat time and moving toward proficiency-based teaching and learning can improve student achievement.
8 Examples of Classroom Musical Magic
I believe it was J.K. Rowling's Albus Dumbledore who said, "Ah, music. A magic behind all we do here!" This quotation comes to mind so many times when I witness the effect of catchy tunes and powerful lyrics on our creative students in Studio 113. Whether the classroom malady is a group of lethargic, uninterested students, a bulky reading assignment of seemingly ancient pages, or the misunderstanding of key literary characters, a solution often lies at the intersection of a crafty jam and a thematically connected excerpt of literature. The result? Classroom musical magic.
How Digital Learning Contributes to Deeper Learning
A Getting Smart white paper that reveals how different components of Deeper Learning and Digital Learning come together to create the most favorable conditions for the best teaching and learning to take place.
NCTAF Learning Studios: The Future of Learning
Every once in awhile, we see pictures of the future -- a graphic image, a set of relationships, new tools at work, the buzz of a culture that feels remarkably productive. For me, site visits to Big Picture and Edvision schools were really influential 12 years ago -- and why I'm still enthusiastic about flex school models that engage and empower students.
Staff Picks: Learning Design, Digital Education
Tom Picks “The Learning Design Opportunity of Our Time” Tom says, “Blended learning opens such interesting opportunities to combine learner-centered anywhere/anytime learning with clear common standards for college/career readiness.” Karen Picks “The Flipped Classroom Turns Around An At Risk, Failing School” Karen says, “Stories like this which give real…
Game Change: How Game-based Learning Helps Common Core
One of the exciting things that leaps out to me when reading the new Common Core standards for Mathematics is that the spirit of inquiry and curiosity is back, hardwired into a document that will likely form the basis for mathematics teaching and learning for a long time. My attention is drawn for example to the Standards for Mathematical practice where it emphasizes that students need to become persistent problem solvers, plan solution pathways, and ask themselves, “does this make mathematical sense?”
ShowMe Personalizes Learning Abroad
“I think that personalized learning will have more influence in the future,” said C. Harun Boke, an educator at the Applied Technology High School in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. “Students enjoy learning at their own pace.”
Maps, Playlists, & Badges: Key Blended Learning Themes
On Tuesday we co-hosted OpenBlend, a blended learning conference with the Tacoma Public Schools and the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) featuring a full-day track of Khan Academy workshops as well as other innovative and open tools.
Grouping, Tracking, & Personalizing
An international educator told me his school community was discussing the "ethics and educational validity of streaming -- deliberately dividing students up into class/work groups based on ability, i.e., a strong and weak group." He asked for my thoughts.
Competency-Based Progress
Susan Patrick, iNACOL (where I'm a director) and Chris Sturgis teamed up on a great new site, CompetencyWorks. While the shift to digital is key, and extending the reach of great teachers is important, the shift from age-cohorts to to a show-what-you-know system will prove to be the most profound--and challenging--educational change of our time. That's why the conversation and community on CompetencyWorks is so important.