Teachers and Schools
Articles
Five Ways to Sustain School Change Through Pushback, Struggle and Fatigue
Teaching through projects, interrogating the value of grades, attempting to make learning more meaningful and connected to young people’s lives and interests, thoughtful ways of using technology to amplify and share student work. These are just some of the ways teaching and learning are changing. But moving to these kinds of learning environments is a big shift for many teachers, schools, and districts; it’s hard to sustain change once the shiny newness wears off. That’s when people tend to slip back into old habits, relying on what they know best. The transformation requires a leader who understands how to manage the change process.
Source: KQED Mindshift
This Year, Lead Like a Designer
Whether this will be your tenth time kicking off the school year as a leader or your first time, a new school year represents a fresh beginning and an opportunity to approach your work differently. What if you intentionally choose to practice the habits and mindsets of designers as you lead your school?
Source: ASCD
When Pushing Boundaries in Math Education, Where Can Teachers Turn For Help and Camaraderie?
When tweets for help go unnoticed, what can educators do? Several experienced math educators share their best resources for connecting online and in person to help improve how they teach.
Source: KQED Mindshift
100+ Middle and High Schools Worth Visiting
School visits are a great way to learn. We’ve visited thousands of schools, and have learned a great deal from the wide range of schools that promote their own unique brand of powerful learning. We compiled (and regularly update) this running list of schools worth visiting based on either our own observations, or those of a couple trusted sources–they all have remarkable features, and most help underserved communities achieve extraordinary results. We hope the list inspires conversation and transformation. (This list was last updated in April of 2018. For past annual entries, see our 2018, 2017, 2015 and 2014 lists).
Source: Getting Smart
How School Leaders Can Attend to the Emotional Side of Change
When teachers, parents and students are asked to change how they have been doing things, it often involves an element of loss that doesn't get recognized in the push for "innovation."
Source: KQED Mindshift
Want Change In Education? Look Beyond The Usual Suspects (Like Finland)
New ideas for learning are found in the most unexpected places. Three new projects are helping them spread.
Source: KQED Mindshift
Preparing Teachers for Project-Based Learning
One important aspect of preparation is project-based learning. It’s easy to do, but hard to do well. It’s increasingly aided by powerful research, production and collaboration tools and combined with personalized learning. It models and builds two sets of lifelong skills, practical self-management skills and deeper learning competencies forged by challenging work in novel situations.
Source: Getting Smart
The Role of the Teacher in High Quality PBL
How exactly is an effective project based learning (PBL) teacher different from a non-PBL teacher? How is the practice and approach to teaching shifted? What does a PBL teacher need to do to support the PBL environment? And conversely, how can the PBL environment support the teacher?
When we collected input on ways PBL is implemented effectively and areas where PBL could be improved, many ed leaders honed in on the role of the teacher as a most pivotal point in the success of a PBL classroom. For PBL to be successful, there must be a shift in the definition and expectations of the teacher, and acceptance of breaking from the traditional “teacher and students” model.
Source: Getting Smart
Books
What School Could Be: Insights and Inspiration from Teachers across America
by Ted Dintersmith (Author)
Innovation expert Ted Dintersmith took an unprecedented trip across America, visiting all fifty states in a single school year. He originally set out to raise awareness about the urgent need to reimagine education to prepare students for a world marked by innovation--but America's teachers one-upped him. All across the country, he met teachers in ordinary settings doing extraordinary things, creating innovative classrooms where children learn deeply and joyously as they gain purpose, agency, essential skillsets and mindsets, and real knowledge. Together, these new ways of teaching and learning offer a vision of what school could be―and a model for transforming schools throughout the United States and beyond. Better yet, teachers and parents don't have to wait for the revolution to come from above. They can readily implement small changes that can make a big difference.
Renegade Leadership: Creating Innovative Schools for Digital-Age Students
by Brad Gustafson (Author)
We’re all looking for the next best tech tool, but why don’t we have the same progressive appetite for pedagogy that we have for technology? Renegade leadership may be the answer we need.
Merging best practice with innovation, renegade leadership is student-centered, intertwining equity, culture, and technology. Using research, vignettes, and renegade profiles, this book challenges you to lead in the digital age by:
- Applying transformational tenets of connected pedagogy
- Increasing your leadership in curriculum, cultural proficiency, and school improvement
- Leading staff meetings, planning professional development, and improving student learning
UnCommon Learning: Creating Schools That Work for Kids
by Eric C. Sheninger (Author)
Integrate digital media and new applications with purpose and build a culture of learning with pleasure!
Let students use real-world tools to do real-world work and develop skills society demands. Be the leader who creates this environment. UnCommon Learning shows you how to transform a learning culture through sustainable and innovative initiatives. It moves straight to the heart of using innovations such as Makerspaces, Blended Learning and Microcredentials. Included in the book:
- Vignettes to illustrate key ideas
- Real life examples to show what works
- Graphs and data to prove initiatives’ impact
The Power of Branding: Telling Your School's Story (Corwin Connected Educators Series)
Turn a spotlight on what’s great about your school!
Inform, engage, and support your school community with this step-by-step guide in the Connected Educators Series. Begin exploring the benefits of branding and create an action plan for sharing the excellent things unfolding in your classroom, school, or district. Includes concrete suggestions and in-depth case studies that will help you:
- Artfully create a brand name, symbol or design
- Share great events using blogs and more
- Empower all stakeholders, including students
- Teach digital citizenship K-12
Use this all-inclusive guide to start sharing just how special your school is!
Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education
by Ken Robinson (Author), Lou Aronica (Author)
At a time when standardized testing businesses are raking in huge profits, when many schools are struggling, and students and educators everywhere are suffering under the strain, Robinson points the way forward. He argues for an end to our outmoded industrial educational system and proposes a highly personalized, organic approach that draws on today’s unprecedented technological and professional resources to engage all students, develop their love of learning, and enable them to face the real challenges of the twenty-first century. Filled with anecdotes, observations and recommendations from professionals on the front line of transformative education, case histories, and groundbreaking research—and written with Robinson’s trademark wit and engaging style—Creative Schools will inspire teachers, parents, and policy makers alike to rethink the real nature and purpose of education.
Culturize: Every Student. Every Day, Whatever it Takes.
by Jimmy Casas (Author)
In Culturize, author and education leader Jimmy Casas shares insights into what it takes to cultivate a community of learners who embody the innately human traits our world desperately needs, such as kindness, honesty, and compassion. His stories reveal how these “soft skills” can be honed while meeting and exceeding academic standards of twenty-first-century learning. You’ll learn...
- How to reach those who seem unreachable
- What to do when students disengage or drop out of school
- How to ensure your learners feel cared for and empowered
- How to create an environment where all learners are challenged and inspired to be their best
Maverick Teachers: How Innovative Educators are Saving Public Schools
by David E. Baugh (Author), A.J. Juliani (Author)
Despite dwindling resources and high-stakes testing, public school teachers all over the country are managing to breathe life, passion, and excitement into their classrooms. In this new book by bestselling author A.J. Juliani and lifelong educator David E. Baugh, you’ll meet a diverse group of teachers—Mavericks—who are doing exactly that. You’ll hear from teachers across the country and how they are shaking up the norm. Each story includes a powerful vignette and a breakdown of tactics used, so you can bring inspiration and strategies back to your own classroom.
by Scott McLeod (Author), Dean Shareski (Author), William M. Ferriter (Foreword)
This short, actionable resource concisely explains the six key factors of school improvement in the 21st century: (1) information literacy, (2) the economy, (3) learning, (4) boredom, (5) innovation, and (6) equity. Quickly learn how schools are tackling these six areas head-on in order to help students grow into global citizens, critical thinkers, innovators, and literate content consumers.