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"Educators in the Jefferson County Public Schools have made it their mission to teach children to be not only skilled thinkers but also successful human beings and citizens of the world. CARE for Kids, the Louisville, Kentucky, district's program for social and emotional learning (SEL), is less than two years old but is already showing signs of success. (Watch the Edutopia.org video A Districtwide Initiative to CARE for Kids.) "

"IdeaPark is a new, dynamic place for early years, Kindergarten and primary grade educators to access tools, resources and services that help support young children's development as critical thinkers and problem solvers."

"I love these witty quips that ASCD intermittently share with the education community in the form of visually appealing infographics. The recent visual they shared in this regard relates to the topic of issue number two of Education Leadership magazine. Instruction That Sticks is a beautiful visual that features 6 quotations from leading thinkers and educationists. The quotes , different as they are in their scope, each speak to one of the essential areas in teaching methodology. Think of them as tips to help you better conceptualize your teaching strategy to meet the learning needs of your students."

"A good question can open minds, shift paradigms, and force the uncomfortable but transformational cognitive dissonance that can help create thinkers. In education, we tend to value a student's ability to answer our questions. But what might be more important is their ability to ask their own great questions-and more critically, their willingness to do so. "

"This is part 1 in our #iteachthought campaign. This is our equivalent to "back to school," and is intended to help you focus in the 2015-2016 school year on taking a thoughtful approach to your craft as a teacher. Among these shifts we'll talk about is turning our focus from content and teaching to thinkers and thinking. This is a student-centered approach to pedagogy (and heautagogy), and will consist of four parts: Part 1: Classroom Setups That Promote Thinking Part 2: Learning Profiles: What Great Teachers Know About Their Students Part 3: 50 Questions To Ask Your Students On The First Day Of School Part 4: Getting The Best Work From Your Students"

Welcome to our class wiki! I am excited about using the bookshelves you built in Shelfari as a springboard for discussing books and reading. I love working with all of you, and I look forward to using this wiki as a tool to help us grow as readers and thinkers.

The purpose of the interactive notebook is to enable students to be creative, independent thinkers and writers. Interactive notebooks are used for class notes as well as for other activities where the student will be asked to express his/her own ideas and process the information presented in class. Requirements vary from teacher to teacher and is set up according to the directions of the teacher. Some go left/right, others go right/left, and still others go sequential. It really does not matter, so keep that in mind when looking at the suggestions. The purpose of this page to give teachers a starting point for setting up their own notebooks with their classes. The links presented on this page were shared by teachers on T-Net, A to Z, and Pro-Teacher , and of course, TCI, the originators of the Interactive Student Notebook, as examples of good interactive notebooks and guidelines. Credit belongs to the creators of the individual sites. I have tried to divide the sites by subject categories, but many are inter-changable.

"What are your kids doing with all of their 'cognitive surplus'? Not sure? OK, let's take a step back. What is 'cognitive surplus'? 'Cognitive Surplus' is a term coined by author and professor at NYU's interactive telecommunications programme, Clay Shirky. Regarded as one of the leading thinkers on the Internet, technology and its impact on society, Clay introduced the concept in his fascinating and aptly titled book, Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age."

"Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." If this sounds like a philosophy you can relate to, then you'll love TED talks. These informational 17 minute presentations are given at annual conferences by some of the world's greatest thinkers. Their aim is simple: To inspire ideas and change attitudes around the world. As of April 2014, there were over 1,700 of these incredible talks available free online to choose from. Sadly, listening to them all would take 20 days solid. Happily, you don't have to because we've picked the most life changing for you. Listen and learn and enjoy."

"Here is another awesome back-to-school  resource. This is basically a graphic from ASCD featuring seven reminders on how to drive motivation. These reminders are quotes from popular thinkers which provide some smart tips on how to ignite learners motivation. Below is a round-up of these 7 reminders and you can download this free poster from this link. "

"Find repose by exciting the mind. Some of the world's leading thinkers offer the books that inspired them and their work. Skim the list for your favorite speakers, or get nerdy on a topic you've always wanted to know more about. Below find 52 books, recommended by TED speakers."

"When used effectively, iPads can develop thinkers and problem solvers. They can be used to transform learning inside and outside of the classroom, and offer limitless opportunities. Many educators are effectively integrating technology in the classroom using iPads to achieve the 4C's, or "super skills," that digital learners need to compete in our global society. But in order to do that, the focus has to shift from apps to content: that's when true redefinition takes place. When my district rolled out our iPad initiative in 2012, teachers thought they needed specific apps for every content area. Eventually, we ended up with literally thousands of apps in our portal. This was extremely overwhelming, difficult to manage, and eventually, a turn-off for teachers. Are you ready to adjust your teaching for this new learning revolution? Let me take you inside the idea of SAMR with a helpful metaphor: Starbucks. The simplest way I know to describe the levels in the SAMR model is using a visual created by Tim Holt, who uses Starbucks as a unique way of looking at the model."

"This week's question is: What are the differences between Project-Based, Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning? Thinker, educator, writer John Dewey suggested that we learned best by doing. Educators today are trying to implement that philosophy through a number of instructional strategies, including project based, problem based and inquiry learning. This series will explore the differences between the three of them."

"For the past 30 years, the LEGO Group and the MIT Media Lab have collaborated on projects based on a shared passion for learning through play"

"The new year is in full swing. Teachers across the world are back to work, sharing thoughts, ideas and resources...ready for what 2016 may bring. With this in mind, we thought when better than to share 16 ways to use the Thinking Kit. Using the Thinking Kit Creator (currently free), educational activities can be created on any browser. The user saves the activity, gets a code, then uses that code in the Thinking Kit App (free) to download the activity onto iPads (or get students to). This teams two really strong themes together - learning using iPads AND digital content creation, whether by teachers or the learners themselves. Activities involve one main goal/objective/question and snippets of information or images to help learners complete/answer it. The Thinking Kit App can be used individually, but works brilliantly as a group activity too. It seamlessly allows for multi-touch and engages learners in face to face collaboration as they learn. There is a dedicated Reflection Stage and lots of tools to help them become better problem solvers, critical thinkers and team players. So, without further ado, let's get started…"

"Project-based learning is not some new-fangled teaching method just coming into vogue. In fact, use of the PBL approach can be tracked back to the big thinkers, including Confucius, Aristotle and Socrates. Its longevity is due to one of the key outcomes it provides: keeping students happily engaged in rigorous learning. Of course, the ancient philosophers didn't foresee PBL's connection to ed tech, but they did seem to comprehend the benefits students derive from the approach, including a deep understanding of content, the ability to transfer knowledge to new contexts, improved ability to collaborate and better content retention, to name a few. "