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To name a few, the national curriculum now includes coding, schools should now be teaching character, or ‘grit’ alongside subjects,

social learning - the use of peer review through social-media like sites where students can learn from and help each other through peer-review.

Find, Filter, Apply – Students no longer need to know everything, just how to find it, how to filter to get the most relevant info, and to apply it.

We live in a culture that does not always encourage or support expressions of loss and, frankly, expects people "to get over" grief fairly quickly

For example, in language arts, students can be told that they will be writing about someone they remember and they can focus on what they miss about that person or how they remember that person in their lives now

In the visual and performing arts, a similar assignment to make the focus of students' products someone they miss or remember.

This idea of applying gaming mechanics to non-game situations is known as gamification. What defines a game is having a goal or objective

What we learn from games is that adding narrative, storyline, a theme, or fun graphics to our lessons and activities can help students be more engaged.

Step 1: Name Your Year

Step 2: Name Your Goal

Step 3: Put Your Decision in Writing

Many teachers I encounter have decided that they need to crack down on — if not entirely eradicate — screen distractions in their classrooms. (A minority of teachers accept it as a form of 21st century doodling.)

If the activity is engaging and challenging, there is an authentic audience, and prescribed time limits, students won’t mess around.

The more time I spend “teaching” teachers something from the front of the room, the more inclined they are to check email, Facebook, or whatever.

If you're a teacher and not an instructional leader, you can initiate this important conversation, too.

make sure you acknowledge his or her specific strengths so that he or she can build on them

now is the time to give them complete ownership over their development so that it's meaningful for them and they're inspired to do it.

Are you able to stay up with your son or daughter until he or she finishes those assignments? If the answer is no, then too much homework is being assigned, and you both need more of the sleep that, according to Daniel T. Willingham (3), is crucial to memory consolidation.

we see moderate advantages of no more than two hours of homework for high school students. For younger students, the correlation is even smaller. Homework does teach other important, non-cognitive skills such as time management, sustained attention, and rule following, but let us not mask that as learning the content and skills that most assignments are supposed to teach

A scientific approach to tackling their homework can actually lead to deepened learning in less time.

I generally keep an agenda for my training sessions and then make sure that I provide a brief video highlighting each topic.

I provide the teachers with a playlist highlighting the more advanced tools, such as widgets, embedding videos, and inputting a variety of multimedia.

By providing faculty with additional tools and information that may be more challenging, they have the option to accelerate their professional development according to their comfort level and individual needs.

Note that I'm using the term "facilitator" to mean the person who plans and designs agendas as well as who guides a team through processes outlined on an agenda

a variety of structures or protocols to meet the desired outcomes.

The purpose of the meeting and desired outcomes are articulated and connected to the school's vision, mission, and big goals

Whatever support you ask from a parent needs to be something that is within her sphere of influence.

Always convey a growth mindset. All behaviors can change given the right conditions. If you want to see changes and have concerns about a student, be prepared to offer specific, actionable solutions

If this is the first time you're sitting down with parents, it's a great opportunity to hear their perspective on their child's school experience so far, on what their child likes to do outside of school, on the questions and concerns they have about their child, and so on.

o when tech is doing the things teachers did, what do teachers do? Here are some ideas. Relationships: When technology provides the on demand lecture and feedback, teachers have more time to develop relationships with students.  Students want to be seen, heard, and known. Technology enables teachers to better know their students for who they are as a whole as well as their talents, interests, and areas where they want to grow. Guidance: Young people need and want guidance. Teachers can spend more time guiding and supporting students. Tutoring: When whole class instruction can be done using technology, teachers are freed up to do small group and one-on-one tutoring.  Digital Literacy: Teachers can play an important role in helping to support students in being responsible and respectful digital citizens. Learning Network Development: Connections are key and with technology we can help students safely make local and global connections.  What if we found a mentor for every student that could support them digitally and/or face-to-face. Cheerleader: Students love knowing you know their accomplishments.  More time to notice what students have accomplished. Discuss what that means and give them support.

So according to our "big tent" model of PBL, some of the newer "X-BLs" -- problem-, challenge- and design-based -- are basically modern versions of the same concept.

At BIE, we see project-based learning as a broad category which, as long as there is an extended "project" at the heart of it, could take several forms or be a combination of: Designing and/or creating a tangible product, performance or event Solving a real-world problem (may be simulated or fully authentic) Investigating a topic or issue to develop an answer to an open-ended question

We decided to call problem-based learning a subset of project-based learning -- that is, one of the ways a teacher could frame a project is "to solve a problem."

Set and Debrief Goals for "Work" Time

Reflect on the Driving Question

Use Team Contracts

The most effective creative process alternates between time in groups, collaboration, interaction, and conversation... [and] times of solitude, where something different happens cognitively in your brain,

Unequal participation is perhaps the most common complaint about group work.

a handful of practices that educators use to promote equal participation. These involve setting out clear expectations for group work, increasing accountability among participants, and nurturing a productive group work dynamic.

Teachers at the school often say they’re “teaching kids to teach themselves” and rarely answer questions directly; instead they ask students to consider other sources of information first.

mixing age groups accelerates learning.

“When you get kids collaborating together, they become more resourceful and they see themselves as experts,”

When teachers have a better understanding of the brain’s memory systems, they can help students develop stronger study habits and engage them in deep learning. 

In classrooms, some students absorb and master these skills faster than others. Oakley calls these “race car learners” who zoom to the finish line. In contrast “other students have hiker brains,” says Oakley. “They get to the finish line, but more slowly.”

It’s also why many students struggle at following multi-step directions. It’s not a lack of focus. Their working memory simply does not have the capacity to “keep in mind” something like a five-step process –  unless they’ve practiced those steps so many times that it has become a routine that doesn’t require active thought. That’s why skilled teachers spend so much time at the beginning of the year establishing classroom procedures and thinking routines. These practiced routines can free up working memory space for students to learn novel material.