Rowland Foundation

Many educators are experimenting with the idea of a flipped classroom model. So what is it and why is everyone talking about it?

In-depth infographic all about Blended Learning. What it is, why it's spreading, and how it works in real and virtual classrooms.

"...suggests that good teaching must 'de-emphasise lecture and emphasise active problem-solving'..."

Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT for short) is a teaching and learning strategy based on the interaction between web-based study assignments and an active learner classroom. WarmUps and Puzzles are the heart of the JiTT web component. These are short, web-based assignments, prompting the student to think about the upcoming lesson and answer a few simple questions prior to class.

"...technology that allows him to easily record his lectures at home, slice them into easily digestible morsels, and make them available for students to watch online prior to class meetings..."

The subject of kids and media - how much they consume, what's "good" for them, what parents' role should be - is a broad and complicated topic. This is a collection of articles wide range of advice and information.

What is EduCon? "...not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we can come together ... to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas - from the very practical to the big dreams."

Option to attend either in person or virtually

OK...I have been trying to avoid the incessant Steve Jobs idolatry. But, it is hard to not admire his thought processes. So, here is a quick read of one of the many inspirational pieces that are out there.

Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter.

See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.

Article based on The Innovator's DNA: Mastering the 5 Skills of Disruptive Innovators Focus on concluding three chapters, People, Processes, and Philosophies, which draw on and offers 15 takeaways for Principals and School-Leaders.

What You Can Do to Become Stronger Innovation Leaders in Your School: 1. Own as Principal the role of Innovator-in-Chief: You can't delegate innovation. 2. Make your practice of "active innovation" visible. 3. Create complementary teams in school leadership. 4 . Observe closely what other principals and schools are doing. 5. Arrange for employee swaps. 6. Ask "Why?" 7. Seek people who had invented something, held deep expertise in a particular knowledge area, and demonstrated a passion to change the world. 8. Remember that innovators want to work with and for other innovators. 9. Embed innovation as an explicit, consistent element of performance reviews. 10. Develop formal and informal processes to facilitate knowledge exchanges. 11. Network externally. 12. Practice Beta testing and Prototyping. 13. Build many small, diverse teams. 14. Communicate and reinforce that Innovation is everyone's job. 15. Make innovation an explicit core value of your school. 16. Give more time for innovation. 17. Create "a safe space for others to innovate. 18. Model your risk taking and your learning from failure.

The book is framed around the Five Core Skills of Innovators, a framework highly valuable for ourselves and our students: What are we doing to do more of and become better at *Associating, *Questioning, *Observing, *Networking, *Experimenting.

15th Annual NEASCD Conference in Boston, MA on Dec 1- 3 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. This year's Conference, Leading and Learning: What's Next? Presenters: Heidi Hayes Jacobs Rick and Becky DuFour Alan November John D'Auria Kim Marshall Brian Mull Will Richardson

"Student voice" is talked about a lot in education, but what does it actually mean? Does it mean listening to students' opinions? Does it mean involving students in decisions about their learning? Does it mean students should have an equal say in decisions made about their entire educational experience, including decisions made at the level of school management and governance?

"This working paper describes a series of recent 'student voice' projects … varied in … specific contexts and processes. …Elicit(s) young people's perspectives about learning, education and/or other aspects of their lives…"

When presented with the statement there is too much emphasis on 'student voice' and similar ideas nowadays, teachers were almost divided in thirds: 26 percent agreed or strongly agreed, 34 percent were unsure, and 39 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed (See p. 89 of this report). Why did these teachers have such divergent opinions? More importantly, how exactly did each teacher interpret the term "student voice"?

"How have your best teachers inspired, engaged, encouraged and challenged you?" Teens on the staff of New Youth Connections magazine were asked to think this over - then they gathered for a group discussion about the best learning experiences they've had.

Top 10 Pieces of Advice from Students for Teachers 1. Be pushy. 2. Make the lesson relevant to our lives. 3. Be relatable, but please don't say: "It's time to dip, y'all!" 4. Teach us with words, sights, and sounds. 5. Be consistent and firm. 6. Believe in us. 7. Explain, explain, explain. 8. Use our time wisely. 9. Have clear objectives, clearly communicated.

This is a great catchall of information on the Critical Skills Program. Folks use the CSP as a big backpack to carry their work around 21st Century Skills, student-centered learning, differentiation and personalization.

Burlington - December 7th Part 1: Attitudes for Success with Challenging StudentsPart 2: Secrets of Promoting Responsibility for Learning and BehavingPart 3: Can't Miss Strategies to Motivate Students Every DayPart 4: Handle Difficult Student Behavior with Proven InterventionsPart 5: Build a Values Based Classroom

"At the core of the project is building collaborations among schools, businesses, and nonprofit organizations as a means to get everyone working together."

"The report argues that our national strategy for education and youth development has been too narrowly focused on an academic, classroom-based approach.Other advanced industrial nations are succeeding with an approach that places greater emphasis on career and technical education and work-based learning. Pathways to Prosperity contends that in order to regain the educational leadership we held for more than a century, the United States must build a more comprehensive network of pathways to serve youth in high school and beyond."

"This thoughtful paper makes a strong case for the development of multiple pathways leading from high school to post-secondary education or career training. Those of us who support a single-track system through high school need to carefully consider the questions raised in this provocative report." Phil Bredesen, Governor of Tennessee (2003-2011)

A truly transformed school. Could be tweaked to include non-curriculars. Interesting collection. Video, article, slideshow.

Research by Richard Light, the author and Harvard University scholar, and others indicates that when students are asked to write for one another, they write more effectively. This is perhaps counterintuitive. Wouldn't students do their best work for those grading their work? But students aren't eager to be seen as poor writers by their peers, so they step up their game when writing for other students. Also, they know that their peers don't understand the course content as well as their instructors do, so they tend to provide better explanations when writing for peers.

This manual contains an introduction, three training sections, and an appendix with supplemental materials: I. How Students Benefit from Parent Involvement II. Understanding Your School III. How ... Parents Become Involved IV. Appendix

To provide an overview of the key elements of parent involvement from...

To provide a suggested format for training...

The "Collaborating for Success" Parent Engagement Toolkit is designed to provide parents with practical strategies for getting engaged in schools, and to offer schools research-based approaches to overcoming barriers to parental engagement. Parents will find strategies and information that will encourage their future or current involvement with their children's schools. The school-related approaches will support the development of new parent programs or the enhancement of existing ones.