“We need to shift the focus from grades to learning.” This is a big statement to make, full of complex notions and far-reaching ideals. We live in a world where test scores determine the end goal for most schools and universities, making it close to impossible for us to imagine an alternative, but despite our rigid system, the conversation is moving. There’s talk of skills, mastery, innovation, technology, collaboration, connectivity, personalization… So how do we stop talking and start doing? There are simple ways for educators and parents to teach students the real value of learning, away from the pressures…
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How to Move the Conversation from Grades to Learning
No Child Left Behind: From Standardization to Personalization
Facilitating a move away from grades and towards better learning is no easy feat. Educators are attempting to make the ambitious move through the use of technology, forming innovative movements that focus on accelerating student learning, and exposing the flaws of standardized testing. Rooted in the efforts of such teachers are the technology providers focused on personalizing the learning experience for every student. Adaptive systems like Fishtree are combining efforts with connected educators, focusing on a similar goal that foresees a shift from standardization to personalization. 1. From Regurgitation to Mastery High-stakes testing generally promotes memorization and regurgitation as an…
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Why We Need a Student-Centered Education System
“Student-centered education” has been a trending topic for some time now. With an emphasis on promoting and enhancing student voice, choice and control, technology is helping to create student-centered learning environments focused on preparing students for modern day life and careers. Growing movements like BYOD, flipped and blended learning are highlighting the importance of student-centered learning, accentuating the need for student-driven methods, and self-paced environments. So why should our education system take any notice? The Nellie Mae Education Foundation defines student-centered learning as revolving around four main components where: Learning is Personalized Learning is Competency-Based Learning Happens Anytime, Anywhere Learning…
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What Every BYOD Classroom Needs to Succeed
So you want to convert your classroom to a student-centered learning environment? By making this decision, you’ve recognized the need to deliver more diverse and inclusive instruction that better reflects the needs of 21st century learners. Beginning with the shift to mobile learning, we’re moving steadily into student-centered education where technology plays a key role, and where there’s more student voice and choice than ever before. But what’s slowing us down? It’s the “what next” that often urges you to lose sight of your initial motivation to change, which begins with choosing what technology to use. One recurring question when…
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You’re Missing the Point! How to Respond to Struggling Students
We all struggle from time to time, but the danger that presents itself when a student continues to fall behind without the right support is a widespread concern, with good reason. According to a study by the national testing group, ACT, even within high-performing, wealthy schools, students who fall far behind academically in 4th and 8th grade have less than a ‘one in three’ chance of being ready for college or a career by the end of high school. A similar study carried out by the American Educational Research Association on how low reading skills affect graduation rates reveals that…
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Why Don’t We Listen? Harming Education by Ignoring Student Voice
In a recent TED Talk entitled “I’m Seventeen”, Kate Simonds challenges adults to try something new: To listen to teens. Instantly quashing our assumptions that she has achieved something incredible, done something “worthy of our attention”, to claim the stage at the tender age of seventeen, Kate goes on to question, “What makes me worth listening to?” Describing her efforts to ‘gain’ the respect of her audience, she explains how, unlike the other speakers on that stage, their respect was not something she initially had. Why? Why is Student Voice Ignored? Student voice has long been ignored and belittled by…
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Why is the Student-Teacher Relationship So Important?
For a long time now, we’ve been looking at how to adjust education to better reflect the changing world around us. But as the technology piles up and the innovation spreads, are we losing sight of what makes a learning environment truly effective, and what really drives better teaching and learning? While technology allows for more voice, choice and control, teacher-student relationships lie at the heart of how this technology is used, and how it impacts the teaching and learning experience for all involved. Built on support, trust, and mutual respect, the groundwork for good relationships generally begins in the…
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How is Blended Learning Revolutionizing K-12 Education?
Blended learning is widely considered one of the most significant instructional reforms ever to hit K-12 education. Learning in part through the use of digital and online media, students undertaking blended learning programs pursue a more diverse course of study, gaining an element of control over time, place, path, or pace. According to Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker in The Rise of K–12 Blended Learning, “In the year 2000, roughly 45,000 K–12 students took an online course. In 2009, more than 3 million K–12 students did.” The speed with which online learning is accelerating has made it virtually impossible…
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Pedagogy and Technology: How to Build a Personalized Learning Environment
Building a personalized learning environment depends on far more than simply finding the technology. First, it requires a change of mindset. From “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side”, from instructor-led to student-led, and from synchronous to self-paced, a personalized learning environment moves the focus from educator to learner, tailoring the learning experience to meet the different needs and aspirations of every single student. Technology comes into the mix as a tool to help educators achieve this. According to the Educause Learning Initiative, a PLE requires easy access to both people and resources, combining tools, communities and services…
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5 Habits of Highly Innovative Educators
#1. Connect Constantly Regardless of the many curveballs that may be thrown their way during a typical school day, innovative educators are always connected. With a base camp on Twitter, they move from hashtag to hashtag, sharing, connecting and learning, branching out regularly to other social media platforms to expand their reach. Embracing helpful feedback, discovering exciting concepts, and constructing new ideas, these educators then attempt to import their new-found expertise to the classroom, turning theory into practice, and ideas into movements. #2. Self-Assess Hourly With every class delivered, innovative educators try to make time for self-assessment. Analyzing each lesson,…
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