Latest from Tech & Learning in Student-centered-learning

What is Project-Based Learning?

erik.ofgang@futurenet.com (Erik Ofgang) — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 09:00:30 +0000

Project-based learning (PBL) focuses on having students explore real-world problems and challenges in an active and student-centered manner.

Instead of a traditional assessment, students in project-based learning STEM class might engage in a complex project that evolves hands-on work and takes weeks of preparation but ultimately demonstrates the student’s proficiency in the subject matter and has real-world applications.

Below is everything you need to know about project-based learning as a new or veteran teacher looking to better understand this important pedagogy.

What is Project-Based Learning?

Project-based learning is all about the real-world application of classroom knowledge and student-centered learning. Students solve specific actual problems by working on projects over an extended period of time (often more than a week) that demonstrate their understanding of class content and produce a tangible result. The project is often meaningful to a student, which creates an opportunity to become more invested in creating a solution.

Project-based learning can be focused around STEM topics and aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and its three main dimensions: crosscutting concepts, science and engineering practices, and disciplinary core ideas.

When implemented correctly, proponents believe project-based learning fosters engagement and deeper learning by encouraging critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.

In a project-based classroom, projects might include students making a documentary on local animal habitats, an investigation of local water quality, or the creation of a virtual museum app looking at a relevant moment in history.

Common Project-Based Learning Misconceptions and Mistakes

True project-based learning is not to be confused with a traditional “class project.” Traditional class projects often fall into a category that PBLworks.org calls “dessert projects,” which they define as short and intellectually light projects that a student presents after the teacher covers the course content in the usual way. In contrast, PBLworks.org notes that in true project-based learning, the project is the unit.

Project-based learning is not easy to implement as it requires a teacher who can guide students through engaging projects that challenge them intellectually and relate to their interests. However, it is easy to create a project-based learning environment that looks and feels deceptively engaging.

Louis Deslauriers, who researches active learning and is director of Science Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, told Tech & Learning that he encounters this type of classroom often when visiting classrooms in K-12 and higher ed. “I see everyone is working hard on worksheets,” he says. “They have a piece of paper in front of them, and they're talking with each other, and they're trying to fill the worksheet. But then when I look more closely, I can see that the worksheet is actually less than useless. It's a complete waste of time.”

Because of these challenges, Deslauriers advises educators only implement project-based learning after they’ve received adequate training in pedagogy.

What Does Project-Based Learning Research Show?

Critics of project-based learning argue it devalues the importance of direct instruction, but some recent research offers strong support for effectively designed project-based learning classrooms.

One randomized control trial compared project-based learning AP classrooms to traditional AP classrooms and found that in the project-based learning classrooms 8 percent more students passed the class. When teachers in the study taught the same curriculum for a second year, their students outperformed students in a traditional classroom by 10 percentage points.

Another study of third-grade science classes found similarly positive results. These studies seemingly confirm what many teachers who engage in project-based learning see in the classroom: the practice can engage kids and help them get excited about the real-world applications of what they’re learning in school.

Resources for Project-Based Learning

Franklin County School District and Discovery Education Bring STEM Education to the District

Maria Sanabria — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 15:42:33 +0000

Silver Spring, Md. (August 28, 2018) – Florida’s Franklin County School District (FCSD) announced today that it is teaming up with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, on a new initiative supporting STEM education across the district. Utilizing Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and innovative professional learning systems, this new partnership will empower district educators to create a culture of STEM teaching and learning in the district’s K-12 school and K-8 charter school.

Located in the heart of Florida’s Panhandle and serving the county’s approximately 4,250 households, the Franklin County School District seeks to create an educational atmosphere in the school system that inspires students to reach their fullest potential. Specifically, FCSD seeks to deepen students’ engagement in STEM education and nurture learners’ communication, critical thinking, creative, and collaboration skills by creating inquiry-based STEM classroom environments.

Among the resources the school system will use to create stimulating STEM learning environments is Discovery Education Streaming Plus. A comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas, Discovery Education Streaming Plus helps build students’ mastery in interpreting, understanding, and evaluating information. Students can access a variety of digital assets such as images, primary source documents, podcasts, articles, and videos, then are empowered to become content creators with a suite of content creation tools that help teachers and students safely and easily collaborate in real-time on virtual projects. Teacher resources include lesson plans, instructional strategies, and content collections organized around themes, as well as a collection of STEM resources designed to fuel a cultural shift in teaching and learning.

FCSD educators across the school district will also soon begin using Discovery Education’s STEM Connect to enhance core curriculum and bring STEM to life in classrooms. A cutting-edge, web-based, interdisciplinary K-8 supplemental resource built on a 4Cs STEM skills framework, STEM Connect helps students develop the creative, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills they need for success beyond graduation. Featuring flexible, modular learning units, STEM Connect provides students an easy-to-follow educational experience that includes real-world challenges, career connections, and hands-on activities.

To help FCSD’s educators shift their instruction and utilize these new tools, the district will launch the STEM Leader Corpcapacity building model. Administrators and teachers from FSCD’s K-12 school and K-8 charter school will participate in STEM Leader Corps’ professional learning opportunities, which support the adoption of new strategies and best practices for building and sustaining a culture of STEM in their schools and guide them as they master new STEM instructional approaches. With a focus on developing high-quality STEM instruction, creating interdisciplinary lessons and units, and vertically aligning STEM education district-wide, this initiative provides the robust professional development, job-embedded coaching, and administrative leadership support necessary to create centers of STEM excellence.

“The teachers and administrators of the Franklin County School District are deeply committed to helping all our students develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful no matter where their lives take them,” said Franklin County Schools Superintendent Traci Moses. “Discovery Education’s professional learning opportunities and digital content can help us meet that goal, and we are excited to team up with their experts to jointly build the culture of STEM teaching and learning that will prepare our students to succeed in the real world.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.

New York’s Yonkers Public Schools Joins Forces with Discovery Education to Create Culture of Student Inquiry Districtwide

Maria Sanabria — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 13:42:55 +0000

- Discovery Education’s Award-Winning Streaming Plus Digital Resources Will Help Create Immersive Learning Experiences in All 39 District Schools-

Silver Spring, Md. (August 8, 2018) – New York’s Yonkers Public Schools (YPS) today announced it has engaged Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, to support its efforts to build a culture of student inquiry in classrooms districtwide. Through this new partnership, teachers in all 39 YPS schools will receive access to Discovery Education Streaming Plus. An award-winning digital service, Discovery Education Streaming Plus empowers teachers and students with thousands of high-quality learning resources and a suite of innovative content creation tools they can use to create immersive learning experiences that ignites the spirit of curiosity in each learner.

The fourth largest school district in New York State, YPS serves 27,000 students from 100 cultures and nationalities. To meet both the individual needs of their diverse student population and the school system’s goal of creating a culture of student inquiry districtwide that fosters high levels of student achievement and nurtures the growth of 21 Century skills in all students, YPS has partnered with Discovery Education. District leaders believe the integration of Discovery Education Streaming Plus into the school system’s existing curriculum will help encourage greater student ownership of the learning process, support more personalized instruction, and heighten student engagement.

Discovery Education Streaming Plus is an award-winning comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas. The streaming service helps build students’ mastery in interpreting, understanding, and evaluating information. Students can access a variety of digital assets including images, primary source documents, podcasts, oral interviews, articles, videos, interactives, and more, and are empowered to become content creators with a suite of content creation tools that help teachers and students safely and easily collaborate in real-time on virtual projects. Teacher resources include lesson plans, instructional strategies, interactive learning courses, and content collections organized around themes, as well as a collection of new STEM/STEAM resources designed to fuel a cultural shift in teaching and learning.

“The Yonkers Public Schools are committed to creating a culture of student inquiry that will prepare all learners to seize the opportunities of today and tomorrow,” said Alex Servello, Yonkers Public Schools Executive Director of Digital Learning and Innovations. “We believe that by partnering with Discovery Education to bring innovative digital resources into our classrooms, we will help our students reach their highest potential and inspire in them a life-long love of learning.”

Educators across YPS will be supported in their efforts to build a culture of student inquiry by the Discovery Education Community or DEN. A global community of education professionals, the DEN connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing, and inspiration.

“We are excited to support the great team at the Yonkers Public Schools in their effort to create a strong culture of student inquiry districtwide,” said Discovery Education Partnership Manager Gabrielle Frey. “Together we will ensure that all educators have access to the innovative digital content they need to create learning environments that nurture the academic growth of the district’s students as they prepare for a successful future.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s Streaming Plus and additional digital resources visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.

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About Discovery Education

As the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12 classrooms worldwide, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional learning, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries around the globe. Inspired by the global media company Discovery Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.

Tennessee’s Hamilton County Schools Selects Discovery Education to Drive Inquiry-based Teaching and Learning Initiative in all Middle Schools and High Schools

Maria Sanabria — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 15:04:45 +0000

- Award-Winning Digital Services and Professional Learning to Support the Development of Life-Long Learners-

Silver Spring, Md. (June 20, 2018) – Tennessee’s Hamilton County Schools (HCS) today announced it has selected Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms to support its inquiry-based teaching and learning initiative. This new five-year partnership will bring Discovery Education’s award-winning digital services, as well as sustained professional learning, to all Hamilton County Schools’ middle and high school students and teachers. This unique combination of rich digital content and professional learning will drive HCS’s efforts to help all students become life-long learners.

The Hamilton County School community is committed to creating an effective and high performing public education system that creates a great quality of life for a thriving community. Serving approximately 45,000 students, speaking 125 languages, across 576 square miles in southeastern Tennessee, HSC has chosen inquiry-based learning to activate the innate curiosity of its middle and high school students. With Discovery Education’s unique blend of dynamic digital content and professional learning, district educators will be empowered to build digital, inquiry-based learning environments that create new pathways and opportunities for middle and high school students, helping them prepare for their post-secondary educations and careers.

In addition, HSC’s new partnership with Discovery Education also supports the district’s Future Ready Preps initiative. This new effort seeks to personalize learning in the middle grades to meet every child where they are academically, expose them to a variety of potential careers, and support their social and emotional learning. Academic performance in district middle grades will be the focus, and teachers will spearhead the instructional and cultural shifts required to achieve the new vision for the middle school experience. This vision also extends to high schools through the Future Ready Institutes.

Among the new resources soon to be available to district middle and high school educators are, Discovery Education’s innovative Science, Math, and Social Studies Techbooks. These digital textbooks are aligned to rigorous standards, support a comprehensive curriculum, and are updated regularly at no cost. The series encourages all learners through interactive features that change the reading level of text and enable text to be read aloud. Discovery Education’s Techbook series saves teachers’ time with a comprehensive design that places model lessons, student activities and assessments at their fingertips. Additionally, the Techbooks are platform neutral and can be used in one-to-one or one-to-many configurations and in any instructional environment.

Discovery Education’s Science Techbook, utilizes an inquiry-based format built on the 5E model, helps teach students to read, write, and think like scientists through hands-on labs, digital explorations, an interactive glossary, and data analysis activities. The Math Techbook is a digital textbook that connects students to math through real-world problems, helping all learners develop long-lasting mastery of mathematical concepts. Finally, Discovery Education’s Social Studies Techbook uses an inquiry-based instructional approach that emphasizes informational text literacy, analytical writing, and problem-solving skills that students will apply in the classroom and beyond.

In addition to the Techbooks, HCS’s educators and students will also shortly begin using the Discovery Education Streaming Plus and STEM Connect services as core instructional resources to support their efforts to promote inquiry-based instruction.

Discovery Education Streaming Plus is a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas that helps build students’ mastery in interpreting, understanding, and evaluating information across all subject areas. With Streaming Plus, students can access a variety of digital assets including images, primary source documents, podcasts, oral interviews, articles, videos, and more. In addition, students using Streaming Plus are empowered to become content creators with a suite of content creation tools that help teachers and students safely and easily collaborate in real-time on virtual projects. Teacher resources include lesson plans, instructional strategies, and content collections organized around themes, as well as a collection of new STEM resources designed to fuel a cultural shift in teaching and learning.

Discovery Education’s STEM Connect enhances core curriculum and brings STEM to life in classrooms. A cutting-edge, web-based, interdisciplinary K-8 supplemental resource built on a 4Cs STEM skills framework, STEM Connect helps students develop the creative, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills they need for success beyond graduation. Featuring flexible, modular learning units, STEM Connect provides students an easy-to-follow educational experience that includes real-world challenges, career connections, and hands-on activities.

“The team at the Hamilton County Schools understands that students who are motivated and interested in learning are more successful, confident, and experience higher achievement,” said Dr. Bryan Johnson, Hamilton County Schools Superintendent. “Our new partnership with Discovery Education will help us achieve the culture shift we need to create even more rewarding learning experiences that we know will lead to higher engagement and greater student success.”

In addition to integrating a new host of digital content into classroom instruction, HCS’s middle school and high school educators will also participate in sustained, job-embedded professional learning from Discovery Education’s expert faculty that will help the educators evolve their teaching practice and effectively use their new digital resources in the classroom. The Discovery Education Community will also support all HCS teachers’ efforts to transform students’ learning experiences with dynamic digital media. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration.

“Discovery Education is honored to collaborate with the talented team at the Hamilton County Schools as they create modern, inquiry-based learning experiences that will engage every child, every day,” said Anna Strassner, Discovery Education’s Senior Manager of Education Partnerships. “We look forward to supporting superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson and his entire team as they begin this exciting new journey.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s Techbook Series, and other services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.

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About Discovery Education

Dynamic Content from UNICEF, the National Park Service, USC Shoah Foundation and More Added to Discovery Education’s Award-Winning Digital Services

Maria Sanabria — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 14:38:15 +0000

–Exciting New Content Supports Both Student Instruction and Educator Professional Learning -

Silver Spring, Md. (June 11, 2018) – Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, announced today it has added a host of new digital assets to its award-winning supplemental and digital textbook services. The recently added content empowers educators to create dynamic digital learning environments that engage students and boost academic achievement.

Among the content added to Discovery Education’s digital services are:

· Kid Power Ups Content from UNICEF: Available in all Discovery Education services, Kid Power Ups are short, interactive videos that provide the ideal brain break to help students re-focus. Each time an educator completes 10 Kid Power Ups videos, UNICEF unlocks one packet of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to treat children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition that affects 16 million children worldwide.

· Unique Career Content and More from the National Park Service: Two series from the National Park Service have been added to Discovery Education Streaming Plus and the Science Techbook. Study the Scientist profiles the roles of ornithologists, botanists, hydrologists, fire archaeologists, and more interesting science careers at Yosemite National Park. Yosemite Nature Notes travels to Yosemite National Park where park rangers, scientists, and historians showcase the majestic landscapes and unique wildlife found within the park.

· NASA Reading Passages and Animations: 70 new reading passages from NASA providing insight into planets, weather patterns on Earth, and even shooting stars are now available in Discovery Education Streaming Plus and Science Techbook. In addition, 12 animations from the NASA Earth Observatory have been added to those services that highlight changes to Earth’s weather patterns, temperature, and atmosphere over time.

· An Exciting Virtual Field Trip from EA SPORTS: Now available in all Discovery Education services, the EA SPORTS: Madden NFL: Football by the Numbers Virtual Field Trip takes students behind the scenes of EA SPORTS to learn how data powers video game development. The team behind Madden NFL shares how player statistics and visual data are collected and integrated into the game to provide the most realistic gaming experience possible.

· Primary Source Testimonies from USC Shoah Foundation: Discovery Education has partnered with USC Shoah Foundation to bring video testimonies to Discovery Education Streaming Plus and Social Studies Techbook. 70 curated primary source testimony clips from survivors and witnesses of genocides throughout history provide students the opportunity to understand the impact that historical events have on individuals, communities, and society as a whole.

“One of the tremendous benefits of using curated, high-quality digital content services like those from Discovery Education is that exciting standards-aligned new media is always being added,” said Beth Matusiewicz, an educator from Wisconsin’s North Lakeland School District. “I look forward to integrating this fresh content into my classroom instruction.”

Discovery Education also added helpful professional learning content to Discovery Education Streaming Plus. Produced in conjunction with members of the Discovery Educator Network (DEN), two Hot Topics videos have been created to provide educators instructional strategies that support language learners and literacy. Additionally, a video that demonstrates how instruction can be differentiated by content, process, product, and learning environment is now also available. The DEN is a part of the Discovery Education Community, a global community of education professionals that connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing, and inspiration.

“Providing dynamic, up-to-date, engaging resources is at the core of Discovery Education’s mission to empower all educators with the resources they need to transform teaching and learning,” said Marty Creel, Discovery Education’s Chief Academic Officer. “As we add new content to our digital services, Discovery Education’s expert curriculum team will continue listening closely to the needs of the 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students we serve.”

Discovery Education Streaming Plus is a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas that helps build students’ mastery in interpreting, understanding, and evaluating information across all subject areas. Students can access a variety of digital assets such as images, primary source documents, podcasts, articles, and videos, then are empowered to become content creators with a suite of content creation tools that help teachers and students safely and easily collaborate in real-time on virtual projects. Teacher resources include lesson plans, instructional strategies, and content collections organized around themes, as well as a collection of STEM resources designed to fuel a cultural shift in teaching and learning.

Discovery Education’s Techbooks are award-winning digital textbooks aligned to rigorous standards, supportive of a comprehensive curriculum, and updated regularly at no cost. Utilizing an inquiry-based format built on the 5E model, Discovery Education’s Science Techbook helps teach students to read, write, and think like scientists through hands-on labs, digital explorations, an interactive glossary, and data analysis activities. The Social Studies Techbook series uses an inquiry-based instructional approach that emphasizes informational text literacy, analytical writing, and problem-solving skills that students will apply in the classroom and beyond. Each subject area includes primary source documents and activities, digital investigations, multimedia reference library, interactive maps, and more.

For more information about Discovery Education’s Streaming Plus and other services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.

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About Discovery Education

No Child Left Unloved: 5 Shifts We Need to Serve At-Risk Youth

Lisa Nielsen — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 09:00:00 +0000

Editor's note: This is part of a series entitled "Innovative Approaches to Support At-Risk Youth."

Innovative educators work hard to find the best ways possible for students to learn by tapping into their talents, passions, interests, and abilities. However, before the learning can happen, there is one crucial element that is necessary, but often overlooked for learning to occur. One that is especially important when serving at-risk youth.

If there is not love, there is not learning

This is not addressed in schools of education. This is not addressed by those critiquing schools or teachers. In fact, it is ignored. As a result, an educator who might be a master in his or her craft will fail in reaching these students if they are not loved.

Students raised by “guardians”

If, like many teachers and politicians you were loved by a parent who cared for you, it is possible this has never crossed your mind. However, those of us who teach at-risk youth know many of our students have not had such luck. In fact one of the first things you learn as a teacher in such places is to STOP using the word PARENT. That’s because a large number of our children have parents who were not prepared to raise them. Instead they have “guardians.” It is almost without giving it much thought that we transition to speaking and writing not about parents, but about our student’s parent or guardian.

Teachers in inner city schools will also notice a lot of students of ALL ages, intentionally or accidentally refer to them as mom. They are looking for love and care.

If we unpack the term, we can start to think about what are we saying to these kids without parents. The ones who aren’t lucky enough to have parents, but have guardians instead. It is a constant reminder that someone doesn’t love and parent, them, but rather guards them. The same language used by those who ensure there is order in a prison. As a result, we have children being guarded and protected but not parented and loved.

Unfortunately, teachers are trained to teach all kids the same way whether or not they have parents.

No child left unloved

If we care about ensuring today’s youth grow up to be productive citizens, we need to rethink the role of teachers and schools. Chris Lehmann explains if we want children to learn, then we need to build caring institutions. To do this, we must stop thinking of our jobs as teaching subjects and start realizing we are teaching kids. The relationship between teacher and student is more important than the relationship between teacher and subject.

Maslow’s Hierarchy

To understand this from a scientific approach, let’s review Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Schools are often positioned to help provide for a child’s basic needs and self-fulfillment, but the psychological needs are often completely overlooked.

No child left behind

Rather than address the psychological needs of children, we’ve put into effect programs that ignore this. Instead, they think leaving no child behind means ensuring they all score well on standardized tests. Long after this failed experiment was launched by George W and supported by the electeds that have followed him, we see this doesn’t work.

Interestingly, President Barack Obama, realized the importance of this and even lauded the model that best embraces relationships: Big Picture Learning. Here’s what they believe:

Relationships under gird all learning at The Met. Keeping adults and other students at bay is not an option. Met students must build close relationships with an advisor, community mentors, and other Met faculty, if they are to fulfill their personal learning plans.

The Met, as it likes to say, enrolls families, not just students. For students, this conviction poses a formidable adolescent challenge: accepting parents and guardians as valued partners in their learning.

His words were ones that evoked promise and excitement for a shift and enlightened experience for students. Sadly, despite his words, Obama embraced the common curriculum and standardized tests that valued none of this and obliterated models such as Big Picture.

If we really want to help students to learn, we must address this forgotten piece of Maslow’s Hierarchy with these five shifts.

5 shifts we need

When we move love to center of learning, these are natural shifts that should result.

1) Parents, not guardians: We must consider how we can ensure a child is surrounded by family, not guardians. Do they have a permanent home? Permanent parents? If not, attend to that.

2) Loving before learning: Jeff Bliss taught us that we must touch a student’s freakin heart before we can reach their mind. He was right.

3) Realistic class loads: You can not build a relationship with students if you can’t get to know a student. That means we have to look at the science which says there is NO WAY to know more than 150 students. Do the research. Get to know Dunbar’s number. If you’re administrator who values students you won’t allow unrealistic class loads. If you are a teacher you will do your best to ensure admins know you value children and you will encourage them to set you and your students up for success.

4) Change the role of the teacher: When tech teaches, teachers can do much more work when it comes to building relationships and ensuring students experience deeper learning.

5) Update schools of education and teacher training: The kids are right (see what they wanted the nation to know about education). Teacher training programs need to include training on guidance, counseling, social work, and other support.

Good teachers know that love and relationships are at the center of learning. They know they are set up for failure and they are frustrated. But change is possible. The innovation we need to realize it is nothing new. Instead, it requires that we make these important shifts that put children at the center of learning.

Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.

Disclaimer: The information shared here is strictly that of the author and does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of her employer.

5 Ideas for Keeping Students At The Center of Learning #TLTechLive

Lisa Nielsen — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 11:00:00 +0000

1) Align learning to student preferences

How are you designing opportunities in alignment with the way students learn best? At the Phoenix Coding Academy they use a tool called Indigo (similar to Thrively or Naviance… aka Myers Briggs for young people). As a result educators and students can use these profiles to customize their school work to ensure what they do best matches the needs indicated in their learning profiles. The profiles also help students see the type of career that might be best matched to their strengths.

2) Relationships are key

When using technology, it is imperative to remember that the relationship between teacher and student is still key. An advantage of technology is that it can replace some of the work typically done by a teacher such as providing instant feedback, lectures on demand. Some administrators see this as an opportunity to pile on the number of students a teacher has. Administrators who understand the importance of relationships know that this shift in responsibilities should result in the teacher being able to provide more time and individual focus on supporting the students in front of them. Models like Big Picture Learning ensure that teachers have very small class loads because only by building relationships can we really meaningfully impact children.

3) Build learning networks

Traditionally teachers with their teacher’s guide in hand had the power to dole out information to their little disciples. That should no longer be the case in our information rich, connected world. Today, the teacher should no longer be at the center of instruction. Instead, the teacher should be guiding and empowering digital learners who are the center of their own learning network aligned with their passions, interests, and abilities. This means supporting students in safely connecting to a network of people who can help guide and support their learning goals. While this can certainly mean people from within the community, with technology there are no geographical boundaries. So this can mean helping them connect with experts, authors, and others who share their interests from around the globe. You can read more about how to do this in the books The Educator’s Guide to Creating Connections and Supporting Student Personal Learning Networks.

4) Give students opportunities to hold leadership roles

Not only should students be at the center, but students can be empowered to have leadership roles. For example allow students to lead digital citizenship initiatives. Create a student tech support team at your school where students are given leadership roles. Does your school have a leadership team that helps to make important decisions? Make sure students are on that team.

5) Involve students in all aspects of their education

It is essential that we communicate with the people that ultimately will be impacted and give them a platform for input. This means they should be a part of conversations about curriculum design, classroom environment, facilities, purchasing, etc. This isn’t a one time conversation. It is ongoing. Bring everyone to the table at regular intervals to not only to develop a clear plan, but also to discuss issues that come up during implementation and execution and come up with solutions.

Your turn

What do you think? Are there some ideas shared here that exist where you work? If not, why not? Are there some you may be able to introduce? Are there ideas you use that are not mentioned here? What are they?

Disclaimer: The information shared here is strictly that of the author and does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of her employer.