A Principal's Reflections

MARCH 6, 2022

A great deal has changed since I was in school. I vividly remember getting a TANDY laptop from my parents when I graduated high school. It was a considerable upgrade from the Apple IIe that we all shared in the guest room. I was mesmerized by the black screen with orange text, the fact that I didn’t have to toil over an electric typewriter anymore. Simplistic games were also available that I could now play without being tied to a desktop monitor or television set.

High School 483

High School Education 483

Digital Promise

MARCH 7, 2022

Digital Promise has received a $20 million gift, the single largest unrestricted gift in the organization’s history, from MacKenzie Scott. This catalytic investment will support Digital Promise as it pushes for bold solutions that can create equitable educational experiences to help prepare all learners for holistic, lifelong success. “Digital Promise is grateful to MacKenzie Scott for this generous contribution,” said Jean-Claude Brizard, president and CEO of Digital Promise.

Learning Science 148

Learning Science Educational Technology History Research 148

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 7, 2022

The idea that teachers stop getting better after their first few years on the job has become widely accepted by both policymakers and the public. Philanthropist and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates popularized the notion in a 2009 TED Talk when he said “ once somebody has taught for three years, their teaching quality does not change thereafter.” He argued that teacher effectiveness should be measured and good teachers rewarded.

Middle School 142

Middle School Professional Development Research Teaching 142

ED Surge

MARCH 8, 2022

The people who build and fund edtech tools occupy different professional worlds than the educators who use those tools. And those worlds can sometimes collide. That was clear when we invited a venture capitalist who invests in edtech companies to have a dialogue with a professor who has been critical of the edtech industry. The topic: what role should artificial intelligence play in education?

EdTech 122

EdTech Education Teaching Research 122

Edthena

MARCH 11, 2022

Positive school culture is key to thriving teachers and students. It means that educators are connected and behave with shared beliefs and values. But school leaders have so much on their plates and it can be tricky to know how to support something as broad as the culture of a school. That doesn’t stop Sarah Martin. The founding principal of Stonefields School in Auckland, New Zealand, has prioritized cultivating a positive school culture.

Cultures 98

Cultures Research Education K-12 98

Digital Promise

MARCH 10, 2022

The micro-credentialing field is ever shifting and changing – a characteristic that has made it ideal for innovation. The pandemic has demanded a high level of adaptability in education that micro-credentials can support. To support educators in accessing quality and relevant professional learning tools at the beginning of the pandemic, we curated a list of micro-credentials that could be earned with a remote or hybrid classroom.

Professional Development 112

Professional Development Artifacts Library Research 112

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 8, 2022

Humanities professors across the country have ceaselessly lamented the precipitous decline in undergraduate humanities majors in recent years. During the decade following the Great Recession of 2008, the number of humanities bachelor’s degree recipients fell by a whopping 14 percent — from a peak of about 236,000. The humanities field has not recovered from that free fall, recently published data from the National Center for Education Statistics show.

Social Justice 125

Social Justice Humanities Archival Research Archiving 125

Edthena

MARCH 10, 2022

What innovation is “shaking up teacher professional learning?” According to Language Magazine , it’s the AI Coach platform by Edthena. Language Magazine provides news and resources for language learners, educators, and professionals and recently wrote about the AI Coach platform. Through personalized coaching cycles, the AI Coach platform coaches teachers to coach themselves with standards aligned to teacher professional learning.

Teaching 98

Teaching Professional Development K-12 Education 98

Education Elements

MARCH 6, 2022

As we write this, we are thinking back to the last “normal” month in 2020 before COVID-19 arrived in full force. A sampling of headlines from Education Weekly in February 2020 highlight social and emotional learning , the role of technology in education, and the importance of effective school leadership. With the benefit of hindsight, we can reflections of what we faced then, pre-COVID, in the complex challenges facing school leaders now.

Leadership 76

Leadership Education 76

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 6, 2022

BOCA RATON, Fla. — With no one to support him after leaving foster care when he turned 18, Hasan Dickinson held down two jobs during his first semester at a large state university, running for the bus to work as soon as class was over. This story also appeared in NBC News. Those outside time commitments took such a toll on his grades that he was stripped of his financial aid, blocked from registering for any more classes and he risked being kicked out of the dorm that was his only place to live.

Sociology 121

Sociology Political Science Advocacy Economics 121

ED Surge

MARCH 8, 2022

Recently, lawmakers in Iowa penned a bill that, if passed, would have required cameras in every K-12 classroom in the state. These cameras would allow parents to livestream their children’s lessons throughout the school day. Meanwhile in Indiana, a bill would have required teachers to turn in a year’s worth of lesson plans in advance. Both failed to pass their respective state legislatures.

Lesson Plan 114

Lesson Plan K-12 History Professional Development 114

Edthena

MARCH 9, 2022

AI Coach by Edthena coaches teachers to self-reflect. Teachers work through structured coaching cycles aligned to their growth area by having a conversation with a virtual coach. The terms “AI” or “virtual coach” might conjure up images of teachers talking only to futuristic robots and forgoing the human-centric and collaborative work of being an educator.

Teaching 98

Teaching Humanities Research K-12 98

Civics U

MARCH 10, 2022

There is a plethora of issues facing our country these days that could be addressed in this column. It could be stimulating and helpful to examine such matters as energy, education, immigration, racism, voting security and access, abortion, government mandates, and more. And at this time concerns about the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the U.S.’s response is certainly of critical importance.

Civics 40

Civics Government US Government Leadership 40

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 8, 2022

Over the last two years, we have interviewed dozens of educators about school leadership. At the end of every conversation, we always ask the educator if they might want to be a high school principal one day. Their answers are consistent: “No, thank you.”. Take Sonjah McBain. As an instructional coach at a small high school in New York City, Sonjah was beloved by students, staff and families.

Leadership 115

Leadership High School Professional Development Cultures 115

ED Surge

MARCH 11, 2022

In recent years, blockchain technology has become a buzzword in the edtech sector. The system of recording information secures digital data in a way that makes it traceable and difficult to alter. Updates must be validated collectively. The technology can be used to authenticate the identities of people, to determine ownership or to verify data. The possibilities for applying this type of system in education are extensive.

EdTech 110

EdTech Tradition Research Education 110

ED Surge

MARCH 9, 2022

In the last two years, while schools experienced more disruption and strain than in almost any other time in recent memory, education leaders have been broadcasting one message, loud and clear and often: Education cannot go back to normal. This moment presents a chance to move forward, not go back. The upheaval of the pandemic can be an opportunity for positive change, if we let it.

Education 110

Education Critical Thinking High School Teaching 110

ED Surge

MARCH 8, 2022

The American workforce statistics may be starting their slow climb out of the pandemic. The unemployment rate, for example, has fallen to 3.8 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But there’s still a labor shortage , and states are looking to make sure their workforces are truly competitive. As states struggle to keep pace with the economy, some of them are now turning to K-12 credential transparency, in the hopes that it will show them how to give their workforce the leg up

K-12 110

K-12 Humanities High School Education 110

ED Surge

MARCH 7, 2022

There is a missing element in the U.S. education system, a big one, AWOL since the 1980s. Its absence has been made more palpable by the obscene U.S. income gap , combined with the pandemic and the fact that the U.S. has become one of the most socially complicated countries. We are at the point where a clerical error on a routine form may put your life in danger.

Humanities 102

Humanities Teaching Economics Government 102

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 10, 2022

When Janet Torres set out to open her small child care business last year, she needed to move out of her studio apartment first. She knew she wouldn’t be able to afford buying a home where she lives in San Diego, which has one of the hottest real estate markets in the country , but she didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find another rental.

Government 100

Government Education 100