Manuelito Biag recently reflected on educational improvement in the Carnegie Commons Blog, arguing that improvement requires a user-centered strategy. Excerpts of the article appear below: In education, knowing what works, for whom, and under what conditions requires deep understanding of individuals — their needs, concerns, and motivations — as well as the contexts they inhabit. Read more about Improvement is a Team Sport[…]
Each month in Core Education’s issue brief, we post a call for commentary. We always enjoy hearing great ideas from our readers! Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with Margie Johnson of Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) about an innovative approach to collaborative inquiry that the district is implementing. Through a partnership with REL Read more about Collaborative Inquiry in MNPS[…]
For years, education leaders have sought to pinpoint how teachers become effective in order to better leverage teachers’ impact on student learning and improve student outcomes. Teacher leadership is receiving increased attention as a potential lever for improved instruction, recruitment and retention of effective teachers, and improved student outcomes. This is the driving force behind Read more about Teacher Leadership Roles and the Effect on Instruction[…]
A recent blog by the Albert Shaker Institute examines the inner workings of what is effective and what is not effective when it comes to teacher collaboration. The blog starts off with an attention-grabbing introduction: You’ve probably attended meetings that were a waste of your time. Perhaps there was no agenda. Perhaps the facilitator of Read more about What Makes Teacher Collaboration Work?[…]
Currently in education, especially K-12, there is an emphasis on accountability and a pressure for rapid, large-scale implementation. National debate continues to rage over the use of testing for student and teacher evaluation, and we hunt for elusive silver bullets. Within this context, the Network to Transform Teaching (NT3) was formed with the goal of Read more about Building a Culture of Improvement: The Network to Transform Teaching[…]
How do you solve big problems in education in a way that honors the knowledge and expertise of educators in a methodologically rigorous way? How can what’s working in individual classrooms and schools be used to address problems on a larger scale? Educator Networks, or Networked Improvement Communities, are groups of educators who assemble to Read more about November Issue Brief: Educator Networks[…]
A new website, Learning Registry, which is an update to http://free.ed.gov, is an improved site for educators to find free digital learning materials. While still in its beta stage, Learning Registry offers promise as a much more organized, comprehensive, and inclusive education resource collaboration website. While there has been a proliferation of websites over recent Read more about Learning Registry[…]
Alison Anderson at Getting Smart has compiled a helpful list of new educational technology, or #edtech as is it often called on social media platforms. Several of these technologies are only in their beta phase or will not launch until sometime in August, so now is a good time to sign up for free access. Read more about 10 New Ed Tech Tools[…]
Last week, Nancy Flanagan of the “Teacher in a Strange Land” blog for Education Week reflected on her recent experiences reviewing books on teacher leadership. She became disturbed as she realized the implicit assumption of many books focused on teacher leadership is that it is school leaders who nurture teacher leadership. But what about the Read more about 7 Suggestions for Teachers to Make Their Leaders More Effective[…]