Genius Hour, Student-Driven Learning, PBL & More
Busy week? We’re here to help. Here’s our roundup of top educational stories from the past seven days:
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The maker movement has provided many teachers and students opportunities to invite creativity back into the classroom, but it’s not all plain sailing. Getting Smart share 5 ways to overcome the challenges of implementing genius hour.
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Susannah Johnson teaches gifted and capable students with dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties. When she piloted a new approach to learning, she discovered that when students drive learning, they can do so much more.
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Some schools are incorporating PBL in with concepts like a later start time to the school day as a way to reduce stress and improve student wellness. Other districts are looking into incorporating PBL into graduation requirements so that students show they have a mastery of employment skills. edCircuit asks, Is project-based learning here to stay? A new study finds PBL promising.
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In California, a new program aims to turn parents into children’s advocates. Catherine Gewertz explains how an organization is teaching Mexican and Salvadoran parents how to ask the “right questions” in schools.
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When learning is relevant to students, it’s relevant to their families. Educators talk about why they think student and family engagement are among the most exciting things happening in education today.
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While the No Child Left Behind education law made it hard to use anything but multiple-choice-based standardized test, its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act opens the door for a course correction. States will soon be free to transform standardized testing, but most won’t.
