Teaching & Learning Blog

Next Gen Learning in Action

This blog offered perspectives from educators engaged in redesigning the future of public schools. This blog is no longer being updated.

Personalized Learning Opinion Personalized Learning is (Again) Promising: A Snapshot of Practice & Student Achievement
A new research report from the RAND Corporation suggests greater implementation of personalized learning may relate to more positive effects on achievement, but it's still early days for personalized learning research.
Kristen Vogt, July 27, 2017
7 min read
School & District Management Opinion School Transformation in Three Broad Brush Strokes: Early, Personal and Relevant!
Early education is one of Vista Unified's three brushstrokes to transform the learning experience. The district is working with community partners to close the achievement gap by Grade 3.
Contributing Blogger, July 26, 2017
5 min read
Student Achievement Opinion We Need More Empathy -- Why it's Essential that We Craft Diverse and Collaborative Learning Environments
To teach software engineering, Flatiron School designed a pedagogy that supported the development of empathy, self-awareness, humility, and agency.
Contributing Blogger, July 25, 2017
2 min read
Personalized Learning Opinion Fueling the Fire: Training for Leadership at Alpha Public Schools
After years of teamwork, reflection, and dedication to social-emotional learning and student leadership, Alpha Public Schools's Personalized Leadership Training has gone viral.
Contributing Blogger, July 24, 2017
10 min read
Education Opinion Redesigning Teaching and Learning: It's About Time
Redesigning teaching and learning takes a lot of time; these four strategies leverage time for innovative practice when there isn't more time to be had.
Contributing Blogger, July 18, 2017
3 min read
Student Achievement Opinion What Do a Dead Guinea Pig and a Lemonade Stand Have to Do With Real Learning?
Lessons from Montessori schools on weaving the development of independence, self-direction and respect into the very fabric of children's public school experience each and every day.
Contributing Blogger, July 13, 2017
4 min read
School Climate & Safety Opinion Crafting a Community of Belonging in a Culture of Digital Connection
By leveraging the power of language, educators can turn their diverse and digitally-connected student bodies into meaningful communities of belonging.
Contributing Blogger, July 12, 2017
4 min read
Education Opinion Fueling the Fire: In Kentucky, an Innovation that Honors the Past
An innovative rural school district is creating a community-based, authentic work experience in which students prepare for the future while honoring their community's past.
Contributing Blogger, July 11, 2017
7 min read
Assessment Opinion The Greatest Challenge to Scaling Competency-Based Learning
What is the greatest challenge to competency-based learning scaling across America? It's not seat time mandates.
Contributing Blogger, July 7, 2017
4 min read
Education Opinion An Innovation Conversation in the Nation's Oldest School District
Two educators in Boston Public Schools discuss the challenges of and possible solutions for making the transition to an innovative school model.
Contributing Blogger, July 5, 2017
9 min read
Personalized Learning Opinion Vista Unified Sets Sights on Personal Learning 2.0: Powerful Performance Frameworks
When over 50% of its schools opted to actively engage in the "Personal Learning Challenge," Vista Unified began transforming how the district itself operated.
Kristen Vogt, June 30, 2017
4 min read
School Climate & Safety Opinion What Do Personalized Learning Schools Have in Common?
Just like one size doesn't work for all students, one size doesn't make sense for schools adopting personalized learning either but they do share some common principles.
Kristen Vogt, June 28, 2017
6 min read
Personalized Learning Opinion Defining Personalization: Students As Agents and Teachers As Coaches
Three school examples show that personalization is most effective when students become active agents involved in determining what and how they learn.
Kristen Vogt, June 26, 2017
7 min read