3 ways district cross-collaboration can support teachers
October 5, 2018 |Generally in education, we’ve found that initiatives and solutions can be siloed within one specific district. In a place the size of Rhode Island, it may surprise you that there are 66 individual local education agencies (LEAs), including traditional public districts and charter networks. It’s not uncommon for neighbors to confront the same challenges, with […]
Three common misconceptions that thwart school improvement
October 3, 2018 |Misconceptions are dangerous things. They shackle our visions of what’s possible and doom us to consequences we do not expect. For example, a student who believes her genes predetermine her academic abilities may avoid crucial learning experiences that are initially challenging. A student who believes his postgraduation success will flow from his intellectual prowess may […]
Blended-learning trend watch: Models on the rise
September 27, 2018 |This post originally appeared on Smartbrief. Over the years researching blended learning in schools, our team at the Christensen Institute has observed a wide spectrum of blended-learning practices. While there is great diversity of practice, the Institute identifies seven common models leveraged by educators: Station Rotation, Individual Rotation, Lab Rotation, Flipped Classroom, A La Carte, Enriched Virtual […]
Who are great blended-learning teachers?
September 6, 2018 |What does it take to be a great teacher in a blended program? To ask that same question in education parlance, what competencies—meaning motives, traits, self-concepts, values, knowledge, and skills—matter most for teachers who are substituting online learning for part of face-to-face instruction? Online and blended learning are relatively new. The precise list of competencies […]
The do’s and don’ts of blended teaching for remediation
August 29, 2018 |Blended learning started in many cases by serving students in nontraditional settings (as disruptive innovations do), but we know that blended approaches have since grown, expanded, and evolved to serve millions of students in a variety of settings. Blended learning is now employed to meet a wide range of needs across student populations, and no […]
The key to successful change initiatives? Early adopter teachers
August 22, 2018 |It is 5pm on a Tuesday in April, and Liz has just dropped her daughter off at cheer practice. Instead of heading home to think about dinner, chatting with other moms, or checking her social media accounts, Liz spends the next 95 minutes in a nearby Starbucks completing three playlists for her engineering design class. […]