Blog
Five Reasons Competency Education Will Improve Equity
Why do we think that competency education is a better strategy to serve our lowest achieving students, including low-income students, minority students, English language learners, and those with special educational needs? Here are my top five reasons: Competency education is designed to identify and address gaps in knowledge and skills. We will always have students […]
Read MoreThoughts on a New Accountability Paradigm
Recently, I was asked about starting a conversation on how a new accountability system might work. The potential of new learning models that are personalized, student-centered and utilize powerful delivery modes in blended and online learning offer a glimpse into solving some of the core problems across our education systems for focusing on equity, improving […]
Read More11 Signs that Technology Is a Key Part of Education
The current trend of education technology is nothing to sneeze at. There are iPads and Android devices popping up in classrooms around the world. From BYOD to 1:1 to flipped classrooms, there are a lot of trends that leveraging the power of technology in education. Aside from these few popular trends, there are other signs […]
Read MoreShould Christian School Leaders Mandate Online Courses?
“America’s schools need innovation. Educational innovation should not be confused with just generating more great ideas or unique inventions. Instead we need new solutions that improve outcomes – and that can, and will, be used to serve hundreds of thousands of teachers and millions of students…Online courses and online supplementation of course material are catching […]
Read MoreMoving Toward Next Generation Learning
Raise your hand if you have uttered any of the following phrases in the past week: Blended learning Competency-based learning Personalized learning Digital learning Online learning Connected learning Deeper learning Project-based learning Student-centered learning Optimized learning Hybrid learning Next generation learning Now raise your hand if you can define them so that the neighbor you barbecued with last weekend could remember and articulate the distinctions. An extra […]
Read MoreBring Your Own Device (BYOD) Factors to Consider
While I was leading an in-service seminar on next-generation learning models at an NCCSA member school recently, I was asked my thoughts on the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model. While I do have an opinion that mostly defaults to the popular opinion on this model, I did want to give my input to those […]
Read MoreThe Journey Toward Freedom From Grade Levels
Sanborn High School in New Hampshire was a mediocre school with mediocre test scores. When the state passed a policy mandating that schools develop a competency-based system — advancing students based on mastery of specific skills and concepts instead of time spent in each grade — school leaders seized on the model as a way to […]
Read MoreThe Promise of Personalized Learning
Patty Berganza is a chatty 16-year-old with a mouthful of braces, a thick mane of black hair, and a lightning-fast brain. The last of these left her so bored at her previous Los Angeles high school that she racked up more than 49 unexcused absences in one year and earned a reputation as a slacker. […]
Read More6 Recommendations for Learning in the Digital Age
An alphabet soup of ideas to improve learning in the Digital Age fills a report from the Aspen Task Force on Learning and the Internet. The 20-member task force, which includes three former Federal Communications Commission leaders, made six recommendations comprised of 26 action steps for policymakers, education leaders and others in a report released on Tuesday, […]
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