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The Learner First team was in Toronto for the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) Global Deep Learning Lab, which brought NPDL participants and other education leaders from around the world together to push our thinking and deepen our collective learning. The event offered a chance for a range of education and thought leaders to […]
The US education system assumes that a high school diploma means you have met certain standards in universal skills like language, mathematics and reading. Our systems are pretty much aligned with the concept that it takes until 12th grade to get all those minimum competencies. Much the same way that you can walk into a Starbucks […]
The American Evaluation Association picked its top three eStudies from 2016, and we are honored and delighted that Joanne’s presentation with Jane Davidson, “Evaluation-Driven Deep Whole-System Change,” in June was selected. So, if you missed it, you’ll have another chance to see it because AEA are making it, and the other two top presentations, available […]
Creating a new system to assess learners has its challenges, but it can be done. How? Start by considering what matters most to your learners, within their context. Think about what success means and describe what it looks like. Once you have this picture of success firmly implanted in your mind, ask yourself the following […]
Many parents are concerned about the effect that modern technologies like video games and social media are having on their children. The Iñupiaq people in Alaska are no exception. Because their language had no writing system for most of their history, oral storytelling has remained a central tool for transmitting their cultural heritage through the […]
Schools and systems want a better way of teaching and assessing their students, but often don’t know how, or where to begin. The education system has been so focused on test scores and standardization that although we know we need something different, it’s become a challenge to see what “different” looks like. Our Professional Learning […]
Both a recent episode of Morning Edition from NPR and a story that played on 89.3 KPCC visit a dual-language school called Stone Avenue in Riverside, California. Ron Morris, a kindergarten teacher, takes his students through the same subjects that all kids learn (math, spelling, etc.), but teaches them in Spanish, tapping into his learners’ […]
The Tampa Bay Times recently interviewed Jeff Eakins, superintendent of Hillsborough Schools, about his efforts to improve graduation rates. Eakins had some insightful things to say about his role and what works when you’re trying to help students make it to the finish line. First, Eakins credits the gains in graduation rates that his district […]
Learning is deepest when it connects to students’ lives – who they are, what they are interested in learning, and how they can use their learning to make a difference in their own lives, the lives of others, and the world. When thinking about how to design “deeper” learning experiences, it helps to keep a […]
The Learner First have updated our website, and it is more than just a fancy new look – we have added helpful content about what we do and how we do it, including a breakdown of our framework and the tools we use. There is also a page for our videos, flyers and papers. We […]