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After working in Oklahoma City Public Schools for two years, we interviewed teachers, administrators and community members about their work with The Learner First. This is part one of our interview with Heidi Tuers-Jackson, an elementary school librarian. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. I wanted to ask you a few […]
1. What shifts have you been able to achieve for students so far, and how long does it take to see them? Always ask to see the actual evidence. This is always a relevant question, even if the initiative is targeted primarily at teachers. 2. How well does your approach work for the students who […]
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 […]
