Entries by The Learner First

Cesar Chavez Principal, Laura Morris: Part One

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 Laura Morris, an elementary school principal. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. As a principal, how has the overall experience […]

Teach Kids, Not Topics

Beginning your career as a teacher is exciting – it’s one of the most important roles someone can fill. Every day creates opportunities for positively or negatively impacting the lives of the children we teach and the future of the world as a whole. In my first year of teaching, I was asked to teach […]

Cesar Chavez Librarian, Heidi Tuers-Jackson: Part Two

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 two of our interview with Heidi Tuers-Jackson, an elementary school librarian. Part one can be read here. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Have […]

Cesar Chavez Librarian, Heidi Tuers-Jackson: Part One

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 […]

The Deep Learning Lab 2017

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 […]

Student Competency

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 […]

Our webinar in top three of 2016!

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 […]

The New Assessment Challenge

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 […]

Engaging Kids Through Our Rich, Modern Media Environment

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 […]