As July comes to a close, thousands of families swarm to the nearest stores and begin to cross items off of their college checklist. For those who need reminding, no one college dorm room is alike. But, according to CENGAGE Learning’s 2015 Student Engagement Insights survey, many of these students have more in common than you think. When asked, “what are your goals after college?” 80% of college students responded that they want a “good job/better job”. Is this attainable for recent college grads? Forbes warns that it may not be.

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation in partnership with Grammy nominated singer Charlie Puth, and Casio America announced the 2016 winners of Keys + Kids, a competitive grant program created in response to the lack of functional pianos in public schools. The 18 winning schools will receive a piano grant valued at $10,000 of instruments, including a Casio Grand Hybrid piano and three keyboards to support their school’s music, drama, and community programs.

In this episode, Jess Gartner discusses how quality information can impact critical decisions related to school finances and districts.

This post, COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION: The Working Definition, was originally published in SEEN Magazine and reprinted with Permission.  The advocacy for competency-based education (CBE) has grown considerably in mainstream education over the last few years. Out from the shadows of alternative education, the idea that skills based mastery leads to achievement has come of age. Universities, colleges, and K12 education now consider competency-based education a viable option for improving the quality and effectiveness of teaching. Competency-based education has at its core an emphasis on achievement.

By Alex Terego Not everyone is aware of all the specifics, but there is a good chance that you are one of the majority of Americans that believe schools in the USA are not living up to their potential. You also might not be aware that American student’s psychological engagement with their education, especially in high school, is alarmingly low at 44%. Given that schools are underperforming, and that less than half of all high school students are engaged at school, it makes sense that increasing student engagement should be a priority since it would have a profound effect. My

This post, MARCHING TOWARDS COMPETENCY: Competency Based Learning: Instruction that Matches the Needs of Each Student, was originally published in SEEN Magazine and reprinted with permission.  In theory, the choice is simple. Continue to implement a time-bound; age-based; one-size-fits-all curriculum-driven instructional model that has not served us well for many decades.

John McLaughlin spent time discussing recent news about IDEA and funding levels. McLaughlin shares his perspective on what and or how we should reframe our interpretation of IDEA in 2016.

In this interview, Alessio Assonitis, Ph.D., Director of the Medici Archive Project (MAP) discusses the power of digital humanities. 

Dr. Celine Coggins, CEO of Teach Plus, spent time with Dr. Berger discussing the role education plays in helping educators build their own understanding for how policy impacts practice and overall enjoyment of practice. Coggins pulls back the proverbial curtain to share her own initial experiences exploring teaching as an option for her own career. The response her parents provided, though less than inspiring, provides context to the underground image so many Americans have about education and the decision to work in the sector. 

The role of the library, in our schools and communities, has been a recent focal point of discussion. School librarian Elissa Malespina discusses her own community’s struggle to keep libraries open and relevant. Malespina also shares her perspective on how library media sciences can better prepare preservice educators to understand the full potential of the library in learning for students of all ages. She also shares resources for those interested in joining the community of educators at the Teacher Librarians Virtual Cafe (TL Chat). 

Eric Mazur is the Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics and Dean of Applied Physics at Harvard University, Member of the Faculty of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and President Elect of the Optical Society. Mazur sat down with Bob Greenberg, of the Brainwaves Video Anthology, to share his thoughts on who impacted his life path the most. 

John Larmer, Editor in Chief at the Buck Institute for Education (BIE), spent time with Dr. Berger at the annual ASCD conference in Atlanta. Larmer discusses the place Project Based Learning (PBL) has in 21st century learning. We also learn how districts approach teaching and learning from a PBL perspective. Larmer shares his advice for young people contemplating a career in education given his vast and diverse professional path.  

Thomas Newkirk, the author of The Art of Slow Reading (2011), Holding Onto Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones (2009) and Teaching the Neglected “R” (2007, coedited with Richard Kent) joined Dr. Berger to discuss our approach to teaching boys reflecting on the impact of his previous work. Our previous discussion centered on how we can better engage all students to be more passionate about reading and writing. 

Sylvia Martinez, leading author and speaker in the education technology space, spent time with Dr. Berger to discuss the Maker Movement and her new book, ‘Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom.’ Sylvia works in schools around the world to bring the power of authentic learning into classrooms, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) subjects. Sylvia speaks, writes, and advocates for student-centered, project-based learning, gender equity in technology, computer programming, and life-long learning. For the past ten years, Sylvia was President of Generation YES, a non-profit with a mission of empowering young people to improve their schools and communities with modern technology. Previous to Generation YES, Sylvia was in charge of product development at several software publishers, designing and creating video games and educational software. Sylvia also had a career in aerospace engineering as a senior scientist on the GPS navigational satellite system research and development. She holds a …

 Adam Geller, Edthena co-founder and CEO, joined Dr. Berger to discuss the ongoing development and support for teachers needed for 21st century schools to succeed.