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edCircuit Opinion:
My most memorable course in college was not because of its gripping content, but because of its length. Every Monday and Tuesday at 9 am, I sat in my chair for four hours and listened to my professor regurgitate information. Immediately following this class, I had another which was three hours long. While I cannot recall all that I learned, I do remember how I felt every time I reached the halfway point.

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.

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.

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 joined me for coffee, or should I say tea, to discuss his slightly emphatic reaction to recent studies looking at the role socioeconomic status has on students ability to achieve in U.S. schools. For additional perspective on this hot topic you might like to hear McLaughlin’s co-author Mark Claypool on this episode of CoffeED.

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

Leslie Fisher travels the country sharing her perspective on resources to educators. Fisher’s unique approach refutes the social media ed-celeb craze relying on her passion, word-of-mouth recommendations and keen eye to scope out those technologies education audiences clamor for.

Those of us in education business are often focused on managing the clock, the budget and the demands of an industry and clientele (students and teachers) desperately looking for smart technologies that provide student-centered learning opportunities and high levels of engagement.