Innovation

P ete Hall, ASCD Faculty member and author, talks about the role reflection plays in ones’ professional development and effectiveness in the classroom. Hall also reminisces about his path from educator to award winning administrator and the impact those experiences have had on his current efforts to support the field.Hall is the former principal of Shaw Middle School, a Title I school in Spokane (Washington) Public Schools. After a teaching career that spanned three states and included primary, intermediate, and middle school positions, Hall served as principal of Anderson Elementary School in Reno, Nevada.When he took over Anderson Elementary in 2002, it was one of the only schools in Nevada to have failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for four consecutive years. Two short years later, it was the only Title I school in the state of Nevada to earn a “high-achieving” designation.Hall teaches the capacity-building model of professional development. This emphasizes three things― identifying teachers’ strengths, maximizing their potential, and building their capacity―as a gateway to enhanced student achievement.Hall’s ASCD books, both co-authored with Alisa Simeral, are: Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success: A Collaborative Approach for Coaches and School Leaders (2008) and Teach, Reflect, Learn: Building Your Capacity for Success in the Classroom, released in April 2015.

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agricultureby Stephen E. Bradforth, Emily R. Miller, William R. Dichtel, Adam K. Leibovich, Andrew L. Feig, James D. Martin, Karen S. Bjorkman, Zachary D. Schultz & Tobin L. SmithIt is time to use evidence-based teaching practices at all levels by providing incentives and effective evaluations, urge Stephen E. Bradforth, Emily R. Miller and colleagues.Read the rest of the story at Nature. 

Photo Credit: Garry Knightby Mara Rose WilliamsSen. Tim Kaine of Virginia has the grim sexual abuse numbers on his website:Nearly 300,000 victims of rape and sexual assault a year. Young women experiencing the highest rates of violence from their boyfriends.Read the rest of the story at The Kansas City Star.

Photo Credit:  www.leanforward.comby Keith KruegerDon’t forget these keys of mobile implementationsWhy are some mobile learning implementations successful while others struggle? It seems struggling districts are missing at least one of a handful of ingredients that successful districts have in common. When it comes to mobile learning success, leaving out just one key ingredient can ruin an otherwise perfect recipe.Read the rest of the story at eSchool News.

by Jordan ShapiroWhat are the biggest obstacles to changing education? Some are economic. Others are infrastructural. Few are technological. The most significant challenges are philosophical. We are wedded to particular ways of thinking about school and learning and life that are limiting our ability to best serve our children.Read the rest of the story at Forbes.

Friday is graduation day at an unusual K-8 school in California — and there is only one graduate. He’s part of an experiment in San Francisco called AltSchool that could re-define how your kids get an education, reports Ben Tracy.Read and watch the rest of the story at CBS News.

Sal Khan discusses Khan Academy’s impact, growth mindset, and how personalized, mastery-based learning is transforming education and SAT prep access.

For decades, “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic” were considered the most fundamental subjects in American K-12 schools. These days, in order to boost our nation’s global competitiveness, many schools and colleges are emphasizing STEM subjects—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—over the liberal and fine arts. The White House has even announced the goal of increasing by one million the number of students who receive undergraduate degrees in STEM subjects over the next decade.Read the rest of the story at Phys.org

Student access to relevant information and news continues to expand with technology advancements. I had the opportunity to interview Matthew Gross, CEO and co-founder, of Newsela. The Newsela team brings students current events and news aligning with current standards expected in today’s classroom.