School Models

Project based learning gaining STEAM as educators get creative.

edCircuit Opinion:
When I was younger, I often would gather with my neighborhood friends, head into the backyard, and spend hours digging a massive hole to China. We’d all attempt to use the shovels that were two times our size, all while fantasizing about what we’d do when we finally made it – or better yet if we hit the center of the earth! Many would not think twice about this scenario, and simply view it as kids being kids. But, child development researchers would analyze this situation much differently.

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.

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.  

Last spring Katie Benmar wrote an editorial, My Favorite Teachers Use Social Media: A Student Perspective, in Education Week. Educator Howard Pitler, a frequent edCircuit contributor, shared his thoughts after reading David Greene’s perspective last week.

by Dr. Billie J. McConnell This is the second installment of The Perfect School series originally published in SEEN Magazine.   We must start with the “perfect school.” Until we …

by Megan A. Fagge and Robert A. Just
Children are impressionable and the experiences they have while in school will have a profound impact on their lives. Compelling school design can inspire children and their awareness of the built environment.

The massive disruption of the education industry is well underway, but the biggest tremors are yet to come—disruptions so dramatic that many universities will cease to exist in the next few years.

“I realised the burden of what teachers go through here when I was living in this rural village,” says Toni Maraviglia, co-founder of Eneza Education, a mobile phone based education tool in Kenya.