While some educators prioritize immediate-impact strategies and others focus on improvement tools, both approaches need to be connected by data routines to ensure sustained and effective results.
Alec and Nuvia talk to artist Scarlett Baily about her life, her art, and in particular the process of collaborating with 200 elementary school students
Every two weeks, my Network for College Success (NCS) colleagues and I connect with each other to learn and grow our practice as Transformation Coaches.
Alec talks to High School teacher about John Santos about how he and his students explored AI together, and how it became a tool for building curiosity
How can assessment practices be designed to best support student learning? In school, the term “assessment” is often shorthand for “grades”—or, perhaps, tests, quizzes, rubrics, and similar evaluative tools. However, thinking of “assessment” as interchangeable with “test” or “grade” limits the potential for assessment practices to lead to meaningful and deeper learning.
Kelly Wilson, HTH GSE Dean, talks to Louis Lacour, an eleventh grader at Green School in Bali, about project-based learning, local renewable energy infrastructure, and his plan to transform reef conservation with biodegradable zip ties!
Kelly Wilson, HTH GSE Dean, talks to Benjamin Freud, head of Upper School at Green School in Bali, about doing socially-meaningful, student-driven PBL grounded in the local community, in a school with bamboo buildings and no walls.
“I am a teacher and I routinely make positive phone calls home,” said Laura. “But their power really hit home when my son’s teacher called me to tell me something great he did at school. I was worried that he was flying under the radar, but she noticed and that call brought me to tears.”
M’s fourth graders were buzzing as they worked in pairs to solve the math problem M. had just presented to them. The other educators in the room circulated and listened in as students used academic language to discuss their answers with each other, jotting down notes about what their partner had said and the language they had used.
In Student-Centered assessment the students first reflect and then receive feedback from peers, teachers, community, and experts to fully develop their projects.
At Deeper Learning 2024, artist/choreographer Aysha Upchurch and Enrique Lugo talk about being artists in school, and the power of the cypher (and cuffed Levis 501s).
The 0-100 scale for grading divides points unevenly in each grade chunk creating a situation where a small number of failing grades can outweigh a larger number of passing grades
Effective teaching involves setting high expectations for students and providing them with the necessary support to meet those expectations, fostering an environment where students can thrive through understanding, guidance, and belief in their capabilities by the instructor.
Middle School teacher Sean Gilley explains how he uses Chat GPT to share the load on project planning, so he can focus on the parts of teaching that matter most
Last year, 14 high school seniors took part in C3 Mobility DAO, a summer program created by the High Tech High Graduate School of Education’s CARPE Collaborative with a very specific goal: to help students from underrepresented populations navigate the transition from high school to community college, and then from community college to a four year university. To achieve this, the DAO used a secret weapon: college students
The past years of the pandemic has made it difficult for students to connect with each other, which is essential for their growth and development, and as teachers, it’s important to provide opportunities for them to connect peer-to-peer despite the limited time.
This is a recording of the DL2022 opening keynote, in which four educators from around the country told stories of deeper learning from their own lives.
In this project, students explored the science of sound by doing a variety of experiments and investigations in science and engineering exploratories from tinkering with instruments to attending performances to get a live experience of the power of music.
In this first-ever retrospective issue of the journal, we showcase a range of previously-published articles which tackle the topic of literacy, along with a new interview with an educator who has been deeply influential to High Tech High schools.
A project launch is an engaging, active experience with multiple entry points for diverse learners that invites multiple perspectives and fosters diverse, innovative thinking.
One of the main intentions for students to visit local and national parks was to empathize with their user. Another intention from the teachers was for students to interact with nature on another level. The students practiced mindfulness activities and journaling while on their fieldwork experiences.
The park users for this project were the audience for the products students created. Finding community partners was a major part of developing an authentic project and the planning for such occurred well before the project began.
In light of the recent National Park closures, students explored how people use parks to connect to themselves, each other, and to nature. Students used the design thinking process to create a product that preserved and enhanced a local, state, or national park. They visited various parks to do field work for their products as well as experienced “peak moments” that often occur when immersed in nature.
Presentations of Learning (POLs) and other types of performance assessment lend themselves to the teaching of critical thinking, but they are often overlooked for this purpose.
Below I discuss three times in the past year when I have tried my own projects. In each case, I learned about how to present the project to students. I have also been embarrassed and pleasantly surprised by how much better my students’ work was than my own.
Exhibitions of student learning, with their many projects, activities, and associated banter, can take on the atmosphere of a science fair or a grand opening at an art gallery.
