The missteps of middle schoolers may be “developmentally appropriate” but we still need to guide students to do better, writes school leader Jody Passanisi. “Students this age often rise to the expectations that are set for them. That is developmentally appropriate, too.”
After reading Co-Intelligence, Sarah Cooper is newly optimistic about the possibilities of AI in education – and trying to live more like a cyborg. Follow along as she inspects the author’s rules for co-intelligence, ways to personalize AI for educators, and how and if we might co-exist in the future.
Dina Strasser has noticed a tangible impact when her classroom door is closed on a regular basis, as security suggests. “I am isolated, physically and socially.” Students are less likely to wander in. Teachers to wave or stop by. So she’s leaving it locked but open. Defiantly.
Red peppers have taken over Katie Durkin’s 7th grade team commons area. This year’s logo, banner and t-shirts result from teachers encouraging students to create artwork that fosters community. Katie shares all the steps in her team’s process and the excellent results.
While integrating imaginative writing into ELA classrooms may seem fanciful in a school culture that prioritizes the expository and analytical, teacher/coach Ariel Sacks shows how regular story creation can become a powerful developmental force in the lives of adolescents.
Alison Dover and Fernando Rodrigues-Valls highlight the gaps in current education policy and practice that affect newcomer and plurilingual students and then offer ways to equitably meet those students’ needs. TESOL educator Kimberlee Elder is grateful for their book.
The more Kasey Short considers joy when planning lessons and responding to students, the more everyone enjoys time together and the more they learn. Her joyful tools include celebrating, sharing ‘fun’ texts, students choosing music, moving indoors and out, laughing, and more.
As she describes some ways she’s begun to work fun, ethical AI components into major assignments, Sarah Cooper wonders how the nature of learning and teaching will evolve in tandem with the evolution of Large Language Models. How do we best prepare our students for the future?
If schools are always being “held” accountable, asks leadership coach and veteran principal Matt Renwick, how will students ever learn to “be” accountable? When do they get to make important choices that affect others and themselves? Three shifts can change the paradigm.
As she works on a grant proposal to fund an update of her classroom furniture, Kathleen Palmieri shares what she’s learned from researching how students benefit from flexible learning environments, including boosts in creativity, engagement, collaboration, focus and achievement.
