Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday announced four three-year bachelor’s degrees that will begin enrolling students in fall 2025, becoming one of the latest institutions to gain approval for the burgeoning program type.
The private Rhode Island university’s new degrees require 90 to 96 credits versus the usual 120 credits for a four-year bachelor’s degree. Johnson & Wales said the programs will help students “enter the workforce quickly and with less financial burden.”
To trim down the credits required for a bachelor’s degree, students will either take no electives or fewer than those enrolled in traditional four-year programs. The three-year degrees still require students to take the same core general education credits and major study classes as their four-year counterparts.
Dive Insight:
Three-year bachelor’s degrees have been gaining momentum. Advocates say they can save students both time and money, though some higher education experts have expressed concerns that officials may trim liberal arts or general education courses from bachelor’s programs to create truncated degrees.
At Johnson & Wales, officials plan to debut three-year bachelor’s programs in computer science, criminal justice, graphic design and hospitality management. Students can apply immediately to the programs for enrollment in fall 2025. Workplace experiences during the academic year and summer will count toward the program’s requirements, according to the announcement.
The programs will be available in person at the university’s Providence campus. The three-year bachelor’s degrees in hospitality management and computer science will also be available online.
University officials chose majors for the three-year bachelor’s degrees that were both in demand and have a high degree of technical skill, Matt Montgomery, a Johnson & Wales spokesperson, said in an email. They also focused on programs that were “well-established and successful offerings” for the university.
“Offering three-year bachelor’s degree programs with just 90 credits allows more students to begin their career journeys sooner — and with a lower financial obligation,” Johnson & Wales Chancellor Mim Runey said in a statement. “This is what parents and students have been asking of higher education.”
The university gained approval in September from its accreditor, the New England Commission of Higher Education, to offer the three-year degree programs.
The commission also approved three-year bachelor’s programs at Plymouth State University, in New Hampshire, and Merrimack College, in Massachusetts, under its innovation policy in April, NECHE President Lawrence Schall said in an email Thursday. The commission plans to monitor initiatives approved under the policy, including through on-site evaluations. After these reviews, the commission may determine that initiatives should end or allow them to continue.
Efforts to launch three-year bachelor’s degrees have also gained traction in other parts of the country.
Brigham Young University-Idaho and Utah’s Ensign College, both of which are owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, won approval from their accreditor last year to begin offering a limited selection of three-year online bachelor’s programs. The degrees, which are now available, eliminate elective credits but keep general education courses.
BYU-Idaho and Ensign are part of the College-in-3 Exchange, a collective of institutions piloting three-year bachelor’s programs and sharing ideas on redesigning traditional undergraduate degrees.
Meanwhile, Utah’s higher education board gave the green light in March for the state’s colleges to create three-year bachelor’s degrees, though it will still need to approve individual programs.
That same month, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill into law requiring each of the state’s public four-year colleges to offer at least one three-year bachelor’s program by July 2025.
New federal survey data on the education workforce shows that a majority of schools had a tough time filling at least one fully certified teaching position this fall.
Public schools reported having six teacher vacancies on average in August, based on responses to the School Pulse Panel by the National Center for Education Statistics. About 20 percent of those positions remained unfilled when the school year started.
The two most common challenges schools said they faced in hiring were a lack of qualified candidates and too few applicants. Special education, physical science and English as a second language were some of the most difficult areas to fill.
NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said in a news release that while the percentage of schools saying it was difficult to fill positions decreased — down 5 percentage points from 79 percent last year — “there’s still room for improvement.” Nearly 1,400 public K-12 schools from across the country responded to the survey.
While the comparison to previous years suggests that hiring is getting a bit easier, Megan Boren of the Southern Regional Education Board says the country is still mired in a teacher shortage.
Boren, who leads the organization’s teacher workforce data and policy work, says it would be a mistake to think of teacher shortages only in terms of positions filled versus vacant. Other factors to consider include the geographic regions of schools, academic subjects and student age groups where shortages are prevalent.
The organization also takes into account teacher demographics, the number of candidates graduating from teacher prep programs, alternative certification programs and their level of preparedness.
“When we think of it as merely a body count, we are not looking at the whole entire problem and to be honest, we’re doing a disservice to our students and our educators themselves,” Boren says. “Of the utmost importance is the quality and the preparedness with which we are filling some of these vacancies, or that we have leading our classrooms, and the distribution of that talent.”
Boren expressed concern over schools turning to uncertified teachers to fill the staffing gaps, be they candidates with emergency certifications or long-term substitute teachers. Their inexperience can put strain on the more experienced teachers and administrators who support them, she explains, at a time when both administrators and traditional teacher prep graduates say even new fully certified teachers feel less prepared than those in years past.
Schools in high-poverty neighborhoods or with a student body that is mostly — 75 percent or more — students of color filled a lower percentage of their vacancies with fully certified teachers, according to the NCES data.
“It’s a firestorm where folks are going, ‘What can we do to put out the fire and then rebuild?’” Boren says, “and unfortunately, we’re seeing in some cases that the measures and strategies being taken to put out the fire are actually making it worse, and causing an exacerbation of the issues for our educators and leaders.”
She says there’s no single factor that has led to teacher shortages, but rather interplaying issues that include pandemic-related mental health strain, the pressure of filling in for vacant staff positions, and a lack of time for collaboration and planning.
Teacher shortages didn’t start with the pandemic, Boren explains, as her organization tracked a teacher turnover rate that hovered between 7 percent and 9 percent prior to 2020. But she says the pandemic did accelerate turnover, with some regions of the South now experiencing 18 percent turnover among teachers.
“Certain regions of states started to stem the tide, but by and large the turnover is increasing,” Boren says.
Learning a language involves much more than vocabulary and grammar; language learners must also uncover the cultural values and ideologies embedded within the language itself. In the case of Romance languages such as French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Catalan, one of the most fundamental aspects of grammar is gender. Nouns, adjectives and pronouns are typically categorized as masculine or feminine, clashing with our more complex, 21st-century understanding of gender identity. This rigid linguistic structure can alienate students whose identities may not fit within the traditional gender binary. It is difficult for them to feel fully seen or respected in the classroom, where they often feel pressured to misgender themselves or prematurely out themselves due to their limited descriptive options.
Recognizing the mismatch between students’ identities and the way gender is traditionally taught in the classroom, the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Michigan took action in 2019 by establishing the RLL Gender Diversity Committee. Composed of linguists, gender studies experts, language instructors and trans and nonbinary faculty and students, the committee’s mission was to reframe how gender is approached in Romance language courses. This initiative has resulted in curriculum revisions, public awareness campaigns and the creation of new online resources, all with the goal of making language learning more inclusive and affirming.
Principles for an Inclusive Classroom
As the chair of the department’s Gender Diversity Committee from 2019 to 2024 and a long-term member of Michigan’s LGBT Faculty Alliance, I saw firsthand how transformative these efforts can be. Here are five principles that have guided our team’s work and can serve as a model for other institutions looking to create more inclusive language classrooms.
Take Action
Every great journey begins with a first step. Ours was to bring together a group of committed individuals who could approach this issue from multiple perspectives. In our committee, the diversity of voices was key to addressing our topic in a well-rounded way, and our motto, “All identities are RLL identities,” reflected this inclusive approach. The input from each member was essential in shaping the inclusive and comprehensive framework we sought to create.
One of our first actions was to create an online presence, making our mission statement, syllabus statements and morphology tables available to members of the department. By providing these resources early and inviting feedback throughout the process, the team demonstrated its commitment to change while offering faculty and students tangible tools to implement more inclusive practices.
Bring Trans and Nonbinary Individuals to the Table
No initiative aimed at fostering inclusivity can succeed without the active involvement of the communities it seeks to serve. In our case, trans and nonbinary departmental members were instrumental in helping us understand the unique challenges they face in the language classroom. Through surveys and direct involvement in the committee, these members of the RLL community provided invaluable insights that shaped our approach.
It’s crucial to listen and learn from firsthand experiences. Misgendering, for instance, can be profoundly painful for students, signaling a lack of recognition or respect for their identity. By ensuring that trans and nonbinary students have a voice in the conversation, we can better meet their needs and create spaces where they feel seen and valued.
Don’t Expect Textbooks to Do Your DEI Work
One of the most significant challenges our department encountered was that most Romance language textbooks don’t account for nonbinary identities. While these textbooks provide valuable grammatical instruction, they often conflate grammatical gender with gender identity, perpetuating a binary understanding of gender.
As our team investigated the evolving linguistic landscape, we found that many cultures where Romance languages are spoken have integrated nonbinary pronouns and gender-neutral options into their languages. However, these innovations are rarely reflected in the textbooks used in U.S. classrooms. As a result, instructors must be proactive in supplementing textbook materials with more inclusive language content. We ended up creating a website for our department, which adapts current course content to include nonbinary language. Recognizing the additional work required, we applied for an instructional grant from Michigan to support this important step toward making our classrooms more inclusive for all students.
Teach Gender-Diverse Language Within a Gender-Diverse Cultural Context
Creating an inclusive classroom goes beyond modifying textbooks. It’s also about equipping students to use gender-diverse language in real-life communicative contexts. Through the committee’s work, we’ve incorporated nonbinary pronouns and gender-diverse language into reading, writing and speaking exercises that reflect the diversity of situations that students might encounter in real life. These exercises not only meet curriculum requirements but also provide a space for students to engage in critical discussions about gender identity and inclusivity.
Language is more than just a tool for communication; it reflects and shapes the worldviews of its speakers. By encouraging students to explore the cultural implications of gendered grammar, we can foster greater empathy and understanding both in and outside of the classroom.
Go Public With Your Support and Efforts
Public awareness is a powerful tool for inspiring change. At Michigan, we launched a public awareness campaign that prominently displays nonbinary pronouns in the five Romance languages that are taught on campus. These visuals have sparked conversations among faculty, students and even parents, broadening the scope of our work and extending its impact beyond the classroom.
Public awareness campaigns like these serve not only to educate but also to normalize the use of inclusive language. When students and faculty encounter nonbinary language in hallways and public spaces, it helps to reduce the discomfort some feel around this evolving aspect of language. The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing gratitude for our department’s efforts to foster a more inclusive environment.
Moving Toward a More Inclusive Future
Language learning should be an inclusive, enriching experience for all participants. However, the binary gender framework that underlies the Romance languages presents unique challenges for trans and nonbinary individuals. By forming an innovative committee, collaborating with stakeholders, providing supplemental information, adapting course materials and launching public awareness campaigns, we’ve begun to dismantle these barriers and create classrooms for all students, no matter how they identify or present in private and/or public spheres.
The steps we’ve taken at the University of Michigan are just the beginning. There is still much work to be done, but these guiding principles can inform efforts to make similar changes in other language departments. Other institutions can join in creating more inclusive models for teaching languages and cultures—models that fully reflect the diversity of our student body and the complexity of gender in the modern world.
It is very much not like me to share a positive perspective about higher education writ large in this space. After all, I’m the guy who, in August 2023, wrote (of higher education), “It’s Over: Higher Ed in the Rearview Mirror,” in which I declared that whatever beliefs people had about higher ed being places where individuals can make themselves better through education—across dimensions other than future employability—was an artifact of the past.
But I’m going to break type this week and work through what I see as possible signs of hope. If what we may have once thought about higher education is in the rearview mirror, maybe, just maybe, there’s something visible on the horizon through the front windshield that should give us a sense of future possibility.
In fact, this is a trend that’s been ongoing since 2020. The study is indexed to the cost of college in 1994–95, so in 2024–25, the study found, tuition and fees for four-year public colleges are about twice what they were (again, indexed to inflation) 30 years ago.
This isn’t great, but it puts today’s costs roughly on par with 2009–10. In essence we’ve reset to the costs in place when people first started questioning the value of a college education. Not great, but undeniable progress.
People have lost faith in just about every institution, rather than higher education being unique in its position. In fact, while only 36 percent of Americans say they have high confidence in higher education, this still ranks well above other institutions such as the medical system, organized religion, public schools and television news.
Negative feelings about education have become attached to general political polarization, rather than outright negative experiences with higher education. In fact, most people still say that they think the higher education institutions they intersect with do a good job.
People still see a role for government to make education affordable, suggesting they don’t want to see a broken institution abandoned so much as a troubled institution given fresh life.
As the authors say, people don’t necessarily want to give up on higher ed; they just want it to be better.
Given that cost is the chief complaint about higher ed and the most significant barrier to enrollment, the fact that costs—while still high—have declined from their peak is good news indeed.
Liam Knox of Inside Higher Ed compiled some possible explanations for the drop, one of which is that the disaster of the new FAFSA rollout discouraged some potential students from even making an attempt at applying and enrolling. Given that community college enrollment growth was up, significantly aided by an increase in dual-enrollment students who would not need to go through the FAFSA process, this theory may hold some water.
In my view, what higher ed should take from this data is a desire for institutions to fulfill their core missions, to make themselves accessible to the people who want what they have to offer: an education.
The consumer/transaction model of higher education is well exhausted. Prices had to come down because they couldn’t get any higher. Institutions cannot cut their way to prosperity or drink a consultant elixir that turns a college into some kind of magical entity miraculously girded for the unique challenges of the 21st century.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but that’s all bullshit. People want educations. They need credentials that mean something. They’re willing to pay a reasonable price for that, but if those criteria are not met, they’ll do something else.
This requires sustainable thinking and a focus on core values. I’m not saying this is easy to execute, but it’s not really all that complicated in terms of the underlying vision and values.
The public is telling us what they want from higher ed. Let’s do that as best we can, and should we have success, more support and resources will come, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a decent future ahead.
The Safe Streaming™ service expands Ms. Gaby brand with new music, titles, and educational programming for schools
CALGARY, Alberta, October 24, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– Kidoodle.TV®, owned by A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), a leader in the kids and family streaming space, is excited to announce a deeper commitment to education-based programming with the addition of Gaby Allin as Education Specialist. This new role will guide the development of new and existing educational programs including Teachers’ Corner, a free dedicated space with ample resources for educators, educational outreach to local schools, and the Ms. Gaby brand, ensuring Kidoodle.TV continues to meet the needs of both students and teachers.
As an experienced educator and teacher, Allin brings invaluable insight into the challenges faced by teachers and the educational needs of students. In her new role, she will bridge the gap between APMC’s streaming content and classroom requirements, providing resources that are both engaging and educational.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Gaby to our team,” said Jeremy Mason, Chief Brand Officer of APMC. “Education is a cornerstone of our mission, and having real educators like Ms. Gaby involved in the process is vital. Her experience and dedication to education will help us create programming that truly supports teachers and students.”
In addition to guiding the Teachers’ Corner strategy, Allin will continue to perform as her beloved persona, Ms. Gaby, in content on Kidoodle.TV and the Ms. Gaby YouTube channel. This dual role will allow Allin to directly connect with both students and a wider audience, reinforcing educational values through entertaining and relatable content.
“Supporting educational programs has always been a top priority,” said Lindsay Dobson, VP of Marketing & Social Impact at APMC. “From initiatives like the Million Dollar School Giveaway and Teacher’s Lounge Makeover to our ongoing Teachers’ Corner resources, we are committed to supporting educators and students. Ms. Gaby’s involvement is a significant step forward in this mission.”
Ms. Gaby expressed her enthusiasm for the role, stating, “I could not be more excited to combine my passion for teaching with the innovative work that Kidoolde.TV is known for. I look forward to helping shape educational resources that make a real difference in classrooms and beyond.”
As Kidoodle.TV celebrates its 10th year in the market, the addition of this role could not come at a better time as it marks a significant expansion of APMC’s brand and offerings, with a renewed focus on educational values. By leveraging the expertise of an experienced educator, APMC aims to create a comprehensive suite of resources that enhance learning both at home and in the classroom.
For more information on the Ms. Gaby brand, please visit www.msgaby.tv.
ABOUT APMC and Kidoodle.TV®
A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC) is a media and technology company focused on providing innovative solutions to consumers and brands. APMC is a leader in Safe Streaming™ delivering an end-to-end solution to brands and platforms with an emphasis on unlocking incremental revenue. Utilizing proprietary streaming and monetization technologies, APMC reaches millions of homes globally through its products including Kidoodle.TV®, Dude Perfect Streaming Service, Glitch+™, Victory+™, and Safe Exchange™. Kidoodle.TV is a Safe Streaming™ service committed to providing children with a safe alternative to stream their favorite TV shows and movies. Available in over 160 countries and territories on thousands of connected devices, Kidoodle.TV provides peace of mind, with every show* vetted by caring people who are committed to Safe and Free Streaming for Kids™. Kidoodle.TV is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, LG, Samsung, VIDAA-enabled Hisense TVs, Chromecast, Roku, Vizio SmartCast Amazon, Jio, Xfinity X1, Connected TVs, HTML5 Web, and many other streaming media devices, including Miko 3. Kidoodle.TV is certified by the kidSAFE® Seal Program and is the proud recipient of the Mom’s Choice Award®, a Stevie® Award, platinum winner of the Best Mobile App Award, Parents’ Picks Award – Best Elementary Products, and a Gold W3 Award. Visit www.kidoodle.tv to learn more.
How Can You Provide Personalized Learning To Every Member Of Your Team?
Low employee engagement, high turnover, and limited knowledge sharing are just a few of the problems facing organizations today. However, creating an inclusive training plan gives you the opportunity to avoid these business growth hurdles and achieve long-term success. This playbook for multigenerational learning can help you design learning experiences for every generation, from baby boomers and millennials to Gen Zers.
eBook Release
L&D Playbook For Multigenerational Learning
Packed with actionable insights and expert tips, this playbook empowers L&D leaders to design future-proof learning programs.
Playbook For Multigenerational Learning: The Importance Of Meeting Diverse Needs
Every employee contributes unique skills, talents, and capabilities. But to continually improve performance behaviors and bridge gaps, they need training that’s catered to them rather than a one-size-fits-all experience. Implementing a learning strategy that meets the needs of every generation can improve employee retention and motivation, boost ROI, and increase customer and client satisfaction. This is because your training content resonates with team members and allows them to forge personalized paths that align with their roles, responsibilities, and preferences.
About This eBook
What are the fundamental concepts related to generational learning? How can you leverage modern tech to personalize L&D experiences? Here’s a sneak preview of what you’ll find in this guide by EI Powered by MPS:
The Need For Multigenerational Learning: Uncover why optimizing learning for all generations is a strategic imperative for your organization.
Understanding The Multigenerational Workforce: Discover the characteristics and preferences of each generation in your workforce.
Effective Learning Strategies For Multigenerational Teams: Explore how to develop programs that address generational nuances and create a cohesive learning environment.
Leveraging AI For Personalized Learning: Find out how Artificial Intelligence can transform learning journeys through adaptable content delivery.
Future-Proofing Your L&D Programs: See how you can build resilient and inclusive learning programs that ensure long-term success.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. /PRNewswire/ —IXL, the award-winning personalized learning platform used by 16 million students, has been named a High Quality Evidence-Based Instructional Material for Early Literacy by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Adding IXL Language Arts to the list ensures that eligible local education agencies across the state can request reimbursement for purchasing the platform to enhance early literacy instruction. IXL is currently used by 20 percent of students in Missouri, accounting for more than 210,000 students.
Cover every concept with effective literacy instruction Literacy rates among the nation’s youngest learners remain below pre-pandemic levels, and limited instructional time and larger class sizes make it difficult for educators to boost achievement. To close knowledge gaps and support every student, IXL equips Missouri educators with its award-winning PK-5 ELA curriculum, which personalizes learning and is grounded in the Science of Reading methodology.
IXL covers all the areas needed to teach language arts, containing more than 2,400 skills spanning reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and more. The platform’s curriculum for grades PK-2 is designed according to research-based best practices for effective early literacy instruction and focuses on systematic, structured phonemic awareness and phonics instruction. It guides students from simple to complex skills, adapting to individual student needs and offering explicit instruction with real-time feedback. Schools can also leverage IXL’s Learn to Read and Reading Intervention skill plans that align perfectly to popular textbooks so educators can steadily and methodically narrow reading gaps.
Build student confidence with embedded supports A wealth of instructional resources supports students and encourages them to self-remediate during independent or small-group practice. More than 2,800 video tutorials match one-to-one with each IXL skill, guiding learners through the building blocks of reading, writing and grammar. These videos make it easy to incorporate the Science of Reading’s methodology into instruction so children learn the relationships between written letters and spoken sounds. Additionally, students receive immediate corrective feedback after every missed question, enabling them to quickly understand their mistakes and progress.
Get reliable data to meet reading goals Early elementary school years are crucial for building foundational skills that shape a child’s education. To support this development, teachers need insights to see exactly where learning gaps exist, targeted resources to close them and tools to help students tackle new challenges. Supported by years of validity research, the nationally-normed IXL Diagnostic is a precise indicator of student achievement and a strong predictor of performance on standardized assessments. The adaptive assessment pinpoints each learner’s proficiency to the nearest tenth of a grade along the entire ELA spectrum, showing educators exactly what students know and what they can do to improve. It then generates personalized action plans that help students eliminate their trouble spots, and grow their reading and writing skills. Action plans link to specific language arts and reading skills, and give teachers a simple way to differentiate instruction and fill knowledge gaps.
An award-winning platform backed by evidence Educators deserve the gold-standard of educational technology that is proven by research and data to enable the highest performance from every student. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Tier 1 and Tier 2 research shows undisputed favorable outcomes for schools implementing IXL. Additionally, studies across 70,000 schools in 49 states show that IXL leads to higher test scores, with schools scoring as much as 17 percentile points higher on language arts on state assessments.
Recognized for its quality and rigor, IXL holds the Digital Promise Research-Based Design Product Certification and has twice been honored by the SIIA CODiE Awards as the Best Solution for Foundational (K-8) English Language Arts.
About IXL Currently used by 16 million students and in 96 of the top 100 U.S. school districts, IXL is an all-inclusive educational platform that provides a comprehensive PK-12 curriculum and instructional resources, actionable analytics and a state-of-the-art assessment suite. Available in 57 languages, IXL’s end-to-end teaching and learning solution supports personalized instruction in math, English language arts, science, social studies and Spanish. With more than 150 billion questions asked and answered around the world, IXL is helping schools and parents successfully boost student achievement. The IXL Learning family of products also includes Rosetta Stone, Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, TPT, SpanishDictionary.com, inglés.com, FrenchDictionary.com, Wyzant, Vocabulary.com, ABCya, Education.com and Carson Dellosa Education. To learn more about IXL, visit www.ixl.com, facebook.com/IXL and x.com/IXLLearning.
eSchool Media staff cover education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to best practices, to lessons learned and new products. First published in March of 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information necessary to help K-20 decision-makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and colleges and achieve their educational goals.
The U.S. Department of Education’s (Department’s) Office of Educational Technology today released Empowering Education Leaders: A Toolkit for Safe, Ethical, and Equitable AI Integration, a new resource designed to support school leaders as they make plans to leverage artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) benefits for teaching and student learning while managing its risks. Responding directly to President Biden’s October 2023 Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, this toolkit provides actionable guidance for state and local education leaders to develop a strategy for AI use that is safe, secure, and trustworthy while enhancing student learning outcomes.
Building on the Department’s 2023 report, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations (“AI Report”), this toolkit is designed to help educational leaders make critical decisions about incorporating AI-enabled tools and applications into teaching and the instructional core. Through listening sessions with over 200 educators and AI subject matter experts, and at many public events in the past year, the Department heard that AI is here to stay, AI will keep changing, and safely integrating AI in educational settings will require informed leadership at multiple levels across the education system. Thus, the toolkit sets forth and expands upon the material in the AI Report, connecting broad ideas about AI to the establishment of school and district use policies that will guide its effective implementation.
This toolkit is organized into three distinct sections, each containing modules that can be accessed and revisited in any order depending on an educational leader’s unique needs and priorities:
Mitigating Risk: Safeguarding Student Privacy, Safety, and Civil Rights. The use of AI in schools must protect students’ safety, rights, and privacy to realize the promise of helping every student achieve their own American dream. This toolkit provides educational leaders with specific recommended risk mitigation practices to ensure that AI is used in schools in a way that safeguards and respects students’ rights and safety. Awareness of applicable federal laws, rules, and regulations is an essential first step when planning for the use of AI in schools. Educational leaders are invited to learn about privacy and data security requirements, how civil rights, accessibility, and equity can be impacted by AI, and to consider the opportunities and risks associated with the use of AI.
Building a Strategy for AI Integration in the Instructional Core School districts should use the knowledge they have gained from past advances in educational technology to build a clear and coherent strategy for integrating AI into the instructional core – the connection between students, teachers, academic content, and high-quality instructional tasks. That strategy should be informed by multiple sources of evidence on the use of AI for educators and students. Educational leaders should have multiple resources to consider in examining the evidence supporting AI-enabled tools.
Maximizing Opportunity: Guiding the Effective Use and Evaluation of AI Exploring the multiple uses and applications of AI and building a coherent strategy are important early steps, but educational leaders must also be active in guiding the effective use of AI to enhance teaching and student learning, whether AI-enabled tools are designed and applied to enhance educator productivity or academic instruction. Once educational leaders have a clear strategy in place for the use of AI, they are ready to focus on guiding, shaping, and continually evaluating the use of AI in their learning community.
The Department is committed to supporting innovative advances in educational technology (edtech) to improve teaching and learning across the nation’s education systems and to support educators as they incorporate emerging technology into their learning communities
The U.S. Department of Education’s (Department’s) Office of Educational Technology today released Empowering Education Leaders: A Toolkit for Safe, Ethical, and Equitable AI Integration, a new resource designed to support school leaders as they make plans to leverage artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) benefits for teaching and student learning while managing its risks. Responding directly to President Biden’s October 2023 Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, this toolkit provides actionable guidance for state and local education leaders to develop a strategy for AI use that is safe, secure, and trustworthy while enhancing student learning outcomes.
Building on the Department’s 2023 report, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations (“AI Report”), this toolkit is designed to help educational leaders make critical decisions about incorporating AI-enabled tools and applications into teaching and the instructional core. Through listening sessions with over 200 educators and AI subject matter experts, and at many public events in the past year, the Department heard that AI is here to stay, AI will keep changing, and safely integrating AI in educational settings will require informed leadership at multiple levels across the education system. Thus, the toolkit sets forth and expands upon the material in the AI Report, connecting broad ideas about AI to the establishment of school and district use policies that will guide its effective implementation.
This toolkit is organized into three distinct sections, each containing modules that can be accessed and revisited in any order depending on an educational leader’s unique needs and priorities:
Mitigating Risk: Safeguarding Student Privacy, Safety, and Civil Rights. The use of AI in schools must protect students’ safety, rights, and privacy to realize the promise of helping every student achieve their own American dream. This toolkit provides educational leaders with specific recommended risk mitigation practices to ensure that AI is used in schools in a way that safeguards and respects students’ rights and safety. Awareness of applicable federal laws, rules, and regulations is an essential first step when planning for the use of AI in schools. Educational leaders are invited to learn about privacy and data security requirements, how civil rights, accessibility, and equity can be impacted by AI, and to consider the opportunities and risks associated with the use of AI.
Building a Strategy for AI Integration in the Instructional Core School districts should use the knowledge they have gained from past advances in educational technology to build a clear and coherent strategy for integrating AI into the instructional core – the connection between students, teachers, academic content, and high-quality instructional tasks. That strategy should be informed by multiple sources of evidence on the use of AI for educators and students. Educational leaders should have multiple resources to consider in examining the evidence supporting AI-enabled tools.
Maximizing Opportunity: Guiding the Effective Use and Evaluation of AI Exploring the multiple uses and applications of AI and building a coherent strategy are important early steps, but educational leaders must also be active in guiding the effective use of AI to enhance teaching and student learning, whether AI-enabled tools are designed and applied to enhance educator productivity or academic instruction. Once educational leaders have a clear strategy in place for the use of AI, they are ready to focus on guiding, shaping, and continually evaluating the use of AI in their learning community.
The Department is committed to supporting innovative advances in educational technology (edtech) to improve teaching and learning across the nation’s education systems and to support educators as they incorporate emerging technology into their learning communities
A leading national provider of accredited online graduate degrees endorses Georgetown University group’s report recommending disclosure of earnings and debt costs and calls on colleges to freeze tuition for five years.
INDIANAPOLIS, October 24, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– A new report from a respected Georgetown University research group finds that healthcare programs are among the most expensive for graduate students, contributing to high borrowing levels. American College of Education (ACE), one of the country’s top providers of accredited online graduate degrees, including master’s degrees online, endorses the report’s call for greater transparency on loan debt and return on investment and graduate programs nationwide to significantly reduce tuition costs.
American College of Education (ACE), founded in 2005, offers more than 60 accredited doctoral, specialist, master’s and bachelor’s degrees and graduate-level certificate programs. ACE is known for its quality, flexibility and affordability. ACE has not increased tuition since 2016 and 86% of its students graduate with no debt.
The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s “Graduate Degrees: Risky and Unequal Paths to the Top” report documents that the cost of graduate education has more than tripled over the past 20 years, particularly in the healthcare fields in which 73% of students go into debt, compared to 53% across all fields.
The report highlights that healthcare students hold the most debt ($93,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars), significantly higher than overall ($50,000) across all fields of study. More than half (54%) of healthcare students end up with an average of over $45,000 in debt upon graduation. Additionally, the report states that student demand for graduate degrees in healthcare continues to rise, accounting for 24% of enrollments.
To protect students and maintain the value of a graduate degree, the researchers recommend assessing graduate health programs with a “debt-to-earnings test,” examining degree recipients’ federal loan payments in relation to their earnings, and an “in-field earnings premium test,” comparing the earnings of workers with graduate degrees to those without them.
ACE strongly supports the debt-to-earnings test, which would call for loan payments to not exceed 10% of the graduate’s median discretionary earnings. The debt-to-earnings test is particularly relevant to healthcare professionals.
“Given that healthcare professionals are burdened by significantly higher debt than their peers, at ACE we believe that the debt-to-earnings test is vital,” said Geordie Hyland, ACE’s president and CEO. “This approach is key to easing the financial strain of student loans and ensuring healthcare graduates can pursue advanced degrees without being overwhelmed by debt.”
ACE also endorses the in-field earnings premium test, which would ensure healthcare professionals achieve significant ROI on their investment in a graduate degree, earning at least 5% more compared to workers of a similar age and location without the degree.
An independent study by economists at labor market analysis firm Lightcast found a return of $19.20 in increased future earnings for every dollar a student invests in their education at ACE. This amounts to an average annual rate of return of 120.7%.
ACE also urges graduate schools to advocate for healthcare professionals by decreasing tuition costs without losing quality, eliminating non-value-added costs, and adopting new technology when possible.
“ACE calls for graduate schools to reduce tuition without compromising quality. Focusing on teaching and learning, leveraging technology, and eliminating non-essential costs will make education more affordable. Freezing tuition for five years is a smart, proactive move toward a sustainable and equitable model for higher education,” Hyland said.
ACE also improves affordability by choosing not to participate in federal Title IV financial aid programs, which reduces operational costs and reduces costs to students. The college also has a team dedicated to evaluating credit for prior learning (CPL) and extensive professional development content partnerships, which help students decrease the duration and cost of their program.
ACE also maintains a strong record of student success, with an 85% graduation rate, and more than 11,000 current students and 44,000 alumni. Students can complete ACE’s accredited online healthcare degrees in the comfort of their homes, on their own schedules, with free tutoring and student support services. Students can learn more by visiting ACE’s “Student Right to Know” at https://ace.edu/about/student-right-to-know.
Hyland will discuss ACE’s model of success in an upcoming The Future of Education podcast. For more information regarding ACE’s online healthcare degrees, please visit http://ace.edu.
About the American College of Education American College of Education (ACE) is an accredited, fully online college specializing in high-quality, affordable programs in education, business, leadership, healthcare and nursing. Headquartered in Indianapolis, ACE offers more than 60 innovative and engaging programs for adult students to pursue a doctorate, specialist, master’s or bachelor’s degree, along with graduate-level certificate programs.
Most loving parents feel a natural desire to praise their children. Yet, there seems to be a backlash against praise recently, particularly on social media. One of my favorite comedians, Taylor Wolfe, highlighted the anti-praise movement in a viral reel titled “Teaching My Boomer Mom About Millennial Parenting” (watch here if you haven’t already). In this video, she instructs her mother not to say “Good job” or “I’m so proud of you” — a request that her mother clearly finds ridiculous. This video is relatable in part because it showcases the confusion we all feel around praise.
For those of us who grew up in the “self-esteem craze” of the 90’s, it is hard to understand what could be wrong with a seemingly benign and loving phrase like “I’m so proud of you.” Enter gentle parenting influencers. Gentle parenting advocates would argue this type of praise will cause children to become overly dependent on validation from others and ultimately reduce their internal motivation to engage in the behavior.
So what does the research actually find about praising children? Is it an effective way to encourage children or will it make children overly dependent on the approval of others and lacking in internal motivation? Will phrases like “I’m proud of you” and “Good job” really turn your children into “praise junkies”?
The Research on Praise
First, it is important to mention that there is isn’t anything inherently wrong with praise. Praise has long been a tool encouraged by psychologists and included in most evidence-based parenting programs. Most psychologists and researchers consider praise an essential part of positive parenting. Research also suggests that praise generally has a positive impact on children, as praise has been associated with improved academic performance, increased likelihood of engaging in kind and helpful behavior and enhanced social competence. Praise from parents is even associated with increased brain matter in an area of the brain associated with empathy, conscientiousness and open-mindedness. We also don’t have any evidence that praise in general decreases intrinsic motivation and we actually have evidence that praise may increase intrinsic motivation.Yet, research does find that how you praise your child matters and that some types of praise may be better than other types of praise. Fortunately, research gives us some guidance here.
How To Praise Your Child
So how exactly should you praise your children? Research provides the following tips:
Praise the process, not the person. Praise your child’s effort, strategy and process, rather than praising traits that they cannot change as easily (such as intelligence, athleticism or beauty). Research finds that “process praise” (translation: praising effort, strategy and process) enhances children’s internal motivation and persistence in the face of challenge. “Person praise” (translation: praising fixed traits associated with the person such as “you are so smart/nice/beautiful”) tends to make children fixate more on their mistakes, give up more easily and blame themselves. Why does this happen? Imagine if your parents have always told you how smart you are and then you just cannot understand algebra. You might assume that your parents are wrong and you actually aren’t “smart” and decide there is no point in even trying because you are either “smart” or “not smart”— it’s a fixed trait that you can’t change. You might also feel less inclined to challenge yourself (because what if you fail and are no longer considered “smart”) and you may be more likely to cheat to prove you are “smart.” The pressure to achieve feels both overwhelming and out of your control. However, if your parents mostly praised you for how hard you worked in math, you would likely simply work harder if you did not understand algebra, entirely avoiding the intense pressure and existential crisis of no longer being “smart.”
Use supportive rather than controlling praise. Research suggests that you should avoid using praise that aims to control your child’s behavior because this type of praise does seem to decrease intrinsic motivation. In other words, the goal of your praise should not be to try to pressure your child into doing what you want them to do. For example, rather than saying, “You are so good at science. You should be a doctor like me when you grow up,” say, “It seems like you really enjoy science and really work hard to understand it.” Be careful of any praise that uses the word “should” or may make your child feel pressured.
Avoid using praise that compares your child to other children. When you use praise to compare your child to other children, it seems to enhance performance in the short term, but in the long-term this practice may lead your children to judge their performance only in relation to other people rather than meeting their own goals or enjoying it themselves. For example, rather than praising your child for being the best soccer player on their team, focus on their own performance. You want to be particularly careful about not comparing your child to their siblings with your praise (such as, “You are such a better listener than your brother”), since research finds that sibling comparisons are linked to behavior problems.
Use specific rather than general praise. Research finds that praise with specific information helps children to learn how to improve their behavior in the future. For example, “good job putting your toys back in the bin when you were done using them” helps children to learn a specific expectation. If you simply say “good job” after your child cleans up their toys, they may not know what you are referring to. However, it is also important to mention that a recent study found that even general and vague praise (“Yea” in this study) may not undermine persistence or make kids view themselves more negatively. The only concern with this type of general praise is that it may not give children an idea of how to improve in the future.
Use gestures as praise. Research also suggests that parents may want to use gestures (high fives, thumbs up) to encourage their children occasionally. Research finds that gestures may even be very effective in improving children’s self-evaluation, that is their own judgement of how they did and how they feel about it.
Combine praise with positive attention. Try to use praise with positive attention or a positive nonverbal response (hug, smile, pat or another type of physical affection). Research finds that this may be the most effective in improving children’s behavior.
Be sincere with your praise. This last tip may be the most important. Research suggests that when children sense that their parents are either over-praising or under-praising their performance, they are more likely to experience depression and lower academic performance. Research also finds that overly effusive praise (such as, “That is the most beautiful drawing I have ever seen”) is associated with children developing low self-esteem, avoiding challenges and becoming overly dependent on praise.
So Can You Say “I’m So Proud of You”?
There is no research that specifically examines the impact of telling your children “I’m so proud of you” or even research comparing phrases that focus on the child’s self-evaluation versus the adult’s evaluation (such as saying “You seem so happy with this artwork” versus “I think your artwork is so beautiful”) so it is hard to make a specific recommendation about this phrase. However, based on the research that we do have, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with saying “I’m proud of you.” However, research would suggest that you might want to make sure that you are specific (“I’m proud of you for trying so hard to make the team”), that you are not focusing on fixed traits (“I’m proud of you for helping others” versus “I’m proud of you for being a helper”) and that you aren’t being controlling or pressuring (“I’m so proud that you are finally getting A’s in math”).
What About “Good Job”?
Again, there is no research looking specifically at the phrase “good job.” Based on the research we do have, “good job” does not seem to be harmful but may not be specific enough. If your child doesn’t know what you are referring to, they may misinterpret or discredit your praise. In addition, “good job” is often used in an insincere way. I am imagining a scenario where your child insists that you watch them do hundreds of handstands in the pool and for each one you say “good job” without even looking up from your phone. It is easy to see how this experience would cheapen the experience of praise for children.
What Happens If You Don’t Praise Perfectly?
After reading all of this research, you may be feeling overwhelmed by all of these “praise rules” or guilty about the times you haven’t followed these guidelines. But don’t stress— you don’t have to do this perfectly (and literally no parent ever has)! Just aim for following these rules as often as you can. Research finds that as long as most of the praise that children hear (at least three out of four times) is the praise supported by research, children show increased persistence and improved self-evaluation. This suggests that even if you forget these rules 1 out of 4 times, there is no reason to worry. So when you slip up and call your child “smart” or give them an insincere “good job” (and trust me— we have all done it), your child will be just fine.
Some Examples of The Type of Praise You Should Use
In recent years, a growing body of research has looked at the impact of college ‘deserts’ — sometimes defined as an area where people live more than a 30-minute drive to a campus — and found that those residing close to a college are more likely to attend. But a new study shows that these higher education deserts affect some groups of students much differently than others.
The study, which looked at a rich set of high school and college data in Texas, found that Black and Hispanic students and those in low-income families who lived more than 30 miles from a public two-year college were significantly less likely to attend college. But white and Asian students in those same communities were slightly more likely than other students in the state to complete four-year degrees, meaning that the lack of a nearby two-year option seemed to increase the likelihood of moving away to attend college.
“While all students who live in a community college desert are less likely to complete an associate’s degree, their alternative enrollment and degree completion outcomes vary sharply by race-ethnicity and [socioeconomic status],” the study finds. In other words, for low-income and underrepresented minority groups, living near a community college can be a crucial way to gain access to any higher education. Meanwhile, such proximity might lead students in other groups to attend two-year college rather than pursue a four-year degree.
The results are particularly important at a time when more colleges are struggling to remain open, says Riley Acton, an assistant professor of economics at Miami University in Ohio and one of the researchers who worked on the new study.
“If a public institution in particular, let’s say a public community college, is thinking about closing, or is thinking about merging, or is thinking about opening a new campus or consolidating campuses,” she says, “they should be mindful about who the students are that live near those different campuses.”
The researchers also suggest that colleges should consider providing transportation options or credits to students living in college deserts. “If you don’t have a car in rural Texas, that’s going to be a very hard barrier to overcome” without some sort of help, Acton notes.
Novel Finding
Meanwhile, Black and Hispanic students are more likely than those in other groups to live in a college desert, according to research by Nicholas Hillman, a professor of educational policy at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who was one of the first researchers to draw attention to the effects of college location on educational attainment, back in 2016.
In an interview with EdSurge, Hillman says that the implications of Acton’s new study are “really interesting,” adding that it is probably the largest quantitative study to take on the question of how college deserts affect different groups differently.
“It makes clear that, ‘Wait a minute, distance is different for different groups of students,’” Hillman says.
One takeaway for Hillman is the importance of making the transfer process from two-year colleges to four-year institutions more frictionless, so that students who live near two-year colleges who are more likely to start there have ample opportunity to go on to get a four-year degree.
Hillman says that he began looking at geography out of frustration with an emphasis during the Obama administration on providing consumer information about higher education as a solution to college access. For instance, one major initiative started during that time was the College Scorecard, which provides information on college options based on various government datasets.
“The dominant narrative was, ‘If students just have better info about where to go to college, more would go,’” he says. “I said, ‘This is bananas. This is not how it works.’”
He grew up in northern Indiana, where the nearest college is 40 miles away. For people he knew there, information about college was not what was keeping them from enrolling. “If you don’t have a job, you’re not going to be spending all this money on gas to go to college,” he says.
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Dive Brief:
Lower-income students worked more hours to cover the rising net cost of college, while middle- and upper-income families have taken out more loans, according to a recent analysis from the Brookings Institution.
Well-off families also have drawn more on savings and earnings to keep up with rising college costs, found Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Phil Levine. Lower-income students without the family resources to cover rising costs increased the amount they worked. By 2008, three-fourths of those students worked and averaged 20 hours per week or more.
Levine found that student borrowing for four-year public and nonprofit universities changed little. The analysis was based on federal data from between 1996 and 2020.
Dive Insight:
Students from lower-income backgrounds have fewer financial options for meeting college costs, noted Levine, who is also an economics professor at Wellesley College, in Massachusetts.
Their families have limited earnings to contribute and may be reluctant to take out more debt or have trouble obtaining loans. “Working more may be the main viable alternative for them,” Levine wrote in his October analysis.
Higher-income families, meanwhile, “may have a greater capacity to help pay the higher bills from income or savings, and the parents have more access to loans,” he added.
From between 1996-97 and 2007-08, students from families making less than $50,000 took on an additional 2.5 hours of work per week on average, Levine found. After that year, the U.S. Department of Education no longer published data that disaggregated student earnings’ contribution to college costs.
The extra work could impact those students’ success. Levine cited 2023 research showing students who worked 20 hours a week experienced “deleterious” effects on their outcomes, such as grades and credits earned, which worsened with more hours.
Middle- and higher-income families had more earnings and resources to pay for higher college costs, which amounted to an additional $5,000 to $10,000 per year compared to the mid-1990s. But, Levine noted, “These larger payments could harm these families’ longer-term financial stability.”
WATERVILLE, Maine — For Emily Kayser, the prospect of covering her son’s college tuition on a teacher’s salary is “scary. It’s very stressful.” To pay for it, “I’m thinking, what can I sell?”
Kayser, who was touring Colby College with her high school-age son, Matt, is among the many Americans in the middle who earn too much to qualify for need-based financial aid, but not enough to simply write a check to send their kids to college.
That’s a squeeze becoming more pronounced after several years of increases in the prices of many other goods and services, a period of inflation only now beginning to ease.
“The cost of everything, from food to gas to living expenses, has become so high,” Kayser said.
Middle-income Americans have borne a disproportionate share of college price increases, too. For them, the net cost of a degree has risen from 12 percent to 22 percent since 2009, depending on their earnings level, compared to about 1 percent for lower-income families, federal data show.
Now a handful of schools — many of them private, nonprofit institutions trying to compete with lower-priced public universities — are beginning to designate financial aid specifically for middle-income families in an attempt to lure them back.
“This is a group, particularly in private colleges, where it just does not make sense to them, in many cases, to send their children to the colleges and universities that might be the best fit,” said David Greene, Colby’s president. “Many of them are feeling, frankly, a little stretched with everything that’s going on.”
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Colby has announced a program that will take effect next fall to attract prospective students in the middle. It will cap the cost of tuition, room and board at $10,000 a year for families who earn up to $100,000, and $15,000 for those with incomes of from $100,000 to $150,000.
That’s compared with the current net price at Colby of up to about $53,000 a year for people in those income brackets, after existing discounts and financial aid.
The new, guaranteed lower price for middle-income families, underwritten by a $10 million gift from an alumnus, figures prominently in Colby’s outreach to prospective parents and students, popping up among the scenic promotional photos of stately red-brick Georgian revival buildings encircled by the Maine woods.
Matt Kayser and his mother, Emily, tour Colby College, whose new athletic center — so big it’s been dubbed the “Death Star” — is in the background. A teacher, Emily Kayser says she “felt a weight come off my shoulders” when she learned that Colby is expanding its financial aid for middle-income families. Credit: Sofia Aldinio for The Hechinger Report
When she heard about it, “I felt the weight come off my shoulders,” said Kayser, of Westchester County, New York, who remembered being so relieved when she finally paid off her own substantial college loans that she framed the receipt.
The anxiety among middle-income families about costs is having an effect on universities and colleges, whose proportion of students from those families has been declining. Their presence on U.S. campuses fell from 45 percent in 1996 to 37 percent in 2016, the Pew Research Center found using the most recent available federal data. Middle-income Americans make up 52 percent of the population, Pew estimates.
Those drops might not seem particularly ominous. But in a complex balancing act, colleges badly need to appeal to those middle-income families that can afford to pay at least part of the price.
“That group of students is their bread and butter,” said Jinann Bitar, director of higher education research and data analytics at The Education Trust, which advocates for equity in education. “That’s why they’re trying to keep this group in the mix. Some inflow is better than no inflow.”
The slowing drip in the number of middle-income students on campuses also comes as enrollment overall has been falling for a decade, meaning institutions need all the students they can get. At the same time, the proportion of students from lower-income families enrolling directly in college has been going up.
“Maybe we’ve done a better job with the lower-income students — that, yes, there is financial aid for you for college,” said Jill Desjean, senior policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. “And maybe the middle has heard the message that financial aid is just for lower-income families.”
This perception isn’t entirely true, Desjean said. Middle-income families can qualify for some federal, state and institutional financial aid.
“A lot of it is messaging — trying to simplify the message out there that, yes, we understand tuition is high, but there are programs you’re eligible for,” she said.
The median household income as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau is $77,540. Pew defines “middle income” as ranging between two-thirds and twice that much, or from $51,176 to $155,080.
Families with annual incomes of from $75,000 to $110,000 get less than half as much financial aid as people who make under $48,000, federal figures show.
Ryan and Kate Paulson and daughter Annie after touring Colby College. Their goal “is for her to not fall in love with any school, knowing that, being in the middle, we might not be able to afford it,” Credit: Sofia Aldinio for The Hechinger Report
That can make college a struggle, even when both parents work, and especially in families with several children and with assets such as houses.
“Anyone who has to borrow or use financial aid to afford college is getting squeezed. That’s the gist,” Bitar said. “There are a lot of middle-income families that are really worried about access to college, and those voices have been loud.”
In his previous role as vice president for enrollment and student success at Trinity College in Connecticut, Angel Pérez saw how financial aid calculations could disadvantage middle-income families.
“If you add the layer on top of that of the skepticism about the value of higher education right now, we are seeing more middle-income families just not getting into the pipeline or enrolling,” said Pérez, who is now CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
Meanwhile, the disconnect between the prices colleges advertise, and what they actually expect people to pay appears to particularly frustrate many middle-income families.
At Colby, a private liberal arts college, the published total cost for this academic year is around $90,000, for instance. But half of families already get some form of financial aid.
“I have a hard time with a price tag that’s so high, and they say, ‘Don’t worry, you’re never going to pay that,’” said Ryan Paulson of Traverse City, Michigan, on a tour of Colby with his wife, Kate, and their daughter, Annie, and who was speaking about the college admission process in general. “Just tell us the price.”
Part of Colby’s strategy is to simplify what Greene called “this overly byzantine and complex system,” by showing the maximum amount a student will be charged based on his or her family’s income.
Prospective students and their parents look on as an admissions officer at Colby College shows what they’d pay, based on their income, when the school expands financial aid for middle-income families next fall. Credit: Sofia Aldinio for The Hechinger Report
“It’s pretty simple. If you make $200,000 a year, you’re going to pay no more than $20,000 for tuition, room and board,” he said. “We try to keep it as clean and easy as we can.”
Many parents, at all income levels, don’t know about the full range of financial aid that might be available to them, a survey by the lending company Sallie Mae found. More than half think money goes only to students with exceptional grades, and nearly 40 percent believe it’s not worth bothering to apply if they make what they assume is too much money.
The Paulsons’ goal for their daughter “is for her to not fall in love with any school, knowing that, being in the middle, we might not be able to afford it,” Kate Paulson said.
The universities and colleges that have begun making financial aid available specifically for middle-income families are typically wealthy and highly selective.
With a student body of 2,300, for example, Colby hasan endowment worth more than $1.1 billion and accepts just 7 percent of applicants. The campus tour includes a new $200 million, 350,000-square-foot athletic complex that’s so big and high-tech, opposing teams have taken to calling it the Death Star.
Rice University, a private research campus in Houston, is seeking to raise $150 million by the end of this academic year to continue a program it began in 2019 of giving full-tuition scholarships to undergraduates from families that earn between $75,000 and $140,000.
Many institutions say they’re trying to appeal to these families because they want to balance the socioeconomic representation on their campuses.
But another major reason is to help address an ongoing decline in enrollment projected to get much steeper beginning next year.
“If the enrollment issue is a struggle for your university or college, you’d better be thinking about how you price things, in a simple and straightforward way,” Greene said.
David Greene, the president of Colby College, in his office overlooking the main quad. He says colleges worried about enrollment need to be “thinking about how you price things in a simple and straightforward way.” Credit: Sofia Aldinio for The Hechinger Report
Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, cited affordability issues it said were discouraging middle-income applicants when it announced a “Middle America Scholarship” providing up to $6,395 this year to families with annual incomes between $35,000 and $95,000.
Grinnell College in Iowa offers scholarships toward what it calls “felt” financial need among middle-income families frustrated that the calculations of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, overstate what they can actually afford.
Some prospective students “are squeezed out of eligibility for need-based financial aid even though they do not have the financial wherewithal to fund higher education without assistance,” said Brad Lindberg, Grinnell’s associate vice president of institutional initiatives and enrollment.
The problem for colleges, he said, is that families like those “assume they’re not going to be eligible for financial aid, so they just don’t apply. People exclude themselves from the process before the process even starts.”
Greene, at Colby, said that could be among the reasons that only a little more than a third of Americans now say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, according to a Gallup survey — down from 57 percent in 2015.
“The value proposition of higher education relative to its cost is a huge question mark in the minds of many people,” he said. “That’s why I think there’s such extraordinary discontent about America’s colleges and universities, because middle-income families are the ones that have been squeezed out of those top places.”
Targeting middle-income families with designated scholarships appears to be working, according to some of the colleges that have already been doing it.
“We’ve seen a nice bump in applications,” said Karen Kristof, assistant vice president and dean of admission at Colorado College. “We’ve seen a better yield.”
Since 2019, the private college has limited the cost of room and board to about $16,000 a year for Colorado families with annual incomes between $60,000 and $125,000.
“This is a group that felt neglected in the need-based system” that favors lower-income applicants, Kristof said.
Now, more colleges and universities are setting out to boost the people in the middle. A donor has helped the public University of Montana double, to $15 million, the annual amount available from its Payne Family Impact Scholarship for in-state middle-income families.
“We had a clear understanding and feedback from families in Montana that we just didn’t have enough to offer in the middle-income range,” said Leslie Webb, the university’s vice president for student success and enrollment management.
Some advocates warned that colleges shouldn’t forsake their lowest-income applicants in the cause of helping middle-income ones.
“It’s crucial for colleges to still target their limited resources to students with the lowest incomes,” said Diane Cheng, vice president of research and policy at the Institute for Higher Education Policy.
The institute calculates that a typical middle-income family has to spend 35 percent of its annual household income sending a child to college for a year. “That’s a pretty substantial share,” said Cheng. But for the lowest-income Americans, she said, a year in college consumes the equivalent of nearly one and a half times their annual household income.
“Institutions typically have limited resources for providing financial aid,” Cheng said, “and we want to encourage them to balance their desire to attract students from middle-income families with supporting students from low-income backgrounds.”
Still, institutions are increasingly focused on this issue, said Art Rodriguez, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at Carleton College. The private institution in Northfield, Minnesota, also offers scholarships specifically to families in the middle.
“The number in the middle is decreasing,” he said, “so colleges are making efforts to try to not lose that middle.”
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While a majority of colleges and universities offer tutoring to learners, not all students are aware of or taking advantage of these offerings. A July 2023 report from Tyton Partners found while 93 percent of university employees indicate availability of tutoring and academic support services, only 56 percent of learners say they’re aware of them.
Intentional and direct outreach to students who can benefit from services is one way colleges have increased access and use of support services. Pennsylvania State University launched a pilot in 2023, utilizing data and notifications from instructors to identify which students could benefit from tutoring.
After the first semester, campus leaders saw a majority of students who received personalized outreach respond or attend a tutoring program, and administrators plan to track data to see the program’s longer-term impact.
The background: Penn State adopted EAB’s Starfish platform in 2015, launching new institutional efforts to integrate technology into student support work.
“One of the stronger approaches we’ve developed here at Penn State is that the group that is managing that platform is inclusive of offices beyond just academic advising,” says David Smith, associate dean of advising and executive director for the division of undergraduate studies. “The more that that small group talks about ways to make this tool connect students to resources, it allows for brainstorming of ideas about where and how to apply the technology to connect students appropriately to the right resource at the right time.”
The university also has a larger goal to minimize equity gaps in student success, and the usage of technology is one critical piece of that, Smith explains.
How it works: Twice a year, Penn State instructors complete a progress survey on Starfish that tracks items including a student’s performance and instructor recommendations for how to improve. Performance categories range from “outstanding performance” to “meeting expectations” to “in danger of earning less than a C,” and related suggestions include “come to office hours,” “participate more consistently,” “seek tutoring” or “talk with your adviser.”
The surveys take place typically during the third and seventh weeks of the semester, with early indicators allowing students to make adjustments sooner in the semester to be successful and the midsemester benchmarking helping them realistically assess their progress in a course, including their continued enrollment.
Each flag and kudo raised creates an automated email to the student and their adviser, and students are expected to take action on that warning. Professors can also add a comment, which is included alongside the standardized email alert.
When a student is flagged for tutoring, they receive an email that links to the campus learning center and how to contact their student success network as well as reminds them that there is no extra charge for tutoring.
The tutoring and academic support center, Penn State Learning (PSL), launched a pilot in spring 2023 for students in writing courses who were flagged to seek tutoring, but PSL saw minimal uptake with requests for help. In fall 2023, the office began outreach to any student who was flagged to seek tutoring or learning support in mathematics, science and writing-intensive courses.
Within the platform, staff can view all students who’ve been flagged in particular classes to send a message to students within Starfish about how to access tutoring, says Neill Johnson, director of PSL.
A Deeper Look at Tutoring
Penn State Learning, where centralized tutoring is housed at the University Park campus, employs 185 undergraduate students as tutors and peer leaders and, in the 2023–24 academic year, engaged with over 14,000 students for a total number of contacts reaching over 100,000.
By the numbers: Of those students who received a “seek tutoring” to-do, 59 percent participated in tutoring or a Guided Study Group (GSG).
Among GSG-supported students, 235 students in fall 2023 received a flag from their instructor to seek tutoring. PSL responded by sending these learners the session schedule, which resulted in 41 percent attending GSG sessions or exam reviews. When replicated in spring 2024, 1,267 students received referrals and 58 percent attended sessions or exam reviews.
Responses were highest for students in mathematics courses and those who have study groups associated with their class, which Johnson hypothesizes is because students receive constant information about GSG availability, making it hard to miss.
GSG at Penn State
The Guided Study Group program is based on supplemental instruction models, including a peer leader embedded in the course with collaborative learning and weekly sessions. GSG is available for 24 courses in chemistry, economics, mathematics and statistics. During the 2023–24 academic year, 12,717 students participated in a GSG both in person and online. Students can also view recordings of sessions, which are particularly beneficial to off-campus learners, nonnative English speakers or those studying for exams.
Learners at Penn State are in general open to engaging in tutoring, and there isn’t a strong stigma around utilizing resources because it’s talked about often and proactively, Smith says. But the initiative helps deliver timely and personalized interactions with staff and students.
“My sense is that it’s having an impact,” Smith says. “We can see better outcomes for students who receive flags. It’s creating a space where even our approaches to advising can become better.”
What’s next: The next iteration of the pilot will include students who are flagged for language courses.
Leaders hope to track student data to graduation to see how working with Penn State Learning impacted their retention or overall outcomes compared to peer or demographic groups.
One future challenge is breaking silos among Penn State departments and divisions at the University Park flagship to get more faculty on board with completing progress surveys. Across campuses in the commonwealth, more faculty members complete progress surveys and students receive more to-dos and kudos, Smith says. “There’s work that we at University Park need to do in really learning from our colleagues at [other] campuses around how to lower silos, how to be more intentional.”
Another area of focus is identifying how to close the loop on student support flags; while a to-do may be considered resolved because the outreach was completed, it doesn’t necessarily mean the academic issue is resolved with the student. “I think what we’re really trying to stress with instructors is the flag, that todo, is really to get somebody’s attention, and that some action needs to happen as a result of getting their attention,” Smith says.
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Dive Brief:
Vanderbilt University on Tuesday secured approval to build a $519.6 million, 300,000-square-foot graduate campus in West Palm Beach, Florida, that could start hosting classes by 2026.
County commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the Tennessee-based private university’s expansion in the area. As part of the plan, the county would donate 5 acres of land worth $46 million.
The added campus would expand Vanderbilt’s graduate business school and include programming in artificial intelligence and data scienceas well as an innovation hub to connect the university with entrepreneurial activity in the area.
Dive Insight:
Vanderbilt focused its pitch for a West Palm Beach campus around the economic benefits it would bring to the area.
That includes contributions by its campus and the institution — including $100 million a year in projected operational spending — as well potential commercial spin-offs and intellectual property that emerge from campus activity.
Spending by students alone is expected to pour tens of millions of dollars into the local economy each year, according to an August presentation from Nathan Green, Vanderbilt’s vice chancellor for government and community relations.In total, Vanderbilt expects the campus to have 1,000 students and over 100 faculty.
All told, Vanderbilt said its total economic impact on the area would amount to $7 billion in the first 25 years and reach $24 billion over 75 years.
Those are “really big numbers, bigger than any other use to which we could put this property,” Harvey Oyer, an attorney for Vanderbilt, said in Tuesday’s presentation to the commission. “There’s no other use you could put on those five acres that would have a larger intellectual impact on our community.”
As part of its agreement with the county, Vanderbilt committed to hit certain spending benchmarks in the development and operation of the campus, such as spending $300 million by the time the campus construction is completed.Oyer noted the university plans to spend above that amount.
Along with the county’s contribution of land to the campus, the city of West Palm Beach in September gave Vanderbilt the right to develop 2.2 acres of city-owned land at the site.
As it eyes expansion in Florida, Vanderbilt has also taken steps recently to deepen its presence in New York. In September, the university announced it had signed a lease in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood for a campus as it looks to “bring the world to Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt to the world.”
The university did not share specific plans for programming in the space. It will mull the question with input from a newly established academic advisory committee that includes professors from the liberal arts, science, engineering and business disciplines. Vanderbilt’s vice provost for undergraduate education chairs the committee.
Vanderbilt’s flagship campus in Nashville had 13,710 students in fall 2022, including 6,559 graduate students, per federal data.Both figures grew significantly from five years prior, when Vanderbilt saw 12,592 total students, with 5,707 graduate students.
Haworth and MiEN are announcing a partnership to grow both companies’ presence in the education market. MiEN will join Haworth as a partner brand, offering specialized solutions that build on Haworth’s comprehensive suite of products for higher education and K-12 learning environments.
“Both Haworth and MiEN understand the landscape of innovative education spaces, how to support schools and how to create environments to drive more success for students. At our core, MiEN specializes in K-12 with products that seamlessly transition into higher education. With the Haworth partnership, we now have a stronger trajectory for those higher education environments.” Remco Bergsma, MiEN Founder and CEO.
“Haworth and our dealership network are already serving the higher education market and having access to MiEN products will allow us to expand our solution set for those clients. We can now provide more robust solutions that meet the needs of the ever-changing K-12 market,” said Jack Cottrell, Haworth’s Vice President of Channel & Dealer Development. “It’s a mutually beneficial relationship based on a similar go-to-market position and organizational cultures.”
This partnership allows each company, individually and collectively, to provide more complete solutions for students, faculty and staff. As Haworth continues to sharpen its focus on providing great spaces for learning, wherever they may be, expanding its presence especially within the K-12 segment is an obvious next step.
Haworth and MiEN culturally align through core values – solving customer needs to create more effective spaces. Both partners have a deep desire to study and understand how to create learning environments that make a difference to students and faculty. It is also beneficial that Haworth and MiEN are both located in West Michigan, allowing for joint developments and operational efficiencies.
About Haworth
Haworthbelieves great spaces empower people to thrive and work their best. As a leading global furniture maker, the company partners with customers, dealers and influencers to create spaces that result in effective people and efficient real estate. Haworth’s customer-first approach comes from an entrepreneurial spirit, design-forward thinking and multicultural perspectives. Founded in 1948, Haworth is a privately-owned company operating in more than 150 countries through a global network of 400 dealers and 8,000 employees. Headquartered in Holland, Michigan, U.S.A., the company has sales of $2.57 billion USD.
About MiEN
MiEN is a global company serving the education industry with innovative furniture products and services that promote and support active and interactive learning environments in engaging and functional ways. An American company with a strong European influence, its products and services represent the ideas and collaborative efforts of an expert team of suppliers, designers and engineers. Built strong and durable using eco-friendly, sustainable materials, its products rank high in the industry in meeting the demands of creating dynamic and collaborative learning environments.
eSchool Media staff cover education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to best practices, to lessons learned and new products. First published in March of 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information necessary to help K-20 decision-makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and colleges and achieve their educational goals.
As the technical host of our recent webinar, College Board and Khan Academy: District-wide Strategies for SAT Prep, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to hear from leading educational professionals Maureen Forman of College Board, Sarah Thaler from Khan Academy, and education change-makers Diona Clingman and Jaime Grant.
Maureen Forman made a compelling case with data confirming the powerful impact of free SAT prep from Khan Academy, combined with practice tests on College Board’s Bluebook app. Forman said, “these strategies are key to improving student outcomes and preparing them for their academic future”. Sarah Thaler, who brought her extensive experience at College Board to her present role at Khan Academy, echoed this sentiment. “The transformation in students’ performance with targeted SAT prep is heartening to see. It’s making a tangible difference,” she affirmed.
Our conversation wouldn’t have been complete without the success stories from Osceola and Garland Districts, whose implementations of Khan Academy District Partnerships have been exemplary. Leveraging resources, rallying community support, and keeping the focus student-centered were among the strategies they employed for success. Diona Clingman rightly mentions, “a student-first approach has been instrumental in their success”.
Highlights of the webinar included Jaime Grant’s walk-through of the AI tutor experience for students preparing for the SAT, as well as her reflections on the role of teachers and administrators in encouraging student engagement. “Their dedication and commitment play a crucial role in realizing the potential of such partnerships,” Jaime stressed.
If you were unable to join us live, we invite you to watch the on-demand webinar at your own convenience. Don’t miss the chance to learn from these inspiring education advocates- watch the recording when you can!
From Choosing A New Vendor To Measuring eLearning ROI
Finding the right software is only half the LMS adventure. Once you have the newest addition to your tech stack, you need to know how to make it work for your organization so that you can bridge gaps and achieve your objectives. This Learning Management System guide can help you get the most from your investment by following the essential implementation steps, evaluating costs, and tracking training effectiveness.
eBook Release
A Deep-Dive Guide To Making An LMS Really Work For Your Business
Whether you’re new to LMSs or want to get more out of your current platform, this guide will help you make your investment worthwhile.
Learning Management System Guide: Figuring Out The Whats And Whys
One of the most common mistakes that organizations make when choosing an LMS is rushing through the needs analysis phase. After all, you need to get your training program up and running as soon as possible. However, this often results in choosing the wrong platform for your needs and expectations. This is why it’s critical, as this guide explains, to set your goals and evaluate your requirements before you start your search. You should also map out your timeline and gather your implementation team before you delve into the content creation step.
About This eBook
How long will it take to roll out your new LMS? What’s the best way to measure ROI and L&D effectiveness? Here’s a sneak preview of what you’ll find in this guide by iSpring Solutions:
LMS Implementation: Timeline And Key Steps
Tracking Training Effectiveness With An LMS
LMS ROI: Measuring Costs And Benefits
LMS Migration: Transferring To A New Platform The Smart Way
November is an important annual opportunity to pause and reflect on the rich cultural heritage, enduring traditions, and profound contributions of America’s indigenous peoples. As a teacher with Apache tribal heritage, I created this list of Native American Heritage Month activities to help fellow educators foster in our students greater respect, empathy, and appreciation for our nation’s indigenous roots.
Since the United States was built upon the ancestral lands of diverse tribal nations, it’s crucial that we take time to honor their legacy through Native American Heritage Month. We can show respect to the original stewards of this land we now all occupy by acknowledging the vibrant cultures, belief systems, and lived experiences of the indigenous people who have called these regions home for millennia.
Jump to:
What is Native American Heritage Month?
President George H.W. Bush signed a joint resolution in 1990 to designate November as Native American Heritage Month. During this month, all Americans are invited to deepen their understanding and appreciation of Native communities across the country. This commemoration provides a dedicated chance to educate ourselves, amplify Native voices, and find meaningful ways to support tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Whether it’s attending cultural events, reading works by Native authors, or learning about our arts and culture, this is the time to honor the first people of this country and ensure their rightful place in the national narrative.
Before You Get Started: Important Note From the Author
WolvesEye Photography, published with permission
As you celebrate Native American Heritage Month with your students, here are some important tips for approaching Native traditions and activities with the respect and reverence they deserve.
Respect the depth of Native traditions
As you seek to learn more about the rich cultural heritage of our Native people through Native American Heritage Month activities, it’s important to approach this exploration with a deep sense of respect and reverence. Native culture is not merely costumes or gimmicks to be donned for a fleeting trend—they represent ancient, living traditions that are profoundly personal to our families and our way of life. These practices and beliefs have been passed down through generations, carrying the weight and wisdom of the ancestors who came before. They are not to be treated lightly or superficially, but rather with the understanding that you are being welcomed into a world of profound spiritual and communal significance.
Engage with curiosity and humility
When you have the opportunity to engage with Native customs, whether through attending a local event or reaching out to a tribal organization, approach it with an open heart and mind. Rather than assuming you know or understand, be prepared to listen and learn. Ask thoughtful questions, be receptive to teachings, and participate with genuine curiosity and humility. Remember that these traditions are not mere performances but living, breathing expressions of identity, connection, and legacy. By doing so, you honor the resilience and perseverance of our people, who have endured centuries of upheaval and yet continue to keep our lifeways alive.
Seek out authentic cultural celebrations and connections
As you navigate this journey of discovery, keep an eye out for cultural celebrations and gatherings taking place in your area. Powwows.com is a great resource for events taking place all over the Native country. These events offer invaluable opportunities to immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and spirit of Native communities. And if possible, seek out direct connections with local tribes, who can provide you with the most authentic and meaningful insights into their histories, traditions, and contemporary experiences.
Native American Heritage Month Activities
Thank you for taking an interest in who we are and what we are all about. Have fun and be safe with these Native American Heritage Month activities!
Warrior Up! Active Native American Heritage Month Activities
A warrior has to be strong, skillful, and sharp. There are many ways to train the mind, body, and spirit. Are your students willing to put themselves to the test and join in these fun yet challenging Native American Heritage Month activities? Come on then, it’s time to warrior up!
1. Hoop Dancing
WolvesEye Photography, published with permission
The Hoop Dance is one of many styles of dance that originated as a healing dance. The story tells us that each time the dancer passes through their hoop, a day is added onto the life of the sick individual they are dancing for. Everything from the shapes they create with their the hoops to the selection of wood is carefully considered in this sacred dance.
Today, the dance has grown in popularity and is now practiced all throughout the Native country. Hoop Dance competitions have also helped spread interest in this particular dance. The pinnacle of the Hoop Dance contests is the World Hoop Dance Competition hosted by the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. If you are in the area, this is definitely an event you’ll want to experience!
As a physical activity, you can use Hula-Hoops of various sizes to create your own shapes and dances. There are plenty of great powwow songs to listen to while dancing. Search “powwow music” on any music media source and you’ll find lots to choose from.
2. The Arctic Winter Games
The Arctic is one of the harshest environments on the planet. Despite the challenges of arctic life, the Inuit people have survived there for thousands of years. One way they maintain their strength and grit is through tough physical challenges. The Arctic Winter Games and the World Eskimo-Indian Olympic Games are two of the biggest competitions held in the region.
The Kneel Jump is an example of an elite Arctic game. The challenge is designed to teach people how to quickly get to their feet if a predator is nearby. Are you and your students up for the challenge? Watch the video above to learn the story of the Kneel Jump. Plus check out this video to learn about more games in the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics.
3. Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a fast-paced game that takes place on a large field. Two teams compete to shoot a small ball into the opposing team’s goal. The ball is passed and shot via a wooden stick with a small net on the end. Although the game has evolved slightly, its essence is still deeply rooted in the Native culture in which it originated. This game was practiced for centuries by our Native people. The story of its origins holds deep spiritual meaning for the tribes that practice lacrosse. Use the videos posted here to learn more about the game.
You may want to adopt fewer physical rules to play at school. For example, you can use Ultimate Frisbee rules, where a person can’t run when they have the ball. Therefore, they must pass the ball once they catch it. Coordinate with your P.E. teacher to see what modifications can be made to ensure a fun and safe experience for your students.
In Native culture, our tribes are grouped into clans. Each clan consists of a number of families. Depending on your tribe, you may identify with your father’s or your mother’s clan. Each clan is known for its unique characteristics and is identified by an animal or element. For example, my wife belongs to the Quechan tribe, one of the many diverse Colorado River tribes. The river was the main source of life for her people and therefore held great significance in their daily lives. She belongs to the Muskrat Clan. Muskrats are remarkably adept aquatic creatures, perfectly adapted to thrive in the rushing currents and tranquil backwaters of the mighty Colorado. Just as the muskrat is supremely comfortable navigating the river’s winding channels and submerged banks, so too are the Quechan people inextricably linked to this life-giving waterway.
Here’s your chance to group your class into clans. As a clan, each group will need to decide which element or animal represents them. Then, they can design a nameplate that is displayed during class. This month can double as not only a cultural month but a chance for team-building Native American Heritage Month activities and skills. You can award students points for exhibiting exemplary characteristics as a clan throughout the month. The clan with the most points at the end of the month wins.
Before you get started, watch the video above about clan structure and purpose.
Taste of Tradition: Native American Food
In Native culture, food is more than something we eat. Food is a way to connect to our ancestors. It is the medicine of the land. Food is our connection to our Mother Earth and our Creator. Food teaches us and reminds us of our place in the sacred hoop of life. Join us for some traditional dishes as you reflect on your own family recipes and what they mean to you.
5. Acorn Cookies
Have you ever had the pleasure of hiking through a beautiful oak grove on a cool fall afternoon? If so, you probably noticed the forest floor was littered with acorns. These special seeds were a staple of many California Native tribes like the Miwok, the Ohlone, and the Kumeyaay to name a few. Acorns are full of delicious nutrients that are important to our health. Preventing free radicals from forming in your body and reducing swelling are just some of the benefits found in acorn consumption. If prepared correctly, they also make a delicious, nutritious Native treat: cookies!
Is food more than just something we eat? Could food also be medicine? Sometimes we refer to our traditional foods as “good medicine” because it keeps our bodies in balance, strong, and healthy. One such food is corn, which is considered a sacred food in our Native culture as it is used in many ceremonies. You can use every part of the corn. For example, corn pollen is used as a prayer powder in the Apache Sunrise Ceremony.
Together as a class, enjoy the process of making your own corn dish. From measuring, mixing, and baking, you and your students will have a wonderful experience. If you’re feeling brave, grab a molcajete and have the students grind some corn kernels by hand.
7. Wojapi
As we enter the month of November, I’m sure you are only halfway through your Halloween candy. But did you know that nature has candy too? Yes, it’s true. I’m talking about nature’s berries and fruit, of course. A large number of tribes spend time gathering the local berries and preparing them in various types of dishes. Wojapi is a Lakota-style dish prepared from the berries that grow in their traditional lands that once ranged from North and South Dakota and into some neighboring states. Remember, before the colonies were formed on the East Coast, land was not divided by states but rather divided by geographic features and hunting territories.
Are you ready to gather some berries and prepare a delicious meal? Watch the video above to learn to make wojapi with our Lakota elder.
8. Potlatch
Potlucks are very popular ways to celebrate the harvest season in November. As Native people, we also have many gatherings centered around the sharing of food. One such gathering is the potlatch. Potlatch is a Nuu-chah-nulth word that means “gift” or “to give.” Traditionally the host tribe ensures that all of the guests are provided with an assortment of gifts, food, and entertainment. Creating good memories and good feelings is a cornerstone of our Native culture.
Now it’s your turn to host a potlatch. Together, plan the food, entertainment, and gifts you will exchange with another class. You may want to use some of the food and art ideas from this article. This might be a great way to end Native American Heritage Month in a grand fashion, but feel free to hold your potlatch at a time that best suits you.
To get started, watch the video above as a brief intro to the potlatch.
Get Cozy: Quiet Cultural Native American Heritage Month Activities
During the 1800s, tribal leaders met with the United States to discuss the new laws of the land. When United States officers and officials met with tribal leaders, they would sometimes meet several times over the course of a few days. The officers and officials were often impressed by how quietly and attentively our Native leaders listened, especially when they realized that the tribal leaders could recall everything that was said over the course of the whole meeting despite never having written anything down. Native culture is composed of oral tradition instead of writing. Elders and adults pass down lessons through stories and songs to the children. Being a good listener is a way of life, not just a skill to help us in school. Here are some quieter Native American Heritage Month activities that help explore our Native culture.
As you learned earlier in this article, food is sacred, and in the Southwest, corn is that food. Today, we can make a beautiful work of art to honor the corn plant. Pony beads are the main material for this art project. Unlike corn, pony beads were not native to this land—they were brought over in the 1800s by European settlers as a means to trade with the Native people. You’ll find pony beads and seed beads in multitudes of our traditional clothing and jewelry.
You can learn more about the introduction of glass beads on this continent by clicking on the link below. Let’s see what kinds of beautiful corn will come from your students!
November is the month in which we celebrate Native American heritage, but it’s also the month of Thanksgiving, a cherished holiday when we spend time with loved ones and give thanks for our blessings. Family lineage is an important part of our Native culture and is often presented when speaking to an audience or when introducing ourselves. Our lineage helps identify who we are, who we are related to, and where we come from.
What a wonderful time to reflect on your own family. Using these family tree templates, students can construct a family tree as you learn more about where they come from and the unique heritage of their family lineage.
11. Creative Writing
All Native people love hearing a good story by the warm firelight. We have stories about everything on this earth. From the tiny ant to the first fire to the stars in the sky, we have stories about how they all came to be.
First explore some of these magnificent stories of the Choctaw Nation. When you’re finished exploring, it’s time for students to write their own story. Using creative writing, have them describe how things came to be in their natural environment. Let their imaginations run wild with this one. Then gather together for some original storytelling as they share their writing with peers.
12. Read a Book
We Are Teachers; Stephanie Sanders
Books have the power to take us on incredible journeys and open our eyes to different perspectives. Native American stories, whether passed down through generations or shared in modern works, offer a unique window into the rich cultures, traditions, and histories of indigenous peoples.
Start by exploring this list of Native American books, each one filled with meaningful stories that reflect the diverse experiences of indigenous communities. As you read, ask students to think about the lessons, characters, and themes that resonate with them. When you’re finished reading, have students discuss the stories and share what inspired or moved them.
Get Crafty: Native American Heritage Month Crafts
Our symbols, colors, and designs all tell a story about who we are and where we come from. Do you have a story to tell? What will your art say about you? Let’s dive into some fun art-focused Native American Heritage Month activities!
13. Clay Pottery
As you explore the tribes across this country, you will find many forms of clay pottery. Clay is a natural substance found in the earth, usually near water. When clay is prepared correctly, it can be baked in an oven to harden and preserve the structural integrity of the vessel it has been formed into.
Check out these great videos to witness the magical process of bringing a piece of pottery to life. The video above is about Piipaash pottery, and the one below is about Catawba pottery of the past and today.
When you’re finished, grab some clay and have your students start making their own pottery. What designs will you add? What colors and symbols hold meaning to you? You can host a pottery art show when you are finished.
14. Turtle Island Crafts
The term “Turtle Island” is used all throughout the Native country. It’s how we describe the North American continent. Oddly enough, when you look at a map of the continent, it resembles a turtle. Here’s the weird part though: The story of Turtle Island is older than any historical map. So how did we know?
When exploring the art and culture of our Native people, you’ll see an array of beautiful designs and colors masterfully composed in various mediums. Something to consider, though, is that all of the colors, symbols, and designs have meanings and historical value. For example, often the color blue represents the water of a nation. Sometimes the color red can represent the blood of our people.
Then, ask students to think about their own designs, colors, and symbols. How will they represent themselves, their family, and their community?
16. Cave Painting
There are few works of art that can take us deeper into the past than cave paintings. Some cave paintings are estimated to be thousands of years old! What did the artists intend to communicate through their paintings and markings? Can you decipher the meanings? What would you want to tell people in the future about your current generation, your current world?
Check out the video above about Panel Rock in Utah. Then watch this cave art video with creative ideas. Finally, get your materials ready for students to create their own cave painting.
17. Cardboard Roll Canoe
A canoe is an essential vessel for coastal tribes that navigate the waters of their homelands. Tribal elders and leaders of the community teach the youth canoe-making as a spiritual process. Some of these traditional practices became rare, even extinct. Thankfully, some tribes are reviving the practice of birchbark canoe-making.
First watch the video above to see how this tribe makes their traditional birchbark canoes. Then learn how to make your own canoe craft out of cardboard rolls.
18. Fall Leaf Dwelling
Many Native tribes throughout history have skillfully utilized the natural resources found in their surrounding environments to construct their dwellings and shelters. For example, woodland tribes used logs and trees to construct longhouses. Alternatively, tribes inhabiting more arid, desert-like areas used clay, adobe bricks, and other pliable earth-based elements to build their homes, which helped insulate them against intense heat. No matter the specific landscape, our Native people possessed an intimate understanding of the ecosystems and could sustainably harvest the natural materials at hand to meet our essential housing needs.
Can your students gather from your local environment in a sustainable way to craft their own miniature dwelling? Start by watching this video on Native American dwellings. Then watch the video above to learn how to make a DIY Native dwelling.
19. Kachina Dolls
Kachinas are powerful spiritual beings that have existed with the Hopi people since the beginning of time. They have taught the Hopi about ceremonies and ways of life, and out of gratitude, the Hopi people honor the kachina with songs, dances, and kachina dolls. Each kachina is unique and has a name and a specific purpose. For example, Crow Mother is the guardian of the children. You and your class can learn more about kachinas from the videos below.
The talking stick is a great addition to any classroom. Tribes have been using the talking stick for generations. As a democratic society, we believed in letting all of our leaders speak in our lodges. Big decisions were discussed and agreed upon by the whole tribe, and in this way, we remained close together, unified in our movements.
A talking stick should represent the people. If you’re creating one for your class, first watch the video above to learn more about talking stick usage. Then you can invite students to bring in a small trinket to tie onto the stick. Other options may include colored beads, or paint that each child chooses. This way when the speaker is holding the talking stick, they are holding the attention and good intentions of all the people who contributed to it. You may want to try the talking stick in your class discussions. Let’s see how the talking stick can impact your classroom.
21. Huichol Bead Art
Upon first setting eyes on Huichol bead art, you’ll surely be drawn in by its complex, intricate designs and vibrant colors. But if you ask the artist about the meaning, you’ll be even more intrigued as you learn that each color and design holds a specific meaning.
Learn more by watching the above video as an introduction to Huichol bead art, with information about designs and meanings. Then, head to your local art supply store or go online to purchase a variety of beads to be used in your own Huichol-inspired art. You can ask students to bring in an object that will be covered and decorated with the beads, or they can simply compose the design on paper. Don’t forget your glue!
22. Totem Poles
The iconic totem pole has long been seen in American culture, but do we truly understand its historical meaning and significance to the people? Totem poles are used to represent families and their history. Each clan or family is represented by various elements and animals. The family lineage is then told by stacking these elements and animals on the totem pole. This beautiful tradition is still practiced today.
Start by watching this video on totem poles today. Then watch the video above with totem pole ideas, so your class can start making your own totem stories.
23. Garden Planting
If you’ve ever driven by an agricultural field, you undoubtedly noticed rows and rows of the same crop. For example, you might see hundreds of heads of lettuce when passing through the field in Yuma, Arizona, or hundreds of rows of strawberries when cruising through beautiful Watsonville, California. Differing from this practice, native agriculture uses various seeds in the same growing space. This is called companion planting because the plants help each other as they grow together.
The Three Sisters is a famous example of this model of growing. How wonderful would it be to start a small garden at your school? The Three Sisters Garden is an easy, fun way to start. Just be sure you are planning for the correct growing season. Usually, the Three Sisters—squash, corn, and beans—have to be planted in the spring. However, this can be a great time to draw a blueprint of your garden and start campaigning for donations, while also preparing the ground and building your gardening team.
You don’t have to go to a museum to see photos of Native Americans or to read their inspiring words. You can turn your school hallways into a museum experience by printing our photos and quotes of famous Native Americans and hanging them in the halls. Students will be inspired as the hallways come to life and speak into their lives with words of encouragement and wisdom.
