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FACT: A pet resource center is NOT the same as an animal shelter; however, it does include animal sheltering as a component of the services offered. In a traditional animal sheltering model, the animal shelter is where pets are taken to get any kind of resources or help, but is not usually the best solution.
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This worksheet will show you how to create a “Social Support Database” to serve as a positive reminder of all the people in your life who have your back, including family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, therapists, and support groups.
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Steven Handel
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Your daughter calls and says unless she comes up with $500, her only car—that she drives to work—will be repossessed. What she really means is that you need to come up with the money.
Your son needs to stop drinking, but you know if you don’t go get the kids tonight, he’ll fall into a drunken stupor and the little ones will have to fend for themselves. You know you need to stop giving your children money and volunteering free babysitting, but how can you stand to watch them—or your grandkids—suffer?
And how in the world did you get into this mess?
The first priority is to recognize the difference between helping and enabling your grown child. When an adult child is usually able to make good decisions and handle crises on their own, a call for help reflects a need for exactly that—help.
But when an adult child rarely makes wise choices, or becomes mired in an addiction, they will want you to bail them out of every tight spot. Repeating the same basic scenario over and over means you are enabling them to continue dysfunctional behaviors.
Perpetual enabling is called co-dependency. Wikipedia defines it as “a behavioral condition in a relationship where one person enables another person’s addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility, or under-achievement.” The parent in this type of relationship feels a need to “fix” the child, even when they clearly aren’t taking any advice.
The parent may also be afraid to be truthful about the situation for fear of hurting the child’s feelings or driving them away.
In the beginning, during their teen years or early twenties, when they called with an urgent situation, it appeared the best option was for you to take care of it. But over time, you realize that they don’t seem to know how—or even desire—to take responsibility for their own choices and the consequences they bring.
Codependent behaviors begin long before a teen becomes an adult, and they won’t end overnight. But as parents, we need to begin the process as soon as we recognize there is a problem. The good news is, there is help for recovery and change. Let’s take a look at six ways you can stop enabling your grown child.
As painful as this step is, nothing will change until you admit your own need. Yes, you want your child to love you. Yes, you’re afraid she’ll cut you off if you refuse to pay her debts. And yes, you have always come to the rescue, thereby relieving her of any need to take responsibility.
There are many reasons the enabling pattern emerges. Psychologists would say it arises out of a parent’s need for affirmation. Maybe there was a past divorce after which your ex cast you in a negative light. One way you tried to fix that is by being the “helpful” parent. It’s possible your actions relieve a sense of guilt over difficulties in your marriage, even if you’re still wed.
Some parents begin the “helicopter” parenting style when their child is a toddler, and by the time little Jeffy grows up, enabling is all they know how to do.
Whatever the causes, now you know the best way forward is to stop bailing her out of every scrape she creates. After all, you won’t always be there.
No parent desires to see their child suffer. None of us would choose to perpetuate dysfunctional behavior on purpose. But sometimes it happens. We realize a pattern has taken root that must be broken—and this is the first step.
The Bible is full of stories of dysfunctional family relationships within the homes of godly parents. These problems are not the result of conscious sin. Most of the time, biblical parents failed to recognize their roles and often great pain resulted. But we have the advantage of reading about them and learning from their mistakes.
In Genesis, Isaac and Rebekah pampered Jacob and Rebekah covered for—and even helped concoct—his deception to steal the family blessing. Jacob ran for his life after his brother threatened to kill him, and eventually got in hot water with his father-in-law for deceptive business practices.
Later, Jacob favored his son Joseph over all his brothers. This created such hatred, they conspired to kill Joseph. Joseph’s brother Judah raised a couple of incorrigible sons.
In 1 Samuel, Sampson gets his parents to do whatever he wants, including making a deal for a pagan bride against Jewish law. And even King David faced an attempted coup by one of his sons.
We are given no indication that those biblical parents saw trouble coming, and few modern-day parents see it looming either. But once it develops, parents need to confess the part we play and ask God to help. The compulsion to fix our kids is really a form of control. Therefore, we need to ask God to forgive our rushing ahead without seeking his guidance. We can take comfort in the words of 1 John 1:9 where we learn that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us.
But without concrete action, nothing will change, even if you have acknowledged your role and asked God to forgive you. You must take the next steps.
Codependency at its core is a lack of boundaries—both emotional and physical. This means that you may let your emotions sway your actions. If you feel rejection from your child-rearing its head, you’ll do what you perceive she needs in order to push it back down.
Her emotions have become more important than your own. Your actions confirm this truth when you bail her out time and time again.
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:15 to choose to live wisely, and in James 1:5 we find out that we can ask God to give us the wisdom we need. So we can pray with confidence that the Lord will help us know the right things to do and say. This help may come in the form of advice from a pastor or counselor, Scripture, or trusted godly friend—but it will come.
It will not be easy, and will probably create an emotional scene, but it is necessary to draw a line in the sand, so to speak. Be specific about what you will and won’t do. Try to approach the situation without casting blame at your child. They may feel guilt and say you’re blaming them. But remember the truth—you are setting them up for future success. This begins with accepting personal responsibility for choices.
If addiction is the problem, you may have to do the hardest thing of all—let a crisis develop and refuse to intervene, or even call the authorities. Your child may lose custody of his children. But this may be the very thing that drives him to get clean. I have a friend who found herself in this kind of situation.
Today her son has been drug-free for fifteen years and he tells anyone who will listen that losing his kids was the motivation he needed. It’s unfortunate, but often people need to hit rock bottom before they begin the upward climb.
Remember, too, that there may not be a happy ending for your child—at least that you can see in your lifetime. However, as an adult, it is his life. Not yours. You are not responsible for the consequences of his choices. That’s God’s job. You are only responsible for your actions—and this is why you want to stop enabling.
Here again, we can take comfort from Scripture. In Isaiah 49:4, the prophet said that the future Servant King, Jesus Christ, would not understand why people refused to accept and believe him. Jesus was familiar with discouragement and frustration.
We know that he suffered all the same things we do, but I think we usually take this to mean temptations. How wonderful to realize he also understands our emotions. He understands wayward children too. After all, he said in Matthew 23:37—referring to his people the Israelites—that he wanted to gather them like a hen gathers her chicks under its wings, but they were not willing.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/VitezslavVylicil
Whether it’s your small group, your pastor, or a specific support group, Matthew 18:20 assures us there is real power when we gather together in prayer. Meeting at least weekly will give you the boost you need to follow through with the decisions you have made.
Ask a close friend in your prayer group to be available for a phone call whenever the need arises. Just knowing there is one person who understands and will pray you off the ledge when you’re about to cave in makes all the difference. Tapping into God’s power will get you through.
You will suffer real emotional distress caused by your refusal to run to the rescue. Your child will not be the only one who feels it. You’ll be forced to watch the consequences of their choices and decisions unfold from the sidelines. It will be tempting to throw in the towel and go back to life as usual.
Again, we can learn from Jesus. Isaiah 50:7 tells us how our Lord set his face like a flint to his mission, which was not for himself, but for us—his children. That kind of sheer determination is what it takes to change an ingrained family dynamic. However, remember the reason you’re doing it.
The best thing for your child, grandchildren, and even yourself is to work toward a healthier relationship.
Pray for everyone in your family who is affected by your decision for change. The Lord awakens you every morning and if you ask, he’ll expand your understanding and help you (Isaiah 50:4). I like to search out prayers in the Bible that seem to apply to my situation. For example, praying the prayer the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:18-19 is one of my favorites. I recommend choosing a Bible prayer for each of our family members.
When you decide on a prayer for your child, print it out and post it where you can see it often. Consider making a separate copy to place in your Bible or journal. Pray it when you rise in the morning and as you’re falling asleep at night. If your situation whirls in your mind and keeps you awake, verbally handing it over to Jesus when you crawl into bed is better than any sleeping pill.
Guilt may assault you the moment you realize something needs to change. Satan wants you to feel sorry for yourself and take all the blame. There is no magic bullet for ending a behavior pattern years in the making. Because of the challenges involved in keeping your boundaries intact, your emotions may fluctuate and cause your guilt-o-meter to spike.
Your child may blame you for his new issues—ones that really stem from the consequences of his own actions.
Stop Satan in his tracks by reminding him that you confessed whatever unwitting part you played, and God forgave you. That forgiveness is complete and means God chooses not to remember your sin. Read Psalm 103:12 for confirmation of this truth. It’s over—even if it doesn’t feel like it.
If you struggle with the ability to stop enabling your child, you are not alone. Nothing is more painful than a rift in your relationship with a child, and it is only natural to want to preserve positive feelings. Now, however, you see the wisdom of ending the pattern, and the steps you can take toward a healthier bond.
The real power will come as you rely on the Holy Spirit to help you. If you will be transparent with your child about your motivation—her ultimate good—and honest about your dependence on God for help, then true healing can begin.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/jeffbergen
Kathryn Graves, author of Woven: Discovering Your Beautiful Tapestry of Confidence, Rest, and Focus, and Fashioned by God, holds a BA in Psychology, is a pastor’s wife and Bible teacher, and spent 15 years in the fashion industry. Kathryn is Mimi to five grandsons, and loves to play with color—including interior design, clothing, and painting with pastels. In addition to her website, find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Kathryn Graves
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Digital Promise and Edthena are partnering to help train and support teachers on Science of Reading-based instruction by incorporating Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Project resources into the Edthena offerings. Now, as teachers complete coaching cycles, they will be able to select a Science of Reading pathway within the AI Coach by Edthena platform and access Digital Promise’s research-based content, strategies, and best practices.
“Teachers need research-based strategies at their fingertips so they can implement Science of Reading programs with fidelity,” said Barbara Pape, senior director of Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Project. “Our Learner Variability Project resources are steeped in research and made easily accessible through Edthena’s AI Coach.”
The hundreds of teacher-facing strategy recommendations are backed by published academic studies documenting the predictiveness of student outcomes. The Learner Variability Project builds on emerging research into learner variability to support a whole-child framework for student achievement.
AI Coach is an adaptive, first-of-its-kind solution that uses conversational artificial intelligence to support teachers as they work through coaching cycles. Within the Science of Reading pathway, teachers will have a full complement of content-specific supports—covering topics such as phonological awareness, sentence structure, and verbal reasoning—to help analyze their teaching and build their students into skilled readers.
Using the secure platform, teachers independently reflect on their practice and set near-term goals as part of a self-paced module that mirrors the instructional coaching process. Teachers have an interactive conversation with Edie, the AI-driven coach, who asks probing, open-ended questions and offers personalized tips and resources for improvement.
“The AI Coach process helps all teachers build upon their Science of Reading training by focusing on implementation of best practices,” said Adam Geller, founder and CEO of Edthena. “Our partnership with Digital Promise ensures teachers’ learning experiences within AI Coach are grounded in research on how to help students become fluent readers and reach their full potential as learners.”
The evidence-based AI Coach process is designed to complement the efforts of school leaders and instructional coaches, and helps to alleviate time and scheduling restraints associated with in-person coaching sessions that can often be a barrier to ongoing professional learning. Teachers can meet with the virtual coach on a schedule that’s convenient to the changing demands of the school day, and have the option to pause and resume their coaching cycle at any point. This enables teachers to get the help they need, when they need it.
In addition to the newly-added Science of Reading pathway, which is available in both an early-elementary and late-elementary version, teachers can also complete coaching cycles focused on common teaching techniques such as checking for student understanding, balancing student-teacher talk time, facilitating group discussions, and more.
To learn more about the Digital Promise and Edthena partnership and the Science of Reading pathway in AI Coach, visit https://www.edthena.com/scienceofreading.
About Edthena
Edthena is the leading provider of innovative technologies to support educator professional learning and streamline feedback to teachers. The companyoffers the AI Coach platform, an artificial intelligence-driven solution to guide teachers through coaching cycles; the Edthena Video Coaching platform, the classroom observation and collaboration platform for using videos as part of professional development; and Edthena Organization Libraries, a platform for schools and districts to curate and share best-practice teaching videos. Edthena is the recipient of numerous awards from organizations such as SIIA, District Administration, and Tech & Learning. For more information, visit www.edthena.com. For more news about Edthena, visit www.edthena.com/blog/.
About Digital Promise
Digital Promise is a global nonprofit working to expand opportunity for every learner. We work with educators, researchers, technology leaders, and communities to design, investigate, and scale innovations that support learners, especially those who’ve been historically and systematically excluded. Our vision is that every person engages in powerful learning experiences that lead to a life of well-being, fulfillment, and economic mobility. For more information, visit the Digital Promise website and follow Digital Promise for updates.
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ESchool News Staff
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Key points:
Technology has enhanced the opportunities for students to be creative and engage in school work that is meaningful and unique.
Why creativity?
Creativity is an essential skill for all students to have. Creative projects help students connect new information to prior knowledge through critical thinking and problem solving. Assignments that engage students in creative practices motivate hard-to reach students and provide an opportunity for all students to be successful.
Classrooms that include creative activities are those with students who are resilient and confident. Creativity pushes students to overcome challenges through productive struggle. This builds emotional development and lifelong skills that will help them in any future career they may have. Technology has made creative opportunities more accessible for teachers and students. With the use of technology, students are better able to apply their knowledge in different ways and be creative in their learning.
These are 5 ways you can use technology to promote creativity in your classroom:
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Macy Quinton, Elementary School Teacher
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BLOOMINGTON, MN – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology resources and insights, announces the launch of Renaissance Next, a uniquely powerful new teacher experience that aims to transform classroom instruction and empower educators with in-the-moment recommendations to support their most critical decisions.
“We started out by asking the question that is on the mind of every educator as they consider what’s next in their classroom: ‘How do I provide each learner with the right support, help, or acceleration?’” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance. “That’s what led us to create Renaissance Next, which gives teachers actionable insights and quality instructional resources to meet their students’ needs.”
Renaissance Next provides teachers with real-time recommendations in the classroom, combining accurate assessment, purposeful practice activities, and instructional data in a single view.
Integrating key products from the Renaissance ecosystem, including Star Assessments, Freckle, Accelerated Reader, myON, and Lalilo, while surfacing recommended Nearpod resources based on math and ELA assessment performance, Renaissance Next harnesses the power of these tools to offer educators in-the-moment insights to guide teaching and learning. Teachers can quickly view students’ performance, understand each student’s progress and skill mastery, and review relevant lesson plans and activities to adapt, amplify, or adjust.
“Renaissance Next gives me a quick glimpse of where my kids are, where they need to go, and what I need to do,” said Julia Witges, a third-grade teacher at Carbondale Elementary School District 95 in Illinois, and a Renaissance Next beta tester. “It provides all of these tools that make my job so much easier, including the ability to differentiate down to individual student needs.”
Thousands of teachers with access to Renaissance products beta tested the new platform, which presents data that schools can use to inform decisions ranging from individual student learning to the district as a whole. The teachers’ feedback helped to shape the design of Renaissance Next, ensuring that it meets a wide variety of classroom needs.
“We plan to embed insights from Renaissance Next across our district and systems,” said Janice Pavelonis, the superintendent of Carbondale Elementary School District 95. “Renaissance Next complements our strategic plan for the 2024–2025 school year, which involves students understanding their own data and progress, and setting their own goals, with support from and in consultation with their teachers.”
The insights and recommendations for differentiated instruction offered through Renaissance Next are made possible, in part, through the strategic use of AI. During development, Renaissance leveraged AI to better catalog its large library of pre-K‒12 instructional resources and practice activities, so that this content would be more readily accessible to educators in the classroom.
“The Renaissance database is a rich resource that incorporates over 38 years of real student and teacher data and insights,” said Brekhus. “The Renaissance Next platform brings those insights to teachers so they can truly see every student, and it leverages lesson and activity recommendations to accelerate learning for all.”
Renaissance Next is now available for the 2024–2025 school year. To learn more, visit renaissance.com/renaissance-next.
About Renaissance
As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 100 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.
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ESchool News Staff
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In the wake of Austin Animal Center (AAC) closing intake during the busiest sheltering week of the year, Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is calling on the community to adopt or foster a pet before July 4.
“It’s an immensely hard time for shelter animals and the people caring for them in Austin right now, especially for medium to large dogs,” said APA! president and CEO Dr. Ellen Jefferson. “We wish we could take in even more animals from AAC, but our Town Lake location is also full to the brim, and we’re calling on the community to adopt or foster a shelter pet this week before the July 4th holiday!”
APA! is working on long-term solutions to fix the space crisis in our city for good, but as those plans are in process, the nonprofit is imploring our community members to come to APA! or AAC today to help prevent an even bigger animal sheltering crisis from unfolding over a weekend known for lost dogs entering the shelter system in record numbers.
“There are hundreds of lovable dogs (and cats) at both APA! and AAC who can be immediately placed into homes,” Jefferson said. “People might not realize this because we help animals throughout Texas, but the majority of the dogs at our shelter today came from AAC. More pets leaving APA!’s Town Lake location will allow us space to help AAC even more after July 4th.”
APA! is offering a 50% discount on all adoptions through July 3rd, and all adoption fees at AAC are waived completely.
Across the nation Austinites have a reputation for their commitment to keeping Austin the safest city in America for shelter pets. Jefferson is asking the community to rally together now like they’ve been known to do time and time again.
“Austin has rallied together through various crises. Community members are directly responsible for helping to make Austin the largest No Kill community in the nation, have created lines around our building and down the road when our facility was flooding, came in droves to support our Hurricane Harvey Activation, jumped in when the whole world was turned upside down due to the pandemic,” she said. “Let’s keep it going, Austin, and ensure dogs and cats get the love and homes they deserve.
In addition to fostering or adopting now, here are some additional ways community members can help:
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Key points:
Across the U.S., most K-12 schools continue the cycle of pounding a square peg into a round hole. Learners and their families want relevant and engaging learning experiences that help them chart personal paths to success. In the age of AI, our economy and society need talented young people who can lead and collaborate in diverse teams, adapt to ever-changing circumstances, and think critically and creatively about the technical and social issues of our day. Meanwhile, the century-old industrial model that most schools operate demands compliance so teachers can push students through standardized content at a uniform pace. And then, to deal with the inevitable reality that students don’t all succeed with a uniform approach, schools rank and sort students on narrow dimensions of success into tiered learning tracks.
For the benefit of our young people, the modern workforce, and our society, we need a dramatic overhaul in how we do schooling. But that overhaul never seems to happen. Why are our school systems so resistant to change?
Thirty years ago, Clayton M. Christensen, a professor at the Harvard Business School, noticed a pattern that helps make sense of schools’ rigidity. Looking across many industries, he recognized that leading organizations systematically struggle to adopt certain types of innovations. His research led to a groundbreaking theory—the Theory of Disruptive Innovation—which influenced the strategies of leaders like Steve Jobs, Reed Hastings, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The theory makes clear why the inertia among schools is so hard to overcome. Fortunately, it also points to a path forward.
Understanding the challenge of stagnation
The COVID pandemic sparked monumental shifts in the operating systems of our society: how we work, how we buy products, how we experience entertainment, etc. As the whole world was reshaped, many education observers also saw promising opportunities for K-12 schools. Families, who had a bird’s-eye view into what and how their children were learning, responded with clarion calls for change.
Many district leaders and educators rose to the call—often through investments in extra tutoring and in curriculum and teacher development aimed to support students’ social and emotional needs. Yet, despite the dedication and careful intention of the people in the system, K–12 schools have largely knee-jerked back to their traditional mode of operation and have shut down many of the innovative options they created in response to the pandemic.
The takeaway? Despite ground-shifting conditions ranging from motivated activism to waves of funding, shifting our schools can seem like an exercise in futility.
This rigid reality has real consequences. As average academic performance lags, other data sources show that young people desire greater fulfillment and engagement, and many aren’t even regularly attending school. In other words, the primary beneficiaries of schooling aren’t satisfied. On top of this, there is rising urgency among economists and business leaders to address workforce preparation in better ways. Thriving companies need creative thinkers, problem solvers, and confident leaders.
Change isn’t a consideration. It’s an imperative.
A different way of thinking for a more effective strategy
Christensen’s groundbreaking theory—disruptive innovation—emerged from studying a pattern he noticed across many industries. Well-established organizations—from producers of sail-powered ships to earth excavators to disk drives—consistently failed to adopt innovations that ultimately transformed the prevailing products, services, and business models in their industries. Time and time again, when these innovations came along, established incumbent companies were destabilized, and new entrants rose to dominance.
Why were companies unable to adopt disruptive innovations? The answer lies in a concept Christensen called “value networks.”
A value network is the environment that an organization lives in. Value networks determine the resources an organization has access to, the rules it must follow, and the permissions it needs in order to operate. In the business world, a company’s value network consists of the external entities that it comes to depend on for its survival and success—its best customers, its suppliers, its distributors, and its investors.
Christensen’s research revealed that incumbents fail to adopt disruptive innovations because their value networks lead them to ignore or deprioritize these innovations. The early versions of disruptive innovations weren’t the products and services that a company’s best customers wanted to consume; they weren’t the solutions their distributors wanted to sell; they weren’t solutions that could be made with resources from existing suppliers; and they weren’t the solutions that their investors saw as having promising profit potential.
In short, when a value network doesn’t want an innovation, the entity doesn’t spend its financial and reputational capital pursuing it.
Consider the example of Blockbuster Video. Born in the era of VHS a generation before the Internet became mainstream, Blockbuster built its business catering to customers who liked being able to drop by one of its retail stores on a whim to pick out a new release or a well-known classic.
When Netflix came along a decade later with DVDs-by-mail and then online streaming, that business model didn’t make sense for Blockbuster. The way Netflix provided movies couldn’t match what Blockbuster’s core customers had come to expect from the video rental giant. Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service lacked the instant gratification that Blockbuster’s in-store rentals provided. Customers had to wait for DVDs to arrive, which seemed less convenient compared to the immediate rental experience at Blockbuster stores. Netflix’s early streaming service offered a limited selection and required a reliable internet connection at a time when high-speed internet was not widespread or robust. Additionally, the social experience of visiting a Blockbuster store, often seen as an entertainment activity in itself, was absent in Netflix’s model. For many of Blockbuster’s customers, browsing aisles, discussing movie choices with store staff, and the overall store ambiance were integral parts of their movie-rental experience.
Blockbuster’s business model was highly attuned to serving a customer base that valued the experience it offered through its physical retail stores. Those customers—a dominant influence in Blockbuster’s value network—didn’t want to get movies via mail or streaming. Thus, if the world had depended on Blockbuster to bring about the era of video streaming services, we would likely still be getting most of our video rentals through retail stores.
Why today’s schools aren’t changing
The same pattern holds true for the incumbent schools that provide most K–12 education.
Delivering a new version of education requires a massive retooling of how schools operate. It’s not just about upgrading curriculum and training teachers on new methods. It’s about getting rid of the idea that everyone receives the same lesson at the same time; that what you learn should be based on your age; that students need to be in classrooms to learn; and that standardized test scores are the best way to gauge success and potential.
But most conventional schools—be they district or charter schools—have value networks that won’t support these kinds of changes. Conventional schools’ value networks typically include local, state, and federal education agencies; policymakers; students and their families; employee unions; taxpaying voters; postsecondary education systems; community organizations; vendors; teacher preparation pipelines; and philanthropic donors. Despite all the talk of change, the dominant influences across these value networks don’t really want to radically redesign schooling. Instead, most believe the solution to education’s woes is not whole-scale reinvention, but instead, better resources—better curriculum, better professional development, more staff, more funding, and better accountability systems.
Ultimately, this means they just want improved versions of the schools they’re accustomed to working with. Hence, schools’ value networks keep them stuck in what Christensen called “the innovator’s dilemma.” Meanwhile, our society is stuck with a fundamental disconnect between what our schools are designed to prioritize and what our learners and society actually need.
In order to enable a reinvention of education within this lifetime, new value networks must be created to spur and support new educational designs that can bloom, grow, and evolve.
Pockets of promise
In a handful of regions across the country, schools and programs with a different paradigm of learning have emerged from new value networks centered on the needs and values of young people and modern economies. These schooling designs prioritize learner agency, collaboration, curiosity, and community; and help youth understand who they are, discover their interests, and define their purpose through a full spectrum of intentionally designed academic and experiential learning. The goals, and the measurement of those goals, are set and owned by each young person. And critical to the entire process is the development of deep relationships and social capital via educators, mentors, and other relationships developed outside the confines of a classroom. As defined and codified by Education Reimagined, this learner-centered educational design is gaining traction within communities as an emerging alternative to conventional schooling.
Consider two public school examples that demonstrate how to create new educational designs aligned with these values.
At the Met High School (Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical) in Providence, Rhode Island, (the first school in the Big Picture Learning network) all academic learning, relationship-development, skill-building, and experiences are grounded in the interests of the students. Each high-schooler forms their unique pathway and pursues specific projects to help them achieve goals they set—in deep partnership with their advisor who guides their journey during their entire four-year experience, and the mentors who champion them and their work. Their quarterly presentations of learning encompass the full spectrum and complexity of the academic concepts they unpack, and the real-world skills they develop as they pursue specific projects. The enrollment structure, governance, foundational partnerships, budgeting, and staff all operate in service of this real-world, interest-based model. And the Met is not an individual standalone; over the past 25+ years, the Big Picture Learning network has grown to more than 100 schools across the U.S. and an additional 100+ schools in 12 countries around the world that seek to promulgate this approach despite sometimes fierce opposition or—at best—benevolent neglect from the authorizing environment.
Additionally, consider Village High School in Colorado Springs. Its learners receive all of their core academic content—English, history, social studies, and math—through competency-based online courses. This format eliminates the need for scheduled class times and allows learners to progress at their own pace and test out of modules that they already have expertise in. Online courses at Village High School also create time and capacity for an array of in-person electives inspired by teachers’ and learners’ own passions. They cover a myriad of topics, often in an interdisciplinary format: from Adulting 101, Renewable Energy, and Beekeeping to Comparative Religions and International Relations. The grading model in electives is also different—closer to a workplace evaluation than to conventional points earned on assignments and tests. Learners and teachers sit down together to discuss learners’ progress and work, then decide on a grade together. This conversation could also include plans for improvement, or new ways to demonstrate mastery.
Despite strong headwinds to change, the innovations at both schools prove that a reimagining of what schooling looks like is possible right now, providing our young learners with the experiences and skills they want and need for a fulfilling life following graduation.
Creating the conditions for K–12 innovation
What will it take to create the circumstances where new school designs like the Met, Big Picture Learning, and Village High School can take root and grow?
First, they must be designed with fully aligned intention. With rare exceptions, this often means they must be built from the ground up. They can’t come from trying to reform conventional schools. Time and again, the value networks of established schools either dilute or deprioritize any efforts to reimagine the conventional model of schooling.
Second, these new designs need the ability to target who they initially serve. They can’t break the mold if at the outset they are expected to offer everything that students, families, and communities have come to expect from conventional schools. Rather, they must start by serving students and families who are truly seeking something different. Often this means those who have either left, or been pushed out, by conventional schooling, or who are willing to give up the benefits of conventional schooling in favor of a more unconventional experience.
Finally, policymakers, district leaders, and the public need to be okay with the fact that these programs are going to pursue a different set of priorities. They aren’t going to necessarily stand out as besting conventional schools on conventional metrics of performance—for example, college prep curriculum, test scores, and access to conventional electives and extracurricular activities. Rather, their quality should be evaluated based on what makes them appealing to their initial target customers—i.e., students and families that want flexibility, personalization, reliable career pathways, or access to learning experiences unavailable at conventional schools.
From promise to practice
The world needs new models of schooling that can renew the promise of education as the engine of individual prosperity and societal progress. Currently, schooling options like the Met, Big Picture Learning, and Village High School exist only in small pockets across the landscape of K–12 education. But as education stakeholders come to understand the pivotal role value networks play in enabling innovation, they’ll discover more opportunities to create the conditions for new education systems to emerge, improve, and scale.
But this scale can only happen through the determination, activism, and voices of the learners and communities. Those who understand these innovation imperatives must use their influence as voters, volunteers, community organizers, donors, and entrepreneurs to bring new value networks of schooling into reality. Building a new education system is an economic, and frankly, human imperative.
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Thomas Arnett, Clayton Christensen Institute & Kelly Young, Education Reimagined
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We are honored to have been voted ‘Best Nonprofit’ in the Austin Chronicle’s 2024 ‘Best Of’ issue. Since 2010, Austin Pets Alive! has won 14 “Best of Austin” awards from The Austin Chronicle, including ‘Best Nonprofit’ 10 times. We live in a community full of heart and it shows with all of the thriving nonprofits that help make our city one of the best around, so it truly is an honor to receive this award.
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Achievement discrepancies among U.S. students remain persistent and troubling–despite decades of targeted interventions and whole-school improvement programs. To make real gains, teachers need to address the underlying problem: the critical thinking gap.
Focusing on core cognitive skills sets students up for success throughout their academic careers. These five critical thinking strategies can help.
Why focus on critical thinking?
Most academic interventions focus on core knowledge and basic skills: Let’s practice two-digit addition. Review the parts of the cell. Learn these vocabulary words. Read these passages for fluency. These kinds of exercises can help students make marginal gains in reading, math, and general content knowledge, but they don’t address the root of the problem: learning how to think and how to learn.
Growing evidence points to the role of critical thinking in educational achievement. Students need to activate higher-order thinking skills and metacognition to effectively master and retain new content knowledge, synthesize it with prior knowledge, and apply it to new scenarios and domains. However, most students are not explicitly taught how to do this.
Colin Seale, author of Thinking Like a Lawyer: A Framework for Teaching Critical Thinking to All Students (Prufrock Press, 2020), noted in an interview with ASCD: “When you start to look at how critical thinking looks in practice in K–12 classrooms, it’s often being treated as a luxury good. You’ll see critical thinking in an after-school mock trial program, or for an honors program that serves 8 percent of the school population, or for the special debate team or the selective entry school.”
Teaching students how to activate critical thinking and metacognition will enable them to learn more efficiently and effectively. Fortunately, that can be done within the context of the existing curriculum. Here are some ways teachers can get started:
1. Integrate critical thinking with content
Critical thinking should not be something that is separate from and on top of everything else teachers are doing in the classroom. For best results, it should be fully integrated with the content that is being taught. Think about the standards you are teaching to. Most will have both a content knowledge component and a thinking component. For example, if the standard requires students to understand the causes of the Revolutionary War, they need to know specific content, but they also need to understand cause-and-effect thinking. Teachers can help students by explicitly calling out the type of thinking required–e.g., defining, classifying, part-to-whole relationships, sequencing, etc.–and making sure students know what that kind of thinking looks like.
2. Give students a framework for thinking
Once students understand the type of thinking required, they need a framework to support it. A visual framework supports the development of critical thinking skills. Making thinking visible and concrete helps students activate the type of thinking required by the task and organize their ideas effectively. While there are tons of graphic organizers out there, it’s most beneficial to have a consistent framework for thinking that spans grade levels and content areas. This supports the growth of automaticity in activating cognitive skills.
3. Make learning active
Models such as project-based learning and inquiry learning have been demonstrated to improve learning outcomes. But you don’t have to upend your entire curriculum or implement a complicated model to make learning more active. Building in time for debate and discussion and collaborative learning activities are simple ways to make learning more active and engaging. For example, students can work together to construct meaning using a thinking map. Look for learning activities that require students to go beyond simple recitation of facts and engage deeply with the content as they solve a problem, develop and defend a point of view, or create something original.
4. Ask better questions–and teach students to ask their own
Increasing the rigor of the questions we are asking is another way to support critical thinking. That means asking questions that go beyond basic knowledge and comprehension to require higher-order thinking skills such as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. (See some examples in the image below.) Even better, teach students how to ask their own questions. After introducing new content, for example, pause for a class brainstorming session where students come up with as many questions as they can, including basic clarification questions and higher-order “why,” “what if,” and ‘what else” kinds of questions. Then, students can work together to start answering some of these questions using the active learning methods above.
5. Get metacognitive
One important aspect of critical thinking is metacognition, or “thinking about one’s own thinking.” Students who are skilled in metacognition are able to recognize how well they understand a concept, where they need extra help or support, and how to apply and adjust learning strategies. Metacognitive skills include planning for learning, monitoring understanding, and evaluating the learning process. Like fundamental cognitive skills such as cause-and-effect or sequencing, metacognitive skills can also be explicitly taught. The questions in the Tree Maps below can help teachers get started.
These essential strategies can be applied across all grades and content areas. When we help students develop fundamental cognitive and metacognitive skills, learning becomes easier–and a lot more fun.
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Sarah McNeil, Thinking Maps
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Although our communities strive to maintain safety, nearly half of all American children have experienced some form of trauma. Some of these include everyday Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) such as bullying, witnessing violence, experiencing physical, verbal or sexual abuse, or neglect. According to the National Child Trauma Stress Network, these experiences can spark strong emotions and physical reactions that can persist long after an initial trauma event.
Traumatic events can cause a variety of physical and emotional symptoms and can impact children at home and at school. In addition to struggling with schoolwork, children who’ve experienced trauma may overreact to routine requests, engage in negative outbursts or aggression, show signs of sadness, have difficulty focusing, and may struggle to interact appropriately with peers and teachers.
Educators don’t necessarily know which students have been affected by trauma. However, because it impacts such a large number of students, you can use specific strategies to help all students develop resiliency and improve emotional regulation. Here are some trauma-informed teaching strategies you can use to intentionally strengthen your relationships with students and support their success.
Create classroom routines
Research focused on classroom norms and expectations shows that students want and need academic and behavioral expectations from their teachers. Establishing simple daily routines for your students–such as daily warm-ups or ice breakers–and establishing procedures for asking questions and turning in classwork create a sense of stability and predictability. When you create predictable routines, your students will have an easier time understanding what steps they need to take to be successful in your classroom.
Set clear expectations
More than 25,000 schools nationwide already use Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) frameworks to support students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. By extending your school’s PBIS framework school-wide, your teachers can maintain consistent expectations and reward students for their progress and achievements. For example, some PBIS solutions allow teachers and staff to immediately acknowledge positive student behavior from mobile devices. Students earn PBIS points, which can then be tracked and redeemed. This helps teachers eliminate manual paperwork and reporting which increases instructional time.
Adopt restorative–rather than punitive–practices
Zero-tolerance classroom policies that focus on disciplinary actions do not equip students with the skills they need to improve relationships or de-escalate conflict. Instead, they remove students from their learning environments and deny them the opportunity to make positive changes. Conversely, restorative practices, such as mediation or peer conflict resolution, allow students to take responsibility for their actions, engage with others, and develop empathy and understanding.
Introduce calming techniques
Students who’ve experienced trauma encounter significant challenges with emotional regulation. Research suggests that early trauma exposure fundamentally alters the way children process and prioritize emotional information. Other behavioral studies that look at the behavior of children with trauma histories show “enhanced attention to and difficulty in disengaging from emotional stimuli (Tottenham et al., 2010).” By encouraging students to engage in mindfulness practices, you can help them better manage their emotions and behaviors. Some techniques include walking meditation, body awareness, and breathing exercises.
Engage in social-emotional learning (SEL)
Children who’ve experienced traumatic events may have an even greater need to master social-emotional learning skills. A strong SEL curriculum not only benefits these students, but it builds skills school-wide. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the fundamentals of social-emotional learning include:
In order for SEL to be effective, curricula should be backed by evidence-based research, be age-appropriate, and be engaging for students. Solutions should also be flexible enough to allow districts to tailor their programs to meet the diverse needs of their students. The overarching goal of SEL is to make all students feel safe and supported, which leads to better mental health and greater engagement for all students–including those who’ve experienced trauma.
Regularly encourage and recognize your students
Trauma significantly impacts a child’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth. People who lack safety or a sense of belonging develop survival skills to better cope with their situation, according to Psychology Today. These adaptive behaviors can make children prone to loneliness, depression, anxiety, or other self-sabotaging behaviors. By taking the opportunity to acknowledge their contributions to your classroom so that they feel valued, capable, and successful, you can help them develop a positive self-image.
The prevalence of childhood trauma doesn’t have to result in power struggles, behavior problems, or academic deficiencies. Reaching students who’ve experienced trauma requires education, patience, compassion, and creativity. By creating welcoming spaces and using proven tools and techniques that help you get to know all of your students better, you can guide them toward academic–and lifelong–success.
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Melissa Ragan, Navigate360
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When my daughter reached her late teens and early twenties, our relationship went through a difficult period. Going away to college gave her an emotional distance that allowed her to more clearly perceive her past, including how I’d parented her. She began to recognize ways I’d caused her pain and how those wounds were affecting her and her relationships.
I’ve since discovered that this frequently occurs when children enter adulthood. If they feel relatively safe with their parent, there usually comes a time when they relay these hurts. Sometimes they do this calmly, and sometimes with the anger that stems from a deeply wounded soul. This can feel terrifying, especially for those who carry unresolved guilt and shame. In the moment, our child’s words might feel like rejection, thereby triggering defensiveness within us. In reality, our son or daughter is seeking healthier and more fulfilling interactions with us.
They are reaching toward us and asking, if not begging, for us to reach for them—in their pain. When we respond well, we help repair relational damage, bring healing to soul wounds, and strengthen joy-filled connections. When we react poorly, however, we tend to widen the fissures between us, deepen our child’s hurts, and make them less apt to reveal their truest selves, happy or sad, to us in the future.
Here are some six things I learned from my experience and listening to other moms and young adults:
According to mental health experts, defense mechanisms are unhealthy ways of coping with challenging situations, thoughts, and emotions. Unfortunately, we tend to exhibit these learned reactions before we can evaluate our circumstances or internal experiences. This makes it challenging to change our behavior. Our inability to do so can lead to increased guilt and shame.
The more we notice these unhelpful reactions and prayerfully consider their roots, the easier it becomes to regulate our emotions during tense and uncomfortable conversations. We’re more apt to speak from what my therapist refers to as our “Spirit-led self” rather than our insecurities and pain. Not only will this keep us from escalating the conflict, but our son or daughter is more likely to feel heard and loved, thereby encouraging calm communication.
Due to some of my unresolved, and initially unknown, pain, I viewed many of my daughter’s expressed hurts as rejection. Growing up, I’d learned connections ceased when I failed to meet other people’s expectations. Without realizing it, I carried these subconscious beliefs into my most important adult relationships. Therefore, when my daughter told me of times when I hadn’t behaved like the mom she needed and I longed to be, the unhealed places in my soul feared she was pushing me away.
In reality, those conversations revealed the opposite. She didn’t want “less” of me. She wanted more of me—the real, healthy me. She longed for us to build a mutually fulfilling relationship, one free of tension, insecurity, and dysfunction. Now, I’m grateful for her courage to speak the truth during that season because it encouraged us both to grow. Those discussions didn’t destroy or damage our relationship. Rather, they healed and strengthened it.
While hurt or upset, it can be challenging to express ourselves in a calm, logical, and coherent way. We may not even realize the underlying emotions fueling our pain and frustration. For example, when my husband and I were first married, he would leave dirty clothes on the bathroom floor and dishes in the living room. Hearing my complaints, he assumed I was upset with the mess. My hurt went deeper. Because I assumed responsibility for maintaining our home, I felt devalued by his actions. Once he understood this, he was able to respond to my pain with the assurance and love I craved.
Young adults might exist in grown bodies, but their brains aren’t yet fully developed. Plus, they won’t be able to regulate intense emotions unless we’ve taught them to do so and have displayed how. Therefore, we can view tense conversations as opportunities to train and model healthier coping. We’ll also find that the more a person feels heard and understood, the safer and more loved they feel, which brings calm to their inner angst.
I once read a social media graphic that said something to the effect of, “If you’re still upset after twenty-four hours, address it.” While I understand the sentiment of not allowing a hurt or “offense” to fester, I disagree with the timeline, especially when dysfunction has crept into a relationship. In my case, God had a lot of work to do within me before I’d see the situation with my daughter clearly enough to engage in difficult discussions.
I didn’t realize how many experiences from my past influenced my present perspective. But God knew. He saw the depth of both of our hearts—our hurts and insecurities—and how and where we most needed growth and transformation. Often, when I prayed, asking Him to heal our relationship, He shifted my focus onto myself and what He wanted to do in me in that moment. He routinely called me to focus not on my desired outcome but simply my very next step.
At one point, I sensed Him telling me that He was bringing me to a place where I would be okay, regardless of how others reacted to me or behaved. In other words, He was leading me to increased wholeness so that I could love others, my daughter included, more freely and fully. Yielding to Him during that season felt painful and frightening, especially since He didn’t give me any guarantees in regard to my daughter. But I can see now His faithfulness and perfect wisdom for every moment, the most challenging included.
Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better.” While I receive great comfort from her words, I still carry a lot of regret for the pain my ignorance caused. Borrowing from something counselor and author Gina Berkemeier once wrote, I tell my daughter often, “I wish I’d gotten help sooner.” I wish I’d been more aware of how generational patterns and wounds I experienced as a child impacted my parenting.
I wish I would’ve done the hard work, with professional help, to be the healthiest and most confident version of myself possible—prior to becoming a mom. Yet, while I carry regret for the wounds my learned dysfunction created, I’m incredibly grateful for where God has brought me—and my daughter and our relationship—now. I wouldn’t have reached this place on my own. I needed someone who loves Jesus and has years of relational education and experience that I lack.
I needed someone whose perspective of me and my situation wasn’t clouded by past hurts and the faulty thinking that came with them like I was. Both my daughter and I found such a resource in separate but equally Christ-led and wise counselors, and for that, I am beyond thankful.
I know parents who have been struggling relationally with their adult child for years and battle discouragement and fatigue. They fear God might never heal their relationship. Even sadder are those who quit trying after a couple of tense years. I don’t say that with judgment as I understand the natural desire to withdraw in self-protection. But I’m also the adult child of a parent who chose to disengage. That left an ache I’m not sure will ever go away. Never wanting my daughter to feel such rejection, I determined to fight for her, even if she continuously pushed me away.
Thankfully, she’s a forgiving woman of God who persevered to bring increased health to our connection. But I hope, were she to have responded differently, I would’ve done all I could to ensure she knew that I would always strive to be her greatest fan and constant support.
Please don’t mishear me. I’m not suggesting a parent enable unhealthy or abusive behaviors. Denying the truth isn’t love, nor does that help anyone, the wayward child included. But one can maintain appropriate boundaries, when necessary, while still communicating, “I am for you, now and always. And I’ll never stop praying for you, reaching for you, or longing to see you thrive.”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Daisy-Daisy
Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and writers across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com.
As the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries, she’s passionate about helping women experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.
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Jennifer Slattery
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A Shell travel center on Sunday, May 26, 2024, in Valley View, Texas, after a tornado moved through Cooke County.
jhartley@star-telegram.com
Seven people were killed, more than 100 injured and more than 200 structures were destroyed when a tornado touched down in Valley View in Cooke County Saturday night.
The tornado, categorized as an EF-2 by the National Weather Service, swept across the area from Valley View to Sanger leaving destruction and debris in its wake.
The rural community is already stepping up to provide support where it can, and there are ways others can help, too.
The Red Cross is helping survivors of the tornadoes who need assistance with housing, food, filing for disaster relief aid and other services like emotion support and recovery planning.
You can help by donating to the Red Cross, through money or supplies. Donations to the Red Cross can be made on its website.
A Valley View woman and her two children were killed when their mobile home and vehicles were blown across the street during Saturday night’s tornado, a neighbor said.
The neighbor, Jose Narango, identified the victims as Laura Esparza and her children 15-year-old Miranda and 9-year-old Marco Esparza. A GoFundMe has been established to help pay for the funeral costs.
Other fundraisers are likely to begin showing up on the website in the coming days. GoFundMe often verifies fundraisers of this sort to help donors ensure they aren’t giving money to a scammer.
Valley View is accepting donated items at its community center at 101 Lee St., requesting water, sports drinks, non-perishable foods, heavy duty trash bags, personal hygiene products and diapers. Valley View United Methodist Church is also accepting the same items, plus clothes for those affected.
The church on Sunday had its fellowship hall quickly filling with donations including shoes, clothes, blankets, toys, food and other items. One person brought about 360 cases of bottled water.
Pastor Beate Hall told the Star-Telegram Sunday that while they won’t turn away any donations, she believes the church already has the basics covered. What many in the community will need moving forward is people to help with rebuilding. From construction supplies to those willing to help build to furniture to put in houses once they are rebuilt, she said the church is already looking further head into the recovery process.
Cooke County has started a Storm Relief Fund at First United Bank in Gainesville. Donations can be made to that fund in-person or by calling 940-665-3484. The funds help survivors get housing and resources.
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BEAVERTON, Oregon — Through the companies’ continued partnership, Texas Instruments (TI) and Vernier Science Education are offering a new app-based way for teachers to engage students in real-time, hands-on STEM learning. Students can now use six Vernier Go Direct® sensors in conjunction with the Vernier DataQuest® application on TI-Nspire™ CX II and TI-Nspire CX II CAS graphing calculators to wirelessly collect and analyze scientific data as they explore phenomena and think like real scientists.
“Data collection and graphing helps students visualize and interact with important math concepts, while teaching them the skills needed for success in science,” said Jill Hedrick, CEO of Vernier Science Education. “Vernier has partnered with Texas Instruments for more than 20 years, and shares a commitment to helping teachers easily and efficiently accelerate STEM learning. This most-recent collaboration brings together the latest versions of each of our technologies, which are already being used in classrooms across the country today, to further support high-quality teaching and learning.”
To get started with the data-collection and graphing process, teachers and students can download the latest operating system for free onto their TI-Nspire CX II or TI-Nspire CX II CAS graphing calculators. They can then connect any compatible Go Direct sensor wirelessly to their calculator using the TI-Bluetooth® Adapter or connect the sensor directly through USB. Compatible sensors currently include the Go Direct Motion, Go Direct Temperature, Go Direct Force and Acceleration, Go Direct Light and Color, Go Direct pH, and Go Direct Gas Pressure. Additional Go Direct sensors will be added in the future.
Once connected, students can open the Vernier DataQuest app on their calculator and easily start collecting a range of data, as well as repeat trials quickly to ensure the accuracy of the data. They can additionally view the data in multiple ways on the TI-Nspire CX II suite of applications—including Vernier DataQuest, Lists & Spreadsheets, and Data & Statistics—to deepen their analysis and understanding.
“Providing students with meaningful opportunities to engage in hands-on data collection and analysis is so beneficial in today’s math and science classrooms,” said Peter Balyta, PhD, president of Texas Instruments Education Technology. “This latest collaboration between TI and Vernier Science Education is not only making the data collection and analysis process faster and easier, it is providing students with increased opportunities to make scientific connections and engage in authentic learning.”
To learn more about Vernier Go Direct sensors’ compatibility with TI-Nspire CX II and TI-Nspire CX II CAS graphing calculators, as well as the ongoing partnership between TI and Vernier Science Education, visit https://www.vernier.com/math.
About Texas Instruments
Education Technology, a business of Texas Instruments, provides a wide range of tools connecting the classroom experience with real-world applications, helping students and teachers to explore mathematics and science interactively. TI’s products and services are tested vigorously against recognized third-party research, which shows that the effective use of graphing calculators improves the mathematical skills of students and their attitudes toward mathematics. For more information, visit www.education.ti.com.
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is a global semiconductor design and manufacturing company that develops analog ICs and embedded processors. By employing the world’s brightest minds, TI creates innovations that shape the future of technology. TI is helping more than 100,000 customers transform the future, today. Learn more at www.ti.com.
Contact us at edtechnews@ti.com or visit our news center.
About Vernier Science Education
For more than 40 years, Vernier Science Education has been committed to using our experience, knowledge, and passion to create the best and most reliable solutions for STEM education. Our comprehensive solutions include hardware, software, content, assessment, professional development, and technical support. At the heart of Vernier is our deep commitment to being an authentic and trusted partner to STEM educators. We are dedicated to partnering with educators and communities to build a STEM-literate society where students grow up to become knowledgeable citizens who can solve problems, fully contribute to their communities, and drive innovation. For more information, visit www.vernier.com.
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ESchool News Staff
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Blended learning is not a new instructional approach, but it became more mainstream during and after the COVID pandemic, when educators and students elected to keep parts of entirely-online learning they favored during pandemic learning.
Here are some facts, trends, and advantages you may not know about blended learning–also known as hybrid learning:
Blended learning–along with a little empathy–can open up a new mode of teaching and learning and help motivate students on a deeper level. Five important components and advantages of this learning modality are face-to-face instruction, online learning, flexibility, personalization, and integration. Discover the unbeaten path to hybrid learning.
Blended learning examples are life-changing for many students, extending personalized and flexible learning options to select individuals or groups. But with onset of the pandemic, widespread adoption of hybrid models suddenly became a necessity across all student populations. Now, years later, how have districts overcome the initial challenges and applied the lessons learned to re-imagine teaching and learning and develop an innovative vision for change in their school communities? Learn about hybrid learning’s strengths.
Schools should reimagine the learning processes and leverage in-person and hybrid learning to help students achieve the best possible results. Forced to go online during the pandemic, schools quickly turned to video conferencing and online tools and these tools helped reveal the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid learning. These new approaches offered ways to reduce many of the traditional barriers to services and support. Plus, they provided flexibility to best meet the needs of students and their families. Here’s more on flexible hybrid learning.
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting learners across the world, we’ve witnessed the growing need for an education option that combines the benefits of a traditional in-person classroom and online learning. But the need for this option won’t just be a fleeting trend. The future of hybrid learning is bright, and the benefits and advantages of blended learning to students are unmatched. Here are 5 components of a great hybrid learning program.
The most important thing to remember when implementing new blended instructional strategies is that there is no universal way to do it. Examples of blended learning activities combine a mix of face-to-face and online instruction for students. Gen Z is the first truly internet-dependent generation–getting their entertainment, information, and socialization online, oftentimes from social media. Therefore, to reach these students where they are, we need to evolve our instructional strategies. Here are some positive outcomes of blended learning.
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Laura Ascione
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On the morning before a mob attacked a pro-Palestinian student encampment at UCLA, campus Police Chief John Thomas assured university leadership that he could mobilize law enforcement “in minutes” — a miscalculation from the three hours it took to actually bring in enough officers to quell the violence, according to three sources.
Days earlier, campus leadership had directed Thomas to create a safety plan that would protect the UCLA community after the encampment was put up last week and began drawing agitators, the sources said. The chief was told to spare no expense to bring in other UC police officers, offer overtime and hire as many private security officers needed to keep the peace.
But Thomas did not provide a plan to senior UCLA leadership — even after he was again asked to provide one after skirmishes broke out between Israel supporters and pro-Palestinian advocates at dueling rallies Sunday.
The account of Thomas’ actions leading up to the attack was provided by three sources who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. UCLA also declined to comment.
But internal calls are growing for the police chief to step aside as University of California President Michael V. Drake initiates an independent review of UCLA’s response, the sources said. The police chief reports to Vice Chancellor Michael Beck, who oversees the UCLA Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management. Beck did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom has also called for answers to explain “the limited and delayed campus law enforcement response at UCLA.”
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block described the attack in a statement as a “a dark chapter in our campus’s history” and said the university was “carefully examining our own security processes in light of recent events.”
Key questions involve when officials decided to bring in help from other agencies and whether help could have arrived sooner. Outside police forces generally do not enter the campus without the university’s approval, since it functions as an independent municipal entity although it is on state land.
The Times reported Thursday that the UCLA Police Department had asked other campuses for additional police officers five days before the attack. The reporting was based on documents the paper reviewed and information from the head of the UC police officers union. Only a few on-duty UCLA police officers were on hand to protect the encampment Tuesday night.
The mutual aid requests made Thursday and Friday, April 25-26 — which would have provided UCLA with more officers as they dealt with the camp and a dueling area erected by pro-Israel activists — were both canceled by Thomas because the protests were peaceful, the sources said.
The responsibility to call for mutual aid through the UC Systemwide Response Team — a group of about 80 officers across the 10 campuses — has to be made by the host university’s chief of police, according to the UC police procedures manual. Internal questions have been raised as to whether, following skirmishes Sunday, Thomas issued another request after being directed to maintain a peaceful environment.
The union issued a statement this week placing the responsibility for the UC police response in the hands of “campus leadership,” saying the strategic direction was controlled by administrators. The three sources said, however, that such direction to prepare a plan, with enough officers to ensure safety, was given to Thomas multiple times.
The attack began Tuesday about 10:30 p.m., when a large group of agitators — some wearing black outfits and white masks — arrived on campus and assaulted campers, ripped down barricades, hurled objects at the encampment and those inside and threw firecrackers into the area.
Campers, some holding lumber and wearing goggles and helmets, rallied to defend the site’s perimeter. Some used pepper spray to defend themselves. Several were injured, including four Daily Bruin student journalists.
Only a few on-duty UCLA police officers were on hand to protect the encampment, one source told The Times. Thomas told the Daily Bruin his officers came under attack while helping an injured woman and had to leave.
Law enforcement sources said it took time for the LAPD, California Highway Patrol and other agencies to mobilize the large number of officers needed. A larger force began moving into the area after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and fully contained the situation after 3 a.m.
UCLA declared the encampment unlawful Tuesday and asked participants to leave or face possible discipline. The next day, the campus called in police, who dismantled tents and arrested more than 200 protesters in clashes early Thursday that lasted for hours. Several protesters were injured.
The UC Board of Regents held a closed-door meeting Friday to discuss the campus protests.
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Teresa Watanabe
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TeachAI, an initiative led by Code.org, ETS, the International Society of Technology in Education, Khan Academy, and the World Economic Forum, announced the launch of a groundbreaking resource for education leaders and policymakers around the world – Foundational Policy Ideas for AI in Education. The development of this resource was led by AASA, CCSSO, Code.org, CoSN, COSSBA, Education Commission of the States, ExcelinEd, ETS, InnovateEDU, NASBE, NSBA, NEA, SEAMEO, and SETDA. It is designed to help education leaders and policymakers navigate the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
The resource, which has been informed by over 70 organizations representing industry, government, non-profits, and educator associations, offers policy ideas, informational briefs, talking points, and a customizable presentation. These materials propose five key policy ideas essential for the safe, effective, and responsible use of AI in education.
“These tools serve as practical resources, aiding leaders in understanding AI’s implications for education,” says Michele Blatt, State Superintendent of Schools, West Virginia. “It is critical that we ensure appropriate supports and guardrails are in place for our teachers and students to effectively use generative artificial intelligence. We must remember that AI is an additional technology tool that can increase productivity and support innovation while recognizing the importance of the teacher in the process.”
As AI becomes increasingly embedded in society and the workforce, education systems across the globe recognize the opportunity and the challenge posed by these advancements. From enhancing student engagement and addressing learning loss to transforming and redefining the essential skills of the workforce, AI offers possibilities for improving educational and career outcomes. This potential hinges on the responsible and ethical use of AI, taught through a framework that addresses critical concerns such as bias, misinformation, and the preparation of students for a world transformed by AI.
Nicolás Cataldo Astorga, Minister of Education, Chile, notes: “As educational systems, we must act swiftly to address a world where artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging. For public policy, this entails collaborating with communities, particularly educators, to creatively, critically, and safely harness these tools for learning, equity, and inclusion.”
“Artificial Intelligence will soon augment nearly every sector of our workforce, and our education system must prepare our students for that future,” says Chris Reykdal, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “Our mission is to embrace AI in our classrooms to enhance student learning; centering student inquiry, student reflection, and critical thinking.”
TeachAI invites education leaders and policymakers to explore these foundational policy ideas as a step towards embracing the transformative potential of AI in education while also addressing its challenges with foresight and responsibility.
Catherine Truitt, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, says: “By equipping educators and students with the knowledge and skills of AI, we are ensuring they are better prepared for their future. This valuable resource can help create policies and practices to responsibly incorporate AI into education.”
Visit www.teachai.org/policy to see the Foundational Policy Ideas for AI in Education.
Digital Moment, in partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind, announced the launch of Experience AI, an educational program designed to support teachers in the fascinating but rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI), and to spark the curiosity of young people about the subject. This partnership will enable teachers across Canada to offer ethical, quality AI training to their students. Digital Moment was one of the first international partners to join this rapidly growing global program and holds the unique position of sole partner in Canada.
The unveiling took place on Friday, April 26th, at Google’s offices in Montreal. Hugo Larochelle, Associate Professor, Université de Montréal, Google DeepMind, Chaire en AI Canada-CIFAR, and Doina Precup, Associate Professor, McGill University, Google DeepMind, Chaire en AI Canada-CIFAR, seasoned experts in the field, took part in the program launch.
A Partnership Aligned with Provincial and Federal Priorities
In addition to positioning youth at the heart of Quebec society’s actions and priorities, this program is a response to one of the 12 main recommendations (RP) of the “Prêt pour l’IA” report published by the Conseil de l’innovation du Québec last February.
Specifically, RP-4 emphasized the importance of “[…] strengthening the digital literacy and AI literacy of children, pupils and students, particularly in order to increase their ability to use AI effectively, and to exercise critical thinking with regard to it.” The launch of Experience AI thus coincides with the beginning of a new era in digital education in Quebec. Indeed, from the 2024-2025 school year, the mandatory implementation of the new Culture and Citizenship in Québec program in schools will require the assessment of digital competence among young people.
At the Canadian level, Experience AI will help advance the “Canadian advantage in AI” by preparing young Canadians for the future of work through a greater understanding of the societal impacts of AI.
An Interactive Program Rich in Educational Content
Experience AI offers a series of six lessons and additional educational resources in French and English, which are tailored to high school teaching and enable students to explore the basics of AI, understand its practical applications and acquire essential AI and computational thinking skills. The program also offers fun activities and stimulating challenges, designed to engage young people and encourage their curiosity about the field of AI.
“We are delighted to launch Experience AI in partnership with Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind,” said Indra Kubicek, President and CEO of Digital Moment. “This innovative program represents a unique opportunity for young Quebecers and Canadians to explore the exciting field of artificial intelligence, while meeting a major societal need: ensuring that they are ready to take on tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities.”
For more information on the Experience AI program or to request training, Digital Moment invites the media, teachers, academic advisors, policy makers and all other stakeholders to contact us at experienceai@digitalmoment.org.
About Digital Moment: Digital Moment is a Canada-wide non-profit organization dedicated to digital education and the promotion of digital skills among youth of all backgrounds. Founded in 2013, the organization is committed to providing innovative and accessible educational resources to prepare young people for success in an ever-changing digital world. To date, more than 850,000 young people and 31,500 teachers have benefited from these educational activities. Digital Moment is a leader in AI education for Canadian teachers and youth, and is helping to advance AI education nationally and internationally.
About Experience AI: Experience AI is an educational programme that offers cutting-edge resources on artificial intelligence and machine learning for teachers and their students. Developed in collaboration by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind, the programme supports teachers in the exciting and fast-moving area of AI, and gets young people passionate about the subject.
About Raspberry Pi Foundation: The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based computing education charity with the mission to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. Our vision is that every young person develops the knowledge, skills, and confidence to use digital technologies effectively, and to be able to critically evaluate these technologies and confidently engage with technological change.
About Google DeepMind: Google DeepMind is a unit within Google that brings together parts of Google Research – including the Brain team – and DeepMind to build AI responsibly to benefit humanity. Google DeepMind’s groundbreaking accomplishments include AI technologies to power Google products and infrastructure, AI tools to advance scientific discovery, and advances in the field of AI research.
Study.com announced the launch of its free Praxis Core Prep, a comprehensive AI-enabled preparation and diagnostic resource for aspiring teachers, in partnership with ETS’s Praxis Program. This launch represents the next step in an ongoing partnership between Study.com and Praxis, the leading provider of teacher licensure assessments, announced earlier this year.
At a time when district and school systems across the country continue to struggle with teacher shortages and a need to broaden diversity within the profession, the free Praxis Core Prep is an innovative tool that provides teacher candidates with an accessible, personalized study resource to strengthen their reading, writing, and math skills to pass the certification exam.
“We know that teachers are at the heart of learning which is why we are excited to join forces with Study.com to offer aspiring teachers even more free resources to be successful,” said Paul Gollash, Vice President of K-12 Solutions at ETS. “This AI-powered offering leverages best-in-class research from both Study.com and ETS to build a dynamic and personalized prep offering in order to best serve the teachers of tomorrow.”
Drawing on two years of research, Study.com, an award-winning learning platform has developed a high-quality offering to address the diverse needs of aspiring educators. Key features of Study.com’s free Praxis Core Prep include:
“Too often, the financial and preparation barriers prevent outstanding teacher candidates from entering our classrooms. We are thrilled that partners like ETS are mission-aligned with our strategic efforts to strengthen and support a more representative K-12 workforce,” said Dana Bryson, Senior Vice President of Social Impact at Study.com. “Through findings from Study.com’s Keys to the Classroom program with non-traditional and diverse teacher candidates, we have identified key strategies that lead to success on licensure exams and integrated them into our Praxis Core Prep to empower and ensure every child has a well-trained, high-quality educator in their classroom.”
With a 92% pass rate, Study.com is trusted by thousands of teacher candidates every year and is the official ETS Praxis® test prep partner helping increase the teacher pipeline and support the educators of tomorrow. The partnership began as part of Study.com’s Keys to the Classroom Initiative, a coalition committed to deploying what’s working to develop a more diverse and representative educator pipeline and help prepare aspiring educators in the classroom.
Study.com partners with state education departments, school districts, colleges of education, and education-focused nonprofits to help aspiring educators prepare and pass their credentialing exams. Keys to the Classroom is currently in 20 states, and Study.com has donated over $4 million in test prep materials. Across the nation, hundreds of teacher cadets are enrolled in Keys to the Classroom, including 50 percent who identify as people of color.
For more information about Study.com’s free Praxis Core Prep resources, visit: https://praxis.ets.org/tomorrows-teacher/study-partnership.html
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Kevin Hogan
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Malvern, PA – Frontline Education, a leading provider of administration software purpose-built for educators in K-12, today announced the release of its inaugural “K-12 Lens: A Survey Report from Frontline Education.” The comprehensive report, developed by the Frontline Research & Learning Institute (Institute), highlights the company’s commitment to understanding emerging trends impacting school leaders and districts across the country. Informed by survey responses from nearly 700 K-12 administrators nationwide, the report is tailored to help district leaders thoughtfully plan initiatives that drive meaningful improvements for their staff and students.
The report underscores three critical opportunities revealed by the data, offering districts guidance and targets for strategically improving operations and maximizing outcomes. These include growing human capital, supporting students holistically and protecting essential district resources. The report presents key data and insights related to each critical opportunity. Among its most noteworthy findings include:
“Our commitment at Frontline is to equip K-12 leaders with the tools and insights they need to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of education effectively. This report is not just a snapshot; it’s a roadmap for informed decision-making, providing actionable data and strategies tailored to empower school leaders in addressing both current realities and emerging trends. We’re proud to announce that this report is just the beginning. We plan to release similar reports annually, ensuring that the K-12 community has access to the latest insights and resources to drive positive change in their schools and communities.” – Mark Gruzin, CEO of Frontline Education.
Developed in partnership with C+C Research, the comprehensive report establishes benchmarks that will be tracked annually to monitor trends over time. In doing so, it aims to assist district leaders in aligning their strategies to recent research. In addition to key data findings, the report provides practical strategies to guide district leaders’ decision-making and improve staffing, student support, and budgeting operations.
In addition to the release of “K-12 Lens,” Frontline plans to share more valuable information through various channels, including webinars, blogs and podcasts. These resources will offer deep dives into the areas of Human Capital Management (HCM), Student Management and Business Management within K-12, providing comprehensive insights and strategies for school leaders. Additionally, Frontline will provide K-12 persona-specific guidance, ensuring that educators can access tailored resources to address their unique needs and challenges.
To read the full research brief, visit here. To learn more about tools that help with district operations like human capital management, student services, and financial management, visit here.
About Frontline Education
Frontline Education is a leading provider of school administration software, connecting solutions for student and special programs, business operations and human capital management with powerful analytics to empower educators. Frontline partners with school systems to deliver tools, data and insights that support greater efficiency and productivity, enabling school leaders to spend more time and resources executing strategies that drive educator effectiveness, student success and district excellence.
Frontline’s broad portfolio includes solutions for proactive recruiting and hiring, absence and time management, professional growth, student information systems, special education, special programs, Medicaid reimbursement, school health management, inventory control and asset management, payroll benefits and financial management, and analytics solutions that help district leaders tap into their data to make more informed decisions for the benefit of their students and communities. Over 10,000 clients representing millions of educators, administrators and support personnel have partnered with Frontline Education in their efforts to develop the next generation of learners.
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ESchool News Staff
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–( BUSINESS WIRE)–A new survey published today found that 85% of US high school students are interested in learning about financial topics in school. To close the gap in financial literacy, Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), the global financial technology platform that makes Intuit TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, today launched Intuit for Education, a new financial literacy program that provides high school teachers and students with free personal and entrepreneurial finance courses. The company also launched the Intuit Hour of Finance Challenge to challenge schools to spend one hour on financial education during Financial Literacy Month in April.
“Without personal finance knowledge, students struggle to make informed financial decisions, jeopardizing their long-term financial success after graduating,” said Dave Zasada, vice president of Education and Corporate Responsibility at Intuit. “We know that financial education works. Our survey shows that 95% of students who receive financial curriculum at school find it helpful. As an organization that has been powering prosperity globally for 40 years, Intuit recognizes our unique opportunity and set a goal to help 50 million students become more financially literate, capable, and confident by 2030.”
Intuit for Education
Available now, Intuit for Education is a free financial literacy program for US high school educators that offers a flexible, interactive curriculum leveraging real-world tools. Intuit for Education includes comprehensive personal and entrepreneurial finance courses, and features interactive lessons and simulations powered by Intuit products such as TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp. By providing educators with easy-to-use resources to teach essential skills like budgeting, saving, managing credit, and understanding basic finances, the company aims to prepare students to make smart financial choices. Intuit has set a goal to help 50 million students become financially literate, empowered, and confident through their use of Intuit for Education content by 2030. Intuit for Education includes more than 150 hours of curriculum that is customizable and supports educators by offering free live and on-demand professional development for educators, including webinars and podcasts.
Hour of Finance Challenge
As part of Intuit for Education, Intuit today announced its first-ever Intuit Hour of Finance Challenge to encourage all schools to spend one hour on financial education during Financial Literacy Month in April. The challenge includes plug-and-play lesson plans based on Intuit for Education curriculum, and an online game designed to teach critical financial concepts such as taxes, credit, and investments. Intuit Prosperity Quest is an interactive online game that makes financial education fun and relevant for students. This nationwide challenge gives schools a chance to compete against each other to win a celebration worth up to $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000, depending on the school size.
For more information on these free nationwide programs, visit Intuit.com/education. To learn more and sign up your school for the Intuit Hour of Finance Challenge, visit intuit.com/houroffinance.
Intuit Financial Education Survey
To better understand the experiences of high school students and their relationship with personal finances, Intuit surveyed 2,000 U.S. high school students between March 15 and March 25, 2024. The survey revealed that 95% of students who receive financial education at school find it helpful, and 85% of all high school students surveyed want financial education at school. To learn more about the insights from Intuit’s Financial Education survey and Intuit for Education, visit the Intuit blog.
About Intuit
Intuit is the global financial technology platform that powers prosperity for the people and communities we serve. With approximately 100 million customers worldwide using products such as TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to prosper. We never stop working to find new, innovative ways to make that possible. Please visit us at Intuit.com and find us on social for the latest information about Intuit and our products and services.
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ESchool News Staff
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Shelters all over the United States are struggling, including Austin Animal Center and us right here at Austin Pets Alive!. In 2011, Austin became a No Kill community and has remained so with increasing save rates year over year. With the recent city ordinance changes and AAC’s latest announcement stating that hard decisions may need to be made for 20+ dogs who volunteers say should never be at risk, it’s safe to say that we’re facing the real chance that Austin is dangerously close to stepping into the wrong side of history.
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