Educators Blog

5 Strategies for Incorporating Joy in the Classroom

Experiencing joy leads to a multitude of health and wellness benefits, including reduced chance of heart attack, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and a boosted immune system. Joy also positively impacts learning by enhancing children’s […]

PBL Pro Tips from John Larmer: How Do You Plan Day-to-Day Lessons & Activities in PBL?

(Note: This includes a detailed look at a sample Defined Learning project calendar with added features from the Framework for High-Quality PBL)Planning a project is kind of like planning a curriculum unit: you think of how it will begin, what […]

Boosting Student Engagement and Motivation: PBL Connections in a Recent Survey and John Hattie's New Book

You may have seen some recent headlines about a survey of teenagers in the U.S. The most common takeaway was that "the chance to redo assignments" was the number one pick for what would motivate teens to work harder in school. But if you look at […]

Are We Ready to Learn Again?

We’ve seen a major focus on Social Emotional Learning in the past few years. Certainly, the pandemic made it a universal priority for schools. Overall, this has been a good thing and one I’ve advocated for a long time. Our mission is not simply to […]

5 Lessons for Educators to Inspire Students During Women’s History Month

As we meet at an intersection of technological advancement and female empowerment in society, it is now more apparent than ever that young women’s interest in STEM subjects, and subsequent exposure to STEM careers are initially fostered by the K-12 […]

What are they thinking? 5 Reflective Practices for Spring

Throughout the year, it's important to engage students in ongoing reflection of what they are learning. One of the key competencies of social-emotional learning (SEL) is for students to develop self-awareness. It's also important for them to build […]

The Importance of Authentic Collaboration for Language Building in ELs

Research suggests many teachers worry that they are ill-equipped to handle the growing number of English Learners (ELs) in U.S. public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2019 more than 5 million students in U.S. […]

PBL Pro Tips from John Larmer: How Can Students Make Their Work Public in PBL?

In a typical classroom, who sees a student’s work? Who gives them feedback on it? When they complete an assignment, what happens to it? The answer to these questions is usually (a) the teacher (b) the teacher, and (c) the teacher returns it, with a […]

Setting Learners Up For Success with Information Literacy

Today, people have access to more information than ever before. Every day, more information is available to learners through multiple sources. One challenge educators face is determining how to help students learn how to manage resources and […]

8 Ways to Promote Creativity and Collaboration

Versatile Tools to Facilitate Methods and Build Essential Skills

Students need opportunities to build a variety of skills in our classrooms. They need to develop essential SEL skills and engage in learning experiences that promote student agency […]