The end of the school year marks a big transition for students at all levels. Many prepare to make the jump from elementary to middle school, middle to high school, or even between districts. With so many students moving from one place to the next, keeping them on track presents a challenge for district leaders and educators alike.
A common refrain of 21st century education is that teachers are educating students today for jobs that don’t even exist yet. But while schools may not be able to prepare students for an exact occupation, they can give them the skills they need to succeed beyond high school.
With the national teacher shortage crisis looming over districts, retaining teachers has become a pressing issue. In the edLeader Panel, “Build Strong Educational Communities to Increase Teacher Retention,” Dr. Adam Drummond of ICLE and two school principals, Kimberly Vaught and Dr. Lucretia Prince, discussed their strategies for retaining top talent and building successful schools.
Educators have more and more data to manage and analyze. Yet, sometimes, the analysis is cut and dry, absent deeper examination that could raise critical questions and lead to innovation.
Gamification is the integration of game-based mechanics and design elements into a non-gaming environment to motivate and engage people. While the concept has been around for decades, it is increasingly being used in K-12 education to not only motivate and engage students but also to help them master concepts and content.
Through the Driving K-12 Innovation series, CoSN continues to share high-quality trend reports supporting emerging technology in K-12 education to transform learning. In this initiative, a global advisory board of K-12 leaders, practitioners, and changemakers discusses the central themes driving, hindering, and enabling school teaching and learning innovation.
As was evident during the pandemic, many of our students walk into the classroom carrying heavy baggage, including traumatic experiences from childhood, stressful family dynamics, and socioeconomic disadvantages. As a result, it is challenging for them to engage with classmates and in learning.
They call them the “reading wars”—divisive debates about the “best” approach to developing foundational reading skills. But there doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing solution to helping young children learn to read and write with competence and pleasure.
If students play an important role in fostering a positive school culture, then student voices should be at the forefront of conversations about school climate. That was the main message from the edLeader panel, “Amplifying Student Voice to Improve School Culture and Climate.” More important, the panelists shared how they integrate the students and their needs during every step of the process to make sure their voices aren’t lost.
Equitable learning involves getting education where needed, even if students need help to reach their primary school destination. According to district leaders during the edLeader Panel, “How Mobile Learning Labs Are Supporting Hard-to-Reach Students,” the education system ensures that students have the support necessary for their educational growth.