Teachers get creative with classroom design
Some schools in the US are transforming their traditional classrooms into new learning spaces with such features as flexible seating, collaboration zones and individual pods. Loren Myers, a first-grade teacher, says she has incorporated unique ideas into her standard layout, including a “peace corner” where students can calm down and a VIP table for students who demonstrate high work ethic.
Full Story: The Associated Press
Effort underway to reimagine school schedules
Rethinking school schedules can help teachers adopt more innovative teaching practices, according to Furman Brown, CEO and co-founder of Tegy. In some schools, he says, modified schedules are allowing for more teacher collaboration and reduced class sizes, leading to better outcomes and support for students, particularly those with special needs.
Full Story: The Hechinger Report
Study: Self-identification affects creativity
Young students who understand they have “multiple identities” — such as being a sibling, student and athlete — have improved creative problem-solving skills, according to a recent study. The findings show that the students are four times as likely to consider various ways to solve a problem, compared with their peers.
Full Story: Education Week (tiered subscription model)
Does the whole-school approach support learning?
The best way to drive achievement is not through standards-based instruction but through a whole-school approach that focuses on support and resources, writes Cassie Schwerner of the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. In this commentary, she describes the transition to whole-school equity and calls on education leaders and policymakers to help create these systems.
Full Story: The Hechinger Report
Opinion: How school leaders can get buy-in
School leaders should take steps to ensure that teachers, staff and families feel a sense of ownership over their school’s mission and vision, write leadership consultants Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn. The pair offer three keys to fostering stakeholder ownership, including the importance of finding authentic opportunities to involve them.
Full Story: MiddleWeb
Audrey Altmann is an editorial assistant at SmartBrief.
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