Today, we welcome Eli Luberoff, founder and CEO of Desmos to the podcast. His math identity began to take shape when he was just four years old, but it didn’t help him stay engaged in the k-12 curriculum. To this day, he does not have a high school diploma. He does, however, have a degree […]
Desmos and the Modern Math Classroom Read More »
Will and Bruce have been “Promoted”! I’m in my office working on building out next month’s MLC theme (blogs, podcasts, and more) AND finalizing the details of getting three new courses shipped for our community. Yes, I’m working really hard while Bruce is likely swimming with the sharks, and Will is likely headed to Tuck’s
They’ve been Promoted! Read More »
Getting student feedback is not a new concept. Blog post after blog post encourages teachers to ask for student feedback. Jen Gonzales, author of Cult of Pedagogy blog, lays out the 5 Reasons You Should Seek Your OWN Student Feedback and the We Are Teachers blog offers these tips on what to do with student
Student Feedback Surveys Ask the Wrong Questions Read More »
It’s possible! The Modern Learners theme for the next year and likely the next decade is “It’s Possible!” December is normally a time. I spend some time looking back on the year and looking forward to the next. This year, I’m spending December reflecting on an entire decade. I’m thinking about it at a deeper
It’s Possible -Focus on Learning for 2029 Read More »
These headlines are one reason emotional intelligence is one of the most desired 21st Century skills: “What’s Lost When We Rush Kids Through Childhood” Emily Kaplan, Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, September 4, 2019 “We Have Ruined Childhood” Kim Brooks, NY Times Sunday Review, August 17, 2019 “Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why the Kids Are
A Parent’s Guide to Prioritizing Emotional Well-Being Read More »
It’s interesting, to me at least, that whenever I have conversations about the role of power in school cultures, it seems everyone feels powerless. Students, who sit at the bottom of the “power org chart,” feel they have little or no ability to influence the ways in which they experience school. School isn’t a choice
Are We All Powerless? Read More »
1. A few months ago I plopped myself down in a front row auditorium seat next to a young man with frazzled hair and braces who was looking uncomfortable in a collared, button-down shirt with an overly wide and ornate tie often seen on middle school boys. “How’s it goin’?” I asked. He looked up
Why Wouldn’t We…Learn From the Kids Read More »
How do we make the world better than we found it? This is a question that has been raised in a number of our community conversations. Gary Stager mentioned it just last night in a chat with Will and Bruce. It’s posted on classroom and school walls to inspire and promote a reason for
How do we make the world better than we found it? Read More »
Is it possible to create a different school experience? Given the chance to do things really differently in your school, what would you do? That’s the opportunity that Peter Wieczorek has as the director of Northwest Passage High School in Coon Rapids, MN, a public charter school that is pushing the envelope when it comes
#61 – Creating a Different School Experience Read More »
Here’s my burning question for you in 2019: What are you going to do to change the experience that your students have in school to reflect more compellingly what you believe is the right thing to be doing for kids and learning? It’s a loaded question, I know. It suggests that as an educator,
2019 – Time to Choose Read More »
We often start the New Year with resolutions, some more ambitious than others, so when you hear Keith Richards is to give up the booze, you know the world is certainly changing! However nowadays it’s also become more common to end the year with titles such as Time’s Person of the Year, the Oxford
Modern Learners 2018 Provocation of the Year Read More »
Given how much I read, I wish I was more like my friend Rob who has the insane ability to remember just about everything he reads down to where it’s located on the paper or digital page he reads it on. Unfortunately for me, that’s not the case. It takes much longer for the patterns
The Most Important Skill for the Future: Being Human Read More »
How do you identify potential? Do you know what potential looks like, long before it is realized? Some examples are obvious. You know the sort of kid I am talking about. Almost from when he started to walk, he had a ball in his hand. When he threw it, he was a natural, and
Every Kid Can Do Amazing Things Read More »
Turns out, we who live in western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies are actually as WEIRD as the acronym for that group spells out. According to research by University of British Columbia professor Joe Henrich (now of Harvard,) “Members of WEIRD societies, including young children, are among the least representative populations one could
Designing for Learning Read More »
