Tag Archives: Getting Smart

NAF academies are designed to be small, concentrated learning communities that fit within and strengthen high school systems. This allows NAF to become an integral element of a low-cost plan for higher achievement. NAF encourages open enrollment at its academies so that any student who is interested has the opportunity to participate. The adaptable structureContinue reading “Real World Experience with NAF Advisory Boards”

By: Scott McLeod As I visit innovative elementary and middle schools across the country, I have noticed that these schools devote significant amounts of time for students and educators to simply be together in community. These time blocks are not academic. This community time is for small groups within the school to check in, shareContinue reading “Deeper Learning Requires Deeper Relationships?”

By: Hassan Hassan Over much of the last decade, the education innovation community has worked to incorporate a greater focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, including a talent base that is more representative of the children that our schools serve and increasing philanthropic funding to combat systemic racism and support learners of color. At 4.0,Continue reading “Balancing Design Thinking with Equity”

By: Kara Stern, Ph.D. When Horace Mann dreamed up the idea that eventually became the US public school system, the world was a different place. Fast forward to 1940. By then, the one-room schoolhouse had morphed into something we’d recognize today. And then things got…a little stuck. For example, I went to the same highContinue reading “Let’s Use ChatGPT to ‘Think Different’ About K-12 Schools”

The journey towards a brighter, more equitable future for every learner is taking center stage at Getting Smart’s first regional New Pathways Convening “Paving the Way for Pathways: Connecting Local Schools and Businesses” on October 19th and 20th at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center in Tacoma, WA. In collaboration with American Student Assistance (ASA), TacomaContinue reading “Paving the Way for Pathways: Connecting Local Schools and Businesses in Tacoma, WA”

By: Mike Posthumus In the evolving landscape of education, professional learning stands as a powerful catalyst to foster teacher or system resilience, effectiveness, and job satisfaction. But how can we make the profession more rewarding and impactful? Schools around the world are realizing that their flexible learning environments are improving conditions for educators’ well-being, helpingContinue reading “School Resilience and Educator Efficacy: The Power of Flexible Learning Environments”

Johanna Peetz, a psychology professor at Carleton University, talked to us about how to foster proactivity. Here are a few highlights:  We define proactivity as taking initiative. Why is proactivity so important?  It’s often harder to get started than to keep going on a task. And the closer you get to achieving a goal, theContinue reading “Jump Start: How to Encourage Proactivity”

By: Dagan Bernstein The single narrative education system is no longer working. Its main limitation is its inability to honor young people as the dynamic individuals that they are. New models of teaching and learning need to be designed to center on the student, not the teacher. In Dr. Benjamin Freud’s article, The Metaverse willContinue reading “The Ready Player One Test: Systems for Personalized Learning”

The genesis of Affirmative Action started in 1935 with the Wagner Act, an act that gave legal rights for labor unions to bargain collectively with their employers. It was not until 1961 when President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925, encouraging federal contractors to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, andContinue reading “Feeling Invisible: A Response to the Affirmative Action Decision through the Lens of the Disruptive Excellence Framework”

By: Elyse Gainor  At first glance, you might not be able to locate the teacher in Greg Zapasek’s class at Notre Dame High School in Ottawa, Canada. Instead of stationing himself at the head of the classroom, Greg Zapasek is working alongside individual students, conferencing with a small group of students, or triaging between differentContinue reading “How Challenge Based Learning Helps Students Around the World Make a Difference on the Sustainable Development Goals “